1.1 Definition and presentation

The barbecue is an outdoor cooking device consisting of a grill or a spit, where charcoal is traditionally used, and mainly intended for grilling meats such as sausages, kebabs, beef or pork ribs, etc...

However, charcoal barbecues have the reputation of being toxic due to the combustion of animal fats in contact with the charcoal flames, which generates carcinogenic substances called benzopyrenes.

The global market for barbecues is growing strongly and sould continue to do so, at a CAGR of 4.92% until 2027, according to forecasts, taking into account the electric segment, which is likely to represent a growing market share.

In 2021, in France, two million new barbecues were sold, a figure that shows the love of the French for this product. In fact, 60% of French households are already equipped with a barbecue. The majority of the industry's turnover now comes from the renewal of appliances and the move upmarket of products.

Since 2004, the industry's turnover has almost quadrupled, due to an increase in the volume sold, but especially thanks to the increase in the average price of the barbecue, due to the emergence of a premium segment.

The offer is divided between charcoal, gas and electric barbecues. The planchas can be gas or electric. Although gas represents less than 20% of sales, it is responsible for more than 50% of the sector's turnover, thanks to an average price more than 3 times higher than charcoal and electric. Manufacturers also sell barbecues for professional or semi-professional use, which can cost several thousand euros.

The current success of gas reflects the desire of customers to vary their use of the barbecue, in terms of food (less meat, more vegetables) and recipes (use of the lid, rotisserie, or even pizza stone). Manufacturers are taking advantage of this trend to market complementary accessories that also allow them to de-seasonalize the business.

1.2 The United States, the undisputed leader in barbecue

In ****, North America accounted for **% of the global barbecue sales market, which was estimated at $*.** billion. [***]

Barbecue sales revenue World, ****-*****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

Barbecue sales revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR (***) of *.**% per year by ****, driven by a higher average equipment rate worldwide, and a higher ...

1.3 The growing French market

France has seen the turnover of gas / charcoal barbecues and planchas (***) exploded [***].

Growth in sales of charcoal and gas barbecues and planchas France, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

Since ****, sales of charcoal / gas barbecues and planchas have increased drastically, showing a real craze for this practice among the French. In ...

1.4 Consumption is mainly imported

A significant portion of barbecue manufacturing is offshored, for cost reduction reasons. Data provided by French Customs and UN Comtrade in ****, show that France imported $*** million worth of cooking appliances (***). These figures exclude electric barbecues, which represent less than **% of the market value. The data analyzed is gathered under HS code ...

1.5 The impact of Covid-19 on the barbecue market

The trend that clearly emerges following the outbreak of the Covid-** pandemic and the several lockdowns that have been implemented is the strong growth of the barbecue segment in France. Frustrated to be locked up at home, it seems that the French have taken advantage of the end of the lockdowns ...

2.1 Growing demand in volume and value

Some regions are particularly fond of barbecues, such as Pays de la Loire (***), thanks to a mild weather and a high proportion of houses allowing to easily cook a barbecue in the garden [***].

Responses to the question, "How many barbecues do you do per year?" France, ****, in % Source: ****

With an average ...

2.2 A deeply seasonal activity

Barbecues and planchas are outdoor activities, mainly practiced in a garden (***) [***].

Spring and summer are therefore unsurprisingly the favorite seasons for barbecuing in France, which is reflected in sales.

Barbecues by season France, ****, % Source: ****

Only **% of French people cook in all seasons. **% of French people who don't barbecue all year round ...

2.3 A trend towards planchas and premium

Over the last few years, we have seen the emergence of the plancha segment and a premium, more expensive segment of barbecues, which have driven the growth of the industry.

Types of barbecues and planchas of the French France, ****, % Source: ****

If the ownership of certain equipment overlaps, a total of **% of ...

2.4 Changing buying habits

As eating habits change, so do barbecue purchases. Thus, while meat still dominates sales of foods to be cooked on the barbecue, we are seeing the emergence of other types of food (***) as well as the arrival on the market of accessories that allow more elaborate recipes [***].

What do the French ...

2.5 Barbecue purchase disincentives

In addition, meat consumption per capita has decreased by an average of *.*% in France over the past ** years [***]. Such a drop could impact the use of barbecues, which are still mainly used to cook meat, and mostly beef.

**% of French people say they give up barbecues on vacation in order ...

2.6 The favorite barbecue brands of the French

The graph below was obtained from the survey conducted by OpinionWay about the favorite brands of the French in March ****. These are the answers of the respondents to the question "Do you like this or that brand of barbecue?" for each brand, the percentage corresponds to the share of respondents who ...

3.1 A market dominated by large players

The French market is dominated by players with their own speciality, even if the trend in recent years has been towards diversification. A site like Leroy Merlin lists ** brands of barbecues in **** [***].

While market share figures are difficult to estimate, a handful of players are capturing the bulk of the ...

3.2 An off-shore production

Although few figures are published, the majority of barbecues sold in France are imported.

The company Somagic employs ** people in France, including engineers in charge of designing the models, and *** employees in China. It manufactures its cast iron barbecues in France and its steel barbecues in China in its Somasia factory. ...

3.3 Traditional distribution channels

The distribution networks of the barbecue market are multiple. Looking at the growth rates of the different sales sectors (***) in ****, the majority of barbecues are still bought in food supermarkets and hardware stores, which was already the case in **** [***]. The newcomers in the barbecue distribution market are the garden centres, which ...

4.1 Type of products sold

Barbecues fall into three different categories: coal, gas and electric. And planchas can be gas or electric.

Breakdown of sales volume by product France, ****, in % Source: ****

While coal continues to dominate the market in volume, gas dominates the market in value, accounting for over **% of the sector's sales.

Average prices of ...

4.2 Customers who do not do much research before buying

A European Idealo survey indicates that in ****, barbecue purchases were particularly spontaneous, they follow anticipated periods of sunshine. It is indeed around the periods of March or April particularly sunny that the peaks of barbecue purchases are the most frequent.

Even if the sources of information have diversified: appearance of Barbecue ...

4.3 Benchmarking of barbecues and planchas' prices

Source: ****

Within each product category, there are strong disparities. These differences can be due to the quality of the products, the surface of the plates, the presence of a cart, a lid or even accessories. Even within a brand, there are very different models in terms of price. For example, at ...

4.4 An increasingly diversified offer

Companies in the sector are seeking to increase their sales by diversifying their offer in order to both find a new audience and increase the average amount spent per customer. At Campingaz, complementary accessories represent **% of sales [***]

What accessories do the French use? ****, France, in % Source: ****

We can see that the ...

4.5 Development of new high-end offers

If the barbecue is a very well established product in the imagination of the French, new high-end offers seem to develop.First of all, we note the emergence of the use of professional or semi-professional gas barbecues for individuals. Indeed, these products are no longer only available in specialized stores and ...

5.1 Regulated manufacturing to ensure user safety

Solid combustion barbecues (***):

Appliances, solid fuels and firelighters for solid-burning barbecues must be approved by LNE or CTIF laboratories according to European standards EN-**** [***] :

Specifies the requirements for solid-burning barbecues (***). Specifies the requirements and test methods for charcoal and charcoal briquettes for barbecues. Specifies safety, performance, packaging and marking requirements, as ...

5.2 Regulated use to ensure community comfort

The use of a barbecue can generate smoke, odors, as well as noise (***), which the legislator can regulate at the local level.

In the case of abusive use of the barbecue by a neighbor, it is possible to take legal action (***), by justifying the "abnormal disturbance of the neighborhood" with evidence ...