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[bproffer]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2017/10/22/jeremy-andrus-found-success-with-skullcandy-now-he-hopes-to-do-it-again-with-traeger-grills/#680b565317ea


This is a pretty insightful little interview with Jeremy Andrus about why he decided to join and eventually buy Traeger.

[Kristin Meredith]

Well, he doesn't lack confidence, but I think he does lack some insight into the pellet pit market:

 "There are smaller competitors, but we are 70%-plus of the wood pellet grill market. Our ambition is not to own the wood pellet market. We already own it. Our ambition is to dominate outdoor grilling globally."

and

"We’re going after not just the backyard barbecue but elevated culinary consumers. We launched in Williams-Sonoma in April, an online-only test with our Timberline grill, and it is absolutely killing it. It’s a $2,000 grill that’s an Internet of Things device. In an industry where people spend $300 for a grill that’s sold mostly to male consumers, we’re selling a very premium technological product and women are embracing it. Our cooking team was recently in New York cooking with Daniel Boulud. Chefs around the country are buying grills at retail and putting them in their restaurants for certain ingredients. At Bestia in Los Angeles they cook on a Traeger."

I think that the elevated consumer of pellet pits he refers to goes after much more high end and sophisticated pits than the Timberline.  And Cookshack has been selling to high end restaurants for years, so I think he is behind the curve on his market research.  Finally, my poll on "your first pellet grill" has also been interesting to me on the issue of Traeger's market share.  7-8 years ago when I did that poll on PH, Traeger was nearly 75% of first time buyers grills.  Now they are at about 37%.  And companies like Camp Chef and Pit Boss have a bigger distribution system and are going to come out with much more competitively priced pits.

It will be interesting to watch Traeger with new leadership.  This topic is real interesting and I am going to move it to the General Discussion for more exposure.  Thanks for posting it.

[Bobitis]

Some interesting comments he makes...

Women are embracing it? How on earth could he make that assumption?
Chefs all over the country are buying them and he cites one in LA. Really?

He does have one thing going for him tho... Made in China. That should put his price point  at a level to make great strides in off shore sales.
Where's all that fuel going to come from? I'd bet that half the planet is sorely lacking in useable hardwood forests.

[tmb2735]

Great article, thanks for the post. I agree with the comments above. Innovation!? Traeger is playing catch up at this point. I purchased a Timberline 850 this summer to replace a 17 year old Traeger BBQ 100. I love it, but I do not consider it to be at the top tier of pellet grills.

A huge recipe data base designed for Traeger grills? Um, can adapt to any pellet grill. 

I hope they do well and continue to upgrade their products and not just focus on growth and market share.

[MN-Smoker]

Marketing, marketing, marketing.

He's mainly going to try to bring in mainstream by marketing the xxxx out of it.

It's not the best, but he'll convince enough people it's the best.

A lot of people will buy stuff at 5 times the price of a competitive product only because they believe it's better despite there not being any real evidence that it is.  Marketing, and people who echo what they've heard from the marketing, is all that really matters when it comes to selling a product.

[Brushpopper]

My daddy taught me at a young age when a man was talkin' through his hat, and that fella is.  And that means lying his backside off to get something that he ain't got no confidence in.  Sorry y'all.  Just the cowboy coming out in me.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Marketing, marketing, marketing.

He's mainly going to try to bring in mainstream by marketing the xxxx out of it.

It's not the best, but he'll convince enough people it's the best.

A lot of people will buy stuff at 5 times the price of a competitive product only because they believe it's better despite there not being any real evidence that it is.  Marketing, and people who echo what they've heard from the marketing, is all that really matters when it comes to selling a product.

Sorta how I feel about Bose, but that is another subject.

[pmillen]

Marketing, marketing, marketing.

He's mainly going to try to bring in mainstream by marketing the xxxx out of it.

It's not the best, but he'll convince enough people it's the best.

A lot of people will buy stuff at 5 times the price of a competitive product only because they believe it's better despite there not being any real evidence that it is.  Marketing, and people who echo what they've heard from the marketing, is all that really matters when it comes to selling a product.

Yep, it's Marketing.

I view this as another chapter in the continuing saga of people who view themselves as Marketing geniuses promoting themselves and their LLCs to venture capitalists.  The Traeger PR/hype-machine staff will spend their days cranking out blog posts, posting automated email campaigns, flooding Twitter and Facebook with promotional messages, running webinars and podcasts and organizing user groups, all to attract VC money so the financials look amazing when the company goes public.

He’ll do this because he probably has a pile of Traeger stock options that don’t need to vest.  The strike price was probably set at a level that reflects the valuation put on the company’s last round of private funding.  If Traeger goes public at a valuation higher than that, his options could be worth a great deal.

