A CLOSER LOOK AT THE 16 TH ANNUAL WEBER GRILLWATCH SURVEY

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1 Sherry L. Bale 224/ Kim Durk 312/ A CLOSER LOOK AT THE 16 TH ANNUAL WEBER GRILLWATCH SURVEY Other Newsworthy Facts and Figures Palatine, Ill., March 23, 2005 The 16 th Annual Weber GrillWatch Survey is the nation s most comprehensive study on what, where, when, why, and how Americans cook outdoors. It is an objective, third-party study conducted by Greenfield Online to ensure accuracy and statistical integrity. All respondents were over age 21 and currently own a charcoal, gas or electric outdoor barbecue or smoker. The sample was balanced demographically to represent households across the U.S. The study s key finding was that at-home chefs say they prefer grilling their meals outdoors over using their indoor kitchens by a whopping three-to-one margin. This can be attributed to several reasons including the statistic from the Weber GrillWatch Survey that people are spending more time at home than they were three years ago and, that respondents prefer the flavor of grilled food and find grilling more convenient. The following details other newsworthy findings in these data categories: American Grill Ownership, American Grill Use, Where Americans Get Their Grilling Information, Outdoor Entertaining, What Americans Like to Grill, and What Americans Know About Best Grilling Techniques. American Grill Ownership While gas grills continue to be the most popular type of outdoor barbecue grill in the U.S., charcoal ownership increased to 47 percent in 2004 from 42 percent last year. Among households owning grills, 71 percent of the study respondents own a gas grill. Six percent own an outdoor electric grill up from 4 percent last year, while 13 percent own smokers. 70 percent - GAS (NET) 65 percent - Gas: Liquid propane tank 6 percent - Gas: Natural gas line 47 percent - Charcoal 13 percent - Smoker 6 percent - Electric 1 percent - Don t know/other type

2 Page Two When it comes to the type of grill that Americans use most often, gas grills with liquid propane tanks are tops at 58 percent, followed by charcoal grills (32 percent), gas grills with natural gas (5 percent), electric grills (3 percent) and smokers (2 percent). 63 percent - GAS (NET) 58 percent - Gas: Liquid propane tank 5 percent - Gas: Natural gas line 32 percent - Charcoal 3 percent - Electric 2 percent - Smoker 1 percent - Don t know/other type American Grill Use: Still On the Increase Americans are increasingly grilling year-round. When it comes to defining their grilling season, 58 percent of grill owners say they grill all year, an increase from 54 percent in 2003 and 49 percent in Those owning smokers continue to be most likely to grill year-round (67 percent), followed by those using stationary gas grills (62 percent). Men are more likely to grill year-round than women (60 percent versus 55 percent but the margin is narrowing (61 percent to 48 percent last year). Those in the South Atlantic region have the longest grilling season 74 percent grill year-round, followed by those in the South Central (71 percent) and West (64 percent) regions. Those in the North Central and Northeast regions are much less likely to grill year-round (46 percent and 39 percent respectively). During their grilling season, the majority of Americans fire-up their grill at least once a week (70 percent). In addition, the percent of Americans who grill at least a few times per week has increased from 43 percent to 46 percent over the last year. Those who mostly use stationary gas grills are more likely to grill at least a few times per week (53 percent) than are those who primarily use charcoal grills (36 percent). Americans earning more than $100,000 per year grill more frequently 54 percent grill at least a few times per week versus 43 percent of those earning less than $100, percent - Daily 43 percent - A few times a week 25 percent - Once a week 17 percent - Twice a month 4 percent - Once a month 8 percent - Only on special occasions When it comes to braving the weather, grill owners aren t afraid of the cold. Forty percent say they have grilled in below-freezing temperatures, including 6 percent who have grilled in weather below zero. Those living in the North central region are significantly more likely to have grilled in both temperature ranges below zero (9 percent) and between zero and 32 F (44 percent). 61 percent - Over 32 F 34 percent - Zero - 32F 6 percent - Below zero

