Battle on The Grill: St. Louis Based Grilling Startup is Going Up Against Industry Giants

It all started with a simple idea: to give people quality tools to make the best possible grilled food right in their own backyard. No matter how much time you spend on the grill, who doesn’t love cooking up a meal that guests rave about? This is exactly why Grillheads was started.

The Grillheads story starts with two lifelong friends – Aaron Kirchner and Josh Anderson – who wanted to find a way to make a business out of one of their all-time favorite hobbies – grilling. “We always knew we wanted to start a side business, and the conversations really picked up during the first wave of COVID lockdowns. As COVID continued to devastate local businesses and force people to stay home and cook more, we made the choice to go all in. It started with today's version of the “back of a napkin plan” - hundreds of calls and text messages, to finally get it on paper. From there, it was just one action step at a time as we motivated each other to actually get the business off the ground. It was almost like an unspoken dare backed by a lifelong trust that we could do it”, said Kirchner.

“When I first bought a new grill, it was a little overwhelming for a normal guy like me. I knew I enjoyed grilling, but it took a lot of research to try and figure out what was needed to really master the craft. I wasted so much money trying to find high-quality grilling supplies and dry rubs to help me, and I even remember standing in front of a “rub wall” at the store completely overwhelmed. We knew we could do better and make it easier for normal people to grill a really great meal…and personally, with this business, we believe that we have.” said Kirchner.

Now you may be wondering, what is a Grillhead? A Grillhead is any person who loves everything about grilling, has an obsession with cooking over hot coals, and is always striving to master their next grill session for family and friends. No, it’s not a dictionary term (yet), but Kirchner and Anderson feel this resonates with many grilling enthusiasts out there…and the market has taken note.

Since officially launching in June 2020, Grillheads has grown rapidly. First, they started with a few quality supplies and quickly realized that they were on to something. Next, they expanded into the dry rub space with their “Damn Good Meat Rubs”, which are created and manufactured locally in St. Louis, MO. “We knew that we could produce high-quality rubs, right in St. Louis, to help anyone grill amazing food and become more confident in their craft”, said Anderson. “With the dry rubs, we made a conscious decision to find a local food manufacturer to help us create, develop and launch. For this side of the business, it was really important that we were hands-on, and able to touch, try and feel our vision come to life. After about 10 iterations with a food scientist, we settled on our trio and words cannot describe how proud we are to have made these from scratch with a local manufacturer!” Kirchner said.

While they’re extremely proud of all they’ve already achieved, the process of figuring out the highly competitive grilling industry goes on. There are many big players already in the market, with large marketing budgets and financial backing. Kirchner commented, “Today, we aren’t one of the big brands you see owning the industry; we are building awareness one rub bottle at a time. We are confident that if we can deliver the backyard champion experience we promise, word will spread about this crazy little idea called Grillheads Supply Co. We are very much invested and a part of this business - I mail out every single website order, while Josh manages the sites and handles digital marketing, and we still respond personally to each person who reaches out. This business is truly being built shaker by shaker.”

PO Box 225
Russellville, MO 65074

team@grillheadssupply.com

Grillheads Supply Co LLC is a privately-owned, Missouri-based grilling supply company that offers a line of rubs that are manufactured in St. Louis and a selection of grilling tools. Grillhead Supply Co items can be found on Amazon, or via their website at https://grillheadssupply.com/.

This release was published on openPR.