Grilling Forecast

sales of my book,” says Raichlen, who is hosting a new public television show, “Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue,” that premieres Memorial Day weekend.

Because of that, Raichlen believes that this is shaping up to be another robust season for inventive grilling. “People are cooking more at home and a) learned how to grill and smoke better during COVID, and b) realized that restaurant trips have gotten more expensive,” he notes.

Britney Banuelos, senior brand manager at Tyson Foods’ fresh meats marketing group, shares that sentiment. “Consumers have become increasingly comfortable and confident at the grill, and with that comes creativity,” she affirms.

Pandemic-fueled creativity applies to a wide variety of proteins that can be grilled to deliver a signature char flavor, from fresh seafood to red meat and poultry. To provide consumers with inspiration and instructions, Brandt Beef offers recipes curated by award-winning chefs, like a juicy bacon burger. “As part of Brandt Beef’s partnerships with worldclass chefs, James Beard Award nominee Chef Brandon Rodgers has crafted a series of recipes for customers to learn how to prepare Brandt Beef dishes, along with a touch of certified chef techniques,” explains Summers.

parallel interests in attributes like grain-fed beef, third-party-verified transparency, and sustainability. For instance, Brandt Beef, a brand of One World Beef, has launched a “head to tail” initiative and points out that there are more than 100 types of possible beef cuts.

“Brandt Beef offers award-winning performance in the traditional portion-cut steaks and value-added items that characterize the summer grilling season: ribeyes, baseball cut top sirloin, hot dogs and hamburgers, to mention a few,” says VP of Sales Steve Summers. “These lines are always popular, but we also aim to introduce our customers to new culinary experiences such as the flavorful beef flanken-style short ribs and our brand-new beef demi-glace.”

Burt P. Flickinger III, retail industry consultant and managing director of New Yorkbased Strategic Resource Group, notes that shoppers may be making other adjustments in today’s still-volatile marketplace, like getting ahead of possible price jumps this summer. “Given the explosion of prices last summer, people who want to cook steak may grill it in March or buy steaks to freeze and cook later, going into Memorial Day,” he observes.

One trend that bodes well for brands and grocers ahead of grilling season is the rise in cooking savviness over the past few years. “I think people got the grill and smoking ‘fire’ during COVID, when grill and smoker sales shot through the roof, as did

Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson also spotlights different cuts and proteins to help discerning at-home grillers. “Today, confident grilling consumers can elevate their summer grilling experience by allowing different proteins, such as pork, to take center stage of the backyard barbecue,” notes Banuelos, look mix it up for budget