State of the Que, Part II
by Larry Gerber

I hope everybody learned a few new things from the State of the 'Que, Part I, featured last issue. Actually, I had so much to say that my editors allowed me to finish my address in this magazine. So here we go!

In my opinion, no industry report would be complete without a look at the world's newest promotional tool, the Internet. According to Colleen Shimkoski, President of ColDen Communications Web Design and Marketing, there is certainly no lack of information on my favorite subject! In fact, when searching the Internet through a popular search engine called Infoseek under 'BBQ CHEFS', she pulled up 197,584 sites! These sites include recipes, gourmet sauces, information on upcoming cook&endash;offs, great tailgate parties, and more. "For those searching or selling items related to barbecue including sauces, recipes, utensils, apparel, grills, etc., the market is booming," says Colleen. She also believes that some of the most popular sites are those relating to barbecue, especially as more and more households get connected to the net.

And as more "regular folks" get connected, a great way to get them interested in your site is to offer a little bit of free information such as recipes or upcoming events. This is sure to bring visitors to your page. For instance, the Fiery Foods Super Site is an excellent all-inclusive Web site. By that I mean it has many barbecue-based hot links, Web rings, articles, and useful food&endash;type information, among other things. Of course, businesses that are not currently participating in the Information Super Highway are wondering: "Am I missing out on business not being there?" Colleen advises, "If you think you may be missing out on something by not being on the Web...I agree. If you sell a barbecue cooking related item, or wish to increase your exposure, the Web opens a great new avenue to do so. Barbecue is hot business on the Web."

This year my site, Barbeque Man, Inc. was honored to receive the Hot Site Award from USA Today. This helped bring the number of visitors viewing our Web site to over 10,000 in just over three months. We were floored by that kind of response.

Books, Newspapers, TV, and Tie-Dye

Karen Adler, president of Pig Out Publications, is no stranger to barbecue. She has so many titles of barbecue books in her vast selection of stock that you can make a day of it looking through her catalog, which now features more than 175 books, including more than fifty new titles. She says that the popularity of barbecue shops, gourmet & kitchen stores, and hot sauce shops, contributes to the sale of barbecue books, which has doubled for her over the last year. "The consumer is now able to go to a specialty barbecue or hot shop to source everything they need," states Adler. The alternative for book buying is, of course, the bookstore. But as Karen points out, "Often times the bookstore is only carrying titles from major publishing houses and then only newer titles at that. Our catalog features the best books on barbecue published over the last twenty years."

Lola Rice is the publisher of USA Smoke BBQ News, a hobbyist and backyard chef newspaper. "It has been my mission to bring 'Que to the forefront," says Lola. She concentrates on the people who cook in contests, cook in the backyard, and love eating barbecue, but keeps an eye to the future--many of the "biggies" in this industry got started in the backyard, she says. And she very well may be on her way to becoming a "biggie" herself. The USA Smoke subscription base has more than doubled since the publication's inception back in January 1997, and continues to grow because of marketing, advertising, word of mouth and good writing. "Backyard chefs and hobbyists want an unbiased opinion when reading about their hobby and pastime, and we provide that for them," says Lola.

And finally if I may, business has been very good at Barbeque Man, Inc., this year. As I write, we are producing an interactive television cooking series entitled Culinary Adventures, aired in my hometown, Chicago, Illinois. Culinary Adventures features industry experts, food service professionals, cookbook authors, food writers and many celebrities. They join me in our interactive kitchen to "cook their stuff," and very soon we will be able to do outdoor segments.

I also see this as being a banner year for our sales of tie&endash;dye kitchen apparel, and we are branching out into the barbecue catering business as well. Presently our barbecue instruction classes are fully booked through the late fall, as are our cooking demonstrations, which are tailored to print and broadcast media professionals.

I thank all of you who have helped with this article for your time, your input, contributions and forecasts for the barbecue year of 1998. May the following year exceed this year in success, wealth and health to you and your businesses. Oh by the way, if you are thriving this year and want to part with some jack for advertising and sponsorship dollars, or if you are looking for a new avenue to market your product or service, please let us know. Culinary Adventures

would be glad to have you on our team, and we can all share the wealth in 1998. Just contact me using the information listed below.

Larry Gerber is President and founder of Barbeque Man™, Inc., an Illinois based company. He is a food writer and columnist for the Northwest Herald Newspaper, an editorial contributor to On The Grill Magazine, Chicago area reporter for USA Smoke BBQ News, a radio talk show host of the Barbeque Man Hour on WEPS 88.9FM, as well as a commentator on other radio shows. Currently Larry is the producer/host of Culinary Adventures, a Chicago area television show.

A Grilling Experience

72 percent of Americans grilled with their families on Memorial Day 1998, an 11 percent increase over 1996.

When grilling, 80 percent of Americans choose beef, 32 percent choose chicken.

Hamburgers are the choice of 41 percent of Americans grillers.

--73 percent select lean or extra lean ground beef

--33 percent occasionally purchase pre-made frozen hamburger patties.

Source: Survey by Wirthlin Worldwide, commissioned by the National Cattleman's Beef Associaiton.

Sidebar:

Did You Know...

--The world's largest one-day barbecue event occurred on October 10, 1993 in Sydney, Australia, and was attended by 44,158 people. Source: Guinness Book of World Records.

--Average consumers replenish their supply of barbecue sauce every 54 days. Source: ACNielsen, as reported in American Demographics, January 1998.