Outdoor trends in the spotlight at Solex

The contemporary and imaginative range of furniture, barbecues, lighting and accessories at SOLEX in July has shown the outdoor living industry has upped its game. With the holiday world opening up and tempting people away from their gardens, SOLEX had everything retailers need to continue to attract and encourage consumers to invest in their own gardens and outdoor spaces this autumn and beyond.

Gina Hide, LOFA Marketing Manager, says: “My highlight was seeing all the visitors coming to see us. The stands looked absolutely amazing, I think they all pulled the stops out. Everything looked a lot fresher, brighter, more on trend and has become more modern.”

Having so many suppliers in one place was key for buyers, some even reported changing buying decisions on the strength of being able to compare products side by side. The outdoor area was a particular success. “It allowed our barbecue members to show what they can actually do. The food was amazing,” says Gina.

News on next year’s show is still under wraps. “All I can say is that we will be back much bigger and better than before,” says Gina. the colour with patterned cushions and this year more metal-framed sets have wooden detailing in the arm rests for example were in evidence. “Breaking up the grey with wood and teak is brightening things up and this is definitely a growth area,” adds Debbie.

Companies bucking the trend were Mambo Outdoor Living at Kettle Interior with a white and blue range which it thinks will be a hit in coastal towns – it is also offering a new merchandising solution for all its ranges in 2023. TOBS had relaxer chairs in a range of tones and Lifestyle Garden & Sancom also had a range of pleasing colours in the Nassau dining sets made from recycled plastic bottles. The back story to this range is proving to be a strong selling point and one that helped it win the Best

Mambo Outdoor Living added colour and style to the garden.

Furniture trends

A continued demand for furniture in grey, beige and neutral tones was a strong theme to emerge from this year’s show. “We have tried to introduce more colours,” says Debbie Waudby, Director of Norfolk Leisure, “but demand is still there and grey is not budging.” Suppliers are turning up

Left: James Cohen with the Nassau range, recognised as the Best Sustainable Product. Right: The team from Tom Chambers enjoying the luxury of the new Caspian range.

Sustainable Product Award at SOLEX. “One chair is made from 175 plastic bottles so it’s a nice message to put across,” says the company’s James Cohen.

The team at Tom Chambers was pleased to be back at SOLEX introducing its range of new rattan furniture which it had planned to launch in 2020. Traditionally known for its soft wood garden products, it has branched out and now has the rattan Augusta, Oyster Bay and Caspian ranges offering a bistro to a luxury collection with high-backed reclining chair. They come in drift grey or cocoa. “The cocoa is very popular because there’s not been many other suppliers offering a similar colour,” says Steve Millington, Sales Director.

He went on to say the stand was busy throughout SOLEX partly because the sales agents were encouraged to plan ahead and make appointments with their customers to visit the stand. “Before we even got to the show we had 96 appointments.”

Metal furniture is on the up with many suppliers devoting around half of their space to weave and rattan, the other to metal.

Making a debut at SOLEX was HEX Living, one of many companies promoting aluminium furniture. Designed and made exclusively in the UK, its top end range has come to the market in under a year. The company which makes metal storage was inspired to branch out into furniture at last year’s Glee in September and at SOLEX was promoting its Tutbury furniture range with a selection of configurations and Marchington pergolas.

Wood however, remains a firm favourite illustrated by Zest winning the award for Best Furniture Product category. Its Garden Bar & Stool Set, which also took a prize at Glee, stood out for its innovation, suitability for small gardens and multi-functionality.

Barbecue innovation

The popular Loving Outdoor Living Zone gave suppliers the chance to show just what their barbecues are capable of. Some chose to bring in professional chefs who cooked delicious treats from samphire and salmon to tender steak and strawberries with Gran Marnier and clotted cream.

The Flatdog from ProQ, a transportable and collapsible solution to replace disposable barbecues was one such innovation. Flatdog is an Australian word for crocodile so the name alludes to the noise of the barbecue when it is snapped open and shut. This simple, yet clever barbecue was chosen as winner of the Best BBQ at SOLEX which the judges said helped to make barbecuing accessible to everyone.

Also outside, Diva Q weaved her magic with cooking masterclasses on Traeger barbecues which are fuelled by compressed wood pellets. Diva Q (Daniella Barnett) has been promoting cooking the Traeger way for 16 years and travels the world inspiring people with recipes and tips to make the most of outdoor cooking. The

Diva Q served up a wellseasoned stake and flavoursome chimichurri.

Kebabs cooking on the ProQ Flatdog.

Winner of the Best Individual Product was the El Fuego Fire Pit. Tim Jeffs says that by burning natural oils, this smokeless option is great for small gardens and urban areas.

UK, she says, has come a long way and made big changes. “There is a reason why people in the UK are the best gravy makers,” she says, “because they tend to cook their food until its grey. But in the last three years there has been a big surge in barbecue cooking and as long as people cook at the right temperature….. they can use less gravy.”

Diva Q has a no-frills approach and uses social media to promote recipes and how-to videos which soared in popularity during lockdown. “So many people learnt new skills in lockdown and found food quality and not food quantity is important. They are also demanding more from their barbecues and wanting to serve up consistently succulent food every day.”

Barbecues are renowned for bringing people together but as one person is usually ‘in charge’, they can miss out on the fun. Traeger’s new barbecues can be Wi-Ficontrolled allowing them to be used even if you are not at home. “This makes them so easy to use and convenient,” says Diva Q.

Other trends noticed by Diva Q is the increased demand for cooking non-meat dishes and a change in demographic. “Traditionally it was the job of the 35-60 ’-year-old man to do the cooking but today much younger and older people are cooking this way including busy mums. Lots of females are now cooking with Traeger’s and I’m happy to see that.”

Michelle Bradford with Hartman’s award for Best Stand. Judges commended it for being well designed and branded.