An underlying trend from the BBQ and grill exhibitors at SOLEX was the increasing number of Al Fresco Pizza baking options for retailers to choose from.

Al Fresco Pizza baking, either on a BBQ or in an outdoor pizza oven is a growing market.  As the team from firepitsuk told the Solex Sun “every family has a youngster who loves pizza.”

With plenty of new pizza related developments at Solex there’s every possibility retailers can use the pizza effect to sell a new piece of Al Fresco cookware to families and bbq aficionados next year.

Premier Decorations are importing the European market leading range of Pizza ovens from Fontana.  They are 100% Italian made, with certified food safe stones and even have a double chimney version which will be an ideal sale for the “mine’s bigger than yours” brigade.

As well as the wood charcoal fired ovens The Fontana range also includes a Gas Pizza Oven with burners that are 2mm thick to push out 12,000 btu.  “Italian pizza ovens are designed to cook a pizza in 2 minutes,” Premier Decorations Pravin Patel.

Lifestyle Appliances exhibited a new range of gas Pizza Ovens.  Their stainless steel deluxe model which can be used as a pizza oven, bbq, smoker and general oven will retail for about £599.

Other pizza ovens at SOLEX include the Foretto from Grakka, which also includes an electric warming drawer for proving pizza dough.  La Hacienda have their bestselling Bakerstone which fits on top of traditional BBQ’s and a new concept Pizza oven model.  Firepitsuk are manufacturing a metal pizza oven in the UK that heats up to temperature for cooking in 20 minutes and Gardeco have a new Pizzaro pizza oven made from their unique Chimalin fire clay with a 5 year guarantee which with it’s metal stand will retail for £500.

Outback have launched their Jupiter gas bbq with a built in pizza stone and then there are a host of pizza stone accessories from the likes of Napolean and Weber.  “It’s one of our high volume accessory sales lines, with free pizza cutter.  Adding pizza to the BBQ menu gets the whole family involved, the Napolean team told Solex Sun.  Weber feature a pizza stone as one of their gourmet options.

The biggest range of al fresco cooking accessories including pizza baking possibly goes to Cadac.  The team were keen to demonstrate their modular cooking system which can produce a Seafood Pizza using the tepanyaki plate to cook the seafood and then the baking stone with the lid closed to bake the pizza.

So how big could Al Freso pizza business be in the coming years?  As Louise Edkins from Lifestyle Appliances said “Pizza Hut are doing OK.”  So perhaps selling pizza ovens and even giving live in store demonstrations must be worth exploring, even in the Clyde Valley!