It’s common for interviewers to be fed some questions that the subject wants to answer.  Amy Feldman asks, “How big is the business?”  Andrus answers, “We’re north of $300 million and our growth is accelerating.”  That makes me think that to pull off a successful IPO, Traeger needs to reach $500 million in annual sales.  What are the odds that Jeremy can do it?  How savvy is he?  What will investors on Wall Street think of him?  My sense is that things will go well.  He did something similar with headsets.  He just needs to tick all the right boxes, and he’s already started.  He sweetens the bait for the VCs by casually answering Amy’s question about plans with, “We’re going to be a billion-dollar brand in five years in terms of revenue.”

Look for the IPO in less than three years.

[Rick]

It seems that they're dumping a lot more money into marketing. They had a very large area and party at the American Royal. They also kicked in some money for the highest placing call that was cooked on a Traeger. I also know that Shiggin and Grinnin was hired for a big class / cooking event at Traeger this past weekend. They certainly seem to be going after the competition Market.

[Jimsbarbecue]

If a good 2K grill would overtake the BBQ market. Why aren't there MAK and Memphis is every backyard . Commercial, no one is taking out cookshacks and putting in Traeger. Just saying it doesn't make it so.

[Kristin Meredith]

I also think he may have missed the window for up-selling to current pellet pit owners.  I go back to my polls.  In no 3, when I ask what you would buy if you were buying a new pit (and this is from sophisticated pellet people -- folks who know the market and products) only 1% say Traeger.  But I do agree that marketing seems to work in America.  Who knows, maybe he bought the PH site and took it down so folks would not have access to a great pool of info on numerous pits!!

[Bar-B-Lew]

Just read very brief story about this guy.  His prior company, Skullcandy, did a great job of marketing a decent sounding headphone at a great value.  They sounded just as good or better than lower end products from much larger companies that had been in that market for years.  But, that product was marketed to a different demographic than grills and at a much lower price point.

Once he figures out the niche where Traeger should play, I wouldn't be surprised if he is successful at growing to $1b in revenue.  How sustainable that is remains to be seen.  I think his competition is closer to Weber than it is to Memphis, MAK, Cookshack, or any of those higher priced pellet grills. I think he is looking to convert the gas grill or charcoal grill owner to a pellet grill and attempting to provide them a ton of resources to make the conversion easier for consumers.  Over the last 12-18 months, it looks like they have done a lot to their products, accessories, website resources, etc.

I think it is great for the industry as it will force others to develop new ideas and keep pricing in check.  It may also drop out some manufacturers who don't belong in the industry too.

[bproffer]

In the big picture of backyard BBQ, I think wood-pellet grills are still relatively unknown. Yes they have been around for a long time, but there are a ton of people that have no clue what they are. I think our views are skewed because we are on a pellet grill specific forum. I have 10 or so friends that all own Traegers and of them, I am the only one who is on a BBQ specific forum. So I think his numbers may not be as out of line as we think. Andrus's goal is to make Traeger a household name, something akin to Weber. He is a marketing genius. He has aligned himself with BBQ celebrity and is flooding social media with ads and videos. I am listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports and they talk about their Traeger every day (of course Traeger is a show sponsor).  I don't think their goal is to have a Timberline in every home, but to have a Traeger in every home. They are looking to be a gas grill/charcoal grill replacement. To the lay person who is not a BBQ savant, a digitally controlled grill that gives wood grilled flavor is very intriguing.

 

[Bar-B-Lew]

In the big picture of backyard BBQ, I think wood-pellet grills are still relatively unknown. Yes they have been around for a long time, but there are a ton of people that have no clue what they are. I think our views are skewed because we are on a pellet grill specific forum. I have 10 or so friends that all own Traegers and of them, I am the only one who is on a BBQ specific forum. So I think his numbers may not be as out of line as we think. Andrus's goal is to make Traeger a household name, something akin to Weber. He is a marketing genius. He has aligned himself with BBQ celebrity and is flooding social media with ads and videos. I am listening to the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports and they talk about their Traeger every day (of course Traeger is a show sponsor).  I don't think their goal is to have a Timberline in every home, but to have a Traeger in every home. They are looking to be a gas grill/charcoal grill replacement. To the lay person who is not a BBQ savant, a digitally controlled grill that gives wood grilled flavor is very intriguing.

 

You said what I wanted to say better.

[DE]

I also think he may have missed the window for up-selling to current pellet pit owners.  I go back to my polls.  In no 3, when I ask what you would buy if you were buying a new pit (and this is from sophisticated pellet people -- folks who know the market and products) only 1% say Traeger.  But I do agree that marketing seems to work in America.  Who knows, maybe he bought the PH site and took it down so folks would not have access to a great pool of info on numerous pits!!

I still put on the table that if that's so "IT SURE BACKFIRED!" because of this forum, you and Bentley and the members! I believe this site will grow bigger and better than the original! That and a Quarter still won't buy any of us a cup of coffee, but I do believe it to be true!