3 Page Three Overall, Americans are grilling more than one year ago. Fifty-six percent say they are grilling as frequently as one year ago, and 30 percent say they are grilling more often. Younger grill owners (under age 35) are significantly more likely to be grilling (41 percent) than those between ages 35 and 54 (30 percent) or 55 and older (20 percent). 30 percent- More often than one year ago 56 percent - About as often as one year ago 12 percent - Less often than one year ago 2 percent - I wasn t grilling one year ago Americans aren t just grilling for dinner the majority have grilled lunch (69 percent) and 14 percent have grilled their breakfast. Stationary gas grill owners are significantly more likely to have grilled lunch (72 percent). Those earning upper incomes over $100,000 are also more likely to have grilled both lunch (77 percent) and breakfast (16 percent). 69 percent - Lunch 14 percent - Breakfast 30 percent - Neither Consumers who own both a charcoal and gas grill tend to use the gas grill more frequently (60 percent). However, the percentage of people who regularly use the charcoal grill more has increased from 22 percent to 24 percent over the past year. Currently, 16 percent say they use both grills equally. 16 percent - I regularly use both grills 24 percent - I use the charcoal grill more often 60 percent - I use the gas grill more often Where Americans Get Their Grilling Information Grill owners say they get new grilling recipes and information from a variety of sources. Friends and family top the list at 34 percent, followed by magazines (26 percent), cookbooks (23 percent), the Internet (22 percent), TV shows (18 percent), and newspapers (17 percent). Americans who earn over $100,000 per year are nearly twice as likely to use magazines are a source of grilling information (38 percent) than are those who earn under $50,000 (20 percent). 34 percent - Friends/Family 26 percent - Magazines 23 percent - Cookbooks 22 percent - Internet 18 percent - TV Shows 7 percent - Newspapers 2 percent - Make my own recipes/experimenting 1 percent - Radio Nearly one-half of American grill owners have tuned into a TV show about grilling or barbecuing during the last year. Among those, one-half say they have watched once or twice, while 37 percent have watched several times, and 13 percent have watched frequently. Men are slightly more likely to have watched frequently (16 percent) than women (10 percent). 50 percent - Once or twice 37 percent - Several times 13 percent Frequently

4 Page Four Outdoor Entertaining Americans grill for a wide variety of holidays and special occasions. The Fourth of July once again tops the list of celebrations at 87 percent, followed by Labor Day (75 percent), birthdays (74 percent) and Memorial Day (69 percent). Stationary gas grill users are significantly more likely to fire up for numerous celebrations, including Fourth of July (90 percent), Labor Day (79 percent), birthdays (77 percent), Memorial Day (72 percent), Father s Day (56 percent), Mother s Day (44 percent), and anniversaries (37 percent). 87 percent - Fourth of July 75 percent - Labor Day 74 percent - Birthday 69 percent - Memorial Day 53 percent - Father's Day 41 percent - Mother's Day 34 percent - Anniversary 21 percent - Graduation 20 percent - Thanksgiving 19 percent - New Year's Day/Eve 13 percent - Valentine's Day 12 percent - Christmas 9 percent - Cinco de Mayo 1 percent - Chanukah 1 percent - Kwanzaa 24 percent - Other When it comes to entertaining in the neighborhood, 42 percent of all grill owners say they invite the neighbors over for barbecues. Smoker owners do the most entertaining with the neighbors (54 percent). By region, those in the South Atlantic tend to invite the neighbors over more for barbecues (52 percent), while folks in the Northeast host the least number of neighborly barbecues (37 percent). 11 percent - At least once or twice a month 32 percent - At least once or twice a year 58 percent - Never When asked what famous person they would invite to a barbecue, only one woman topped the list. Respondents top-eight (write-in) choices are: 18 percent - George W. Bush 9 percent - Emeril Lagasse 6 percent - Oprah Winfrey 6 percent - Bill Clinton 5 percent - Tom Cruise 5 percent - Mel Gibson 4 percent - Bobby Flay 3 percent - Brad Pitt

