Merchandising Tips for Winter Grilling

Posted to BeefRetail.org in conjunction with December 2009 issue of Retail Beef Blast.

This winter, encourage your customers to keep grilling! Just because the seasons change, they don’t have to put their grill away. While many consumers think of grilling as a summer activity (which it is!), encourage them to continue grilling during the winter as well. 

Use signage like “Keep warm by the grill this winter” and “Don’t sacrifice the delicious grilled taste because it’s winter – keep grilling!” to keep customers thinking of grilling. 

Continue to feature cuts that are great for the grill, like steaks and pre-made ground beef patties. 

The majority of grill owners use their grills and smokers year-round. According to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, 58% of grill owners do not let winter weather deter their love for outdoor cooking.


Actually, the most popular day in the winter for grilling is on Big Game Sunday; in fact, it is one of the top 10 most popular grilling days of the year, with 62% of grill owners looking to fire up their grills to feed family and friends for the Big Game.

Around the Big Game, decorate your meat case with a football theme to get customers thinking about their party plans. Remind them that grilling is a quick and easy way to prepare delicious beef dishes for their game-day parties. The "extra point" is that there's little clean up!

Use signage ideas like: “Grilling isn’t just for summer cookouts. Grilling is for the Big Game.”

People love the taste of grilled beef – there’s no need to sacrifice that taste during the winter. It won’t take long to warm up inside with the delicious taste of steaks right off the grill.

Source: Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (www.hpba.org), Press Release "Super Bowl Sunday Revealed as Most Popular Winter Grilling Day," January 16, 2007.