What separates great outdoor cooking tools from the exceptional? Culinary die-hards will argue that performance trumps all. Still, it’s also hard to dismiss the role distinctive looks have played in building and solidifying the reputations of products like the Big Green Egg, any number of Kalamazoo’s luxury grills, or a host of more recent standalone pizza ovens like the Gozney Dome.
The team behind the Thaan Grill isn’t blind to this trend. The title of its newly launched Kickstarter campaign, “World’s Most Beautiful Tabletop Charcoal Grill,” was chosen for a reason. And based on the crowdfunding campaign’s runaway success so far, plenty of customers like what they’ve seen.
However, at least some of this early success also reflects positively on the here-to-date cult status of the grill’s manufacturer.
Thaan Charcoal is far from a household name. But unlike many products from unknown makers that generate early splashes on crowdfunding platforms based on renderings and hype, the company already has an established track record for bringing premium grilling products to market – albeit on a small scale – that professional chefs and other avid home cooks have gushed over.
Now, its new consumer-oriented grill has all the ingredients needed to become an outdoor cooking darling capable of breaking through to a larger market, at least among consumers who are happy to pay up for tools that look as good as they perform.
Second time’s the charm?
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a company named Thaan Charcoal got its start selling premium charcoal.
Last fall, though, the startup moved into an obvious but intensely competitive market – grills. The Thaan Grill XL supposedly took five years to develop and was clearly positioned as a premium, pro-grade take on traditional Japanese earthenware grills known as Konro or Binchotan Grills – the latter of which draws its name from the elite Japanese white charcoal they burn.