5 Page Five When listening to music while they re grilling, Americans still rank rock n roll as the number one music they enjoy (63 percent, down from 67 percent last year), followed by country (52 percent, up from 50 percent last year) and Light Pop or Top 40 (47 percent, up from 46 percent last year). 63 percent - Rock n roll 52 percent - Country 47 percent - Light Pop/Top percent - Classical 30 percent - Jazz 30 percent - Blues 29 percent - Alternative rock 21 percent - Gospel/Religious 19 percent - Folk 19 percent - Show tunes 18 percent - Heavy metal 17 percent - Hip-hop 13 percent - New age 11 percent - Rap 8 percent - Latin 7 percent - Opera 14 percent - Other What Americans Like to Grill: A Wider Variety of Foods Americans report they have grilled a wide variety of foods over the past year. Meat continues to be the number one food category grilled (98 percent again this year), followed by poultry (87 percent), fruits and veggies (68 percent), and seafood (54 percent). As for individual items that Americans have grilled during the past year, hamburgers top the list at 93 percent, followed by hot dogs (86 percent), chicken pieces (85 percent) and steak (76 percent). 93 percent - MEATS (NET) 93 percent - Hamburgers 86 percent - Hot dogs 76 percent - Steak 55 percent - Pork chops 51 percent - Ribs 46 percent - Sausages 45 percent - Bratwurst 34 percent - Beef roasts (tenderloin, prime rib, tri-tip, etc.) 20 percent - Pork roast/tenderloin 18 percent - Beef brisket 87 percent - POULTRY (NET) 85 percent - Chicken pieces 20 percent - Whole chicken 13 percent - Turkey pieces 8 percent - Whole turkey 1 percent - Ostrich

6 Page Six What Americans Like to Grill: A Wider Variety of Foods, cont d 68 percent - FRUITS & VEGGIES (NET) 44 percent - Onions 43 percent - Corn 42 percent - Potatoes 33 percent - Mushrooms 29 percent - Peppers 25 percent - Squash or zucchini 13 percent - Asparagus 10 percent - Sweet potatoes or yams 10 percent - Pineapple 9 percent - Eggplant 54 percent - SEAFOOD (NET) 32 percent - Salmon 25 percent - Shrimp 11 percent - Trout 10 percent - Tuna 9 percent - Halibut 9 percent - Catfish 7 percent - Swordfish 6 percent - Scallops 4 percent - Lobster 3 percent - Clams, oysters or mussels 3 percent - Sea Bass 36 percent - OTHER FOODS (NET) 20 percent - Shish kebab 14 percent - Bread 10 percent - Veggie burger 4 percent - Pizza 2 percent - Tofu 1 percent - Cakes 1 percent - Pies 1 percent - Cookies 1 percent - Other desserts When asked to pick the top foods they grill most often, the order of Americans top four picks hasn t changed over the last year: Hamburgers are at 68 percent, followed by steak (52 percent), chicken pieces (46 percent), and hot dogs (33 percent). However, this year s Weber GrillWatch results show that pork chops beat out last year s pick of bratwurst and ribs for fifth place: Last year, pork chops was at 9 percent, this year, it s up to 14 percent. INDIVIDUAL FOODS TOP percent - Hamburgers 52 percent - Steak 46 percent - Chicken pieces 33 percent - Hot dogs 14 percent - Pork chops 13 percent - Bratwurst 10 percent - Ribs 8 percent - Beef roasts (tenderloin, prime rib, tri-tip, etc.) 7 percent - Salmon

7 Page Seven Again this year, Americans say their all-time most favorite food to grill is steak (38 percent down from 43 percent last year), followed by hamburgers (12 percent), poultry (11 percent), pork (5 percent) and ribs (5 percent). The most popular fish is salmon (3 percent) and the most popular vegetable is corn (2 percent). INDIVIDUAL FOODS TOP percent - Steak 12 percent - Hamburgers 11 percent - Poultry 5 percent - Pork 5 percent - Ribs 3 percent - Salmon 3 percent - Hot dogs 2 percent - Bratwurst 2 percent - Rib-eye 2 percent - Corn 2 percent - Fish 2 percent - T-bone 1 percent - Sausages 1 percent - Shrimp 1 percent - Shish kebab 1 percent - Potatoes 1 percent - Beef brisket 1 percent - London broil 1 percent - Fillet mignon 1 percent - Mushrooms The popularity of grilling ethnic foods is growing among a small percentage of Americans (7 percent). However, these foods are grilled more often by a significantly higher percentage of Americans who earn more than $100,000 per year (13 percent). Ethnic foods are also more popular among those who own outdoor electric grills (16 percent) and smokers (14 percent). Grilling ethnic foods is also significantly more popular among younger grill owners under age 35 (14 percent) than those age 55 or over (2 percent). Among the 7 percent of Americans who are grilling more ethnic foods, Mexican foods top the list at 43 percent, followed by Asian (34 percent) and Caribbean cuisines (30 percent). Mexican foods are most popular among younger grill owners under age 35 (52 percent). 43 percent - Mexican 34 percent - Asian 30 percent - Caribbean 25 percent - Italian 19 percent - Greek 13 percent - German 13 percent - African 12 percent - Indian 9 percent - Thai 8 percent - Middle Eastern 8 percent - French 8 percent - Other

8 Page Nine Americans like to top their burgers with a wide variety of items the top five (in the same order as last year) are cheese (84 percent), onion (73 percent), tomato (72 percent), lettuce (71 percent) and ketchup (71 percent). Women are significantly more likely than men to top their burgers with lettuce (75 percent versus 68 percent), ketchup (75 percent versus 66 percent), pickles (61 percent versus 54 percent), and mayonnaise (62 percent versus 52 percent), while men throw peppers on their burger more than women (19 percent versus 12 percent). 84 percent - Cheese 73 percent - Onion 72 percent - Tomato 71 percent - Lettuce 71 percent - Ketchup 62 percent - Mustard 58 percent - Pickle 57 percent - Mayo 33 percent - Barbecue sauce 31 percent - Mushrooms 16 percent - Peppers 12 percent - Avocado 9 percent - Salsa 7 percent - Other What Americans Know About Best Grilling Techniques Americans say they know when to take their food off the grill by a variety of methods. More than onehalf cut into their food (57 percent), while 42 percent just look at it to determine if it s done. Encouragingly, over the past year, the percentage of people who are timing their food has increased from 13 to 21 percent, and the percent who are using thermometers has increased from 15 percent to18 percent. Just 6 percent of men say their spouse or partner tells them when the food is done, as compared to 16 percent of women. 57 percent - I cut into it 42 percent - I see if it looks done 29 percent - I poke it with a fork 23 percent - I wing it! 21 percent - I time it 18 percent - I use a thermometer 11 percent - My spouse/partner tells me when it s done 12 percent - I touch it 8 percent - I taste it 3 percent - Other Each year, more Americans seem to learn that they should grill with the lid down. Just 9 percent are grilling with the lid always up, down from 10 percent last year and 16 percent the previous year. Most grill owners, however, admit to sneaking a peek here and there (80 percent). Those who mostly use charcoal grills are significantly more likely to always grill with the lid up (13 percent) than those who mostly use stationary gas grills (5 percent). 11 percent - I always keep the lid closed 80 percent - I sneak a peek here and there 9 percent - I always grill with the lid up

9 Page 10 Weber-Stephen Products Co., headquartered in Palatine, Ill., is the premier manufacturer of charcoal and gas grills and accessories. In 1952, founder George Stephen designed the Weber kettle with a lid that allows outdoor cooks to grill in all kinds of weather. A family-owned business for more than 50 years, Weber has grown to be a leading exporter of outdoor grills worldwide. Weber charcoal and gas grills are available at select home centers, hardware stores, department stores, patio stores, and other retail outlets. Weber has the strongest consumer outreach program in the industry with its allyear, round-the-clock Weber Grill-Line SM (1-800-GRILL-OUT ); the semi-annual grilling newsletter The Grill Out Times for Weber owners who register their grill; and a content-rich website with grilling tips, techniques, and more than 250 original Weber recipes. For more information on other Weber products and to find a Weber dealer near you, visit # # #