Is Weber coming out with a new electric grill? Is Traeger investing even more in their griddle platform?
It’s purely speculation, but there’s some new public filings that indicate both of the above are true. We’re breaking down the latest product rumors and what they could be.
Weber Verve
Weber came out with the versatile Lumin electric grill two years ago. It’s an electric grill that has swappable cooking grates that let you smoke, steam, grill, and more. It’s great for tight spaces, like apartments and small patios. They also still sell the Pulse and an electric version of the Q, which are all in the same category.
When it comes to more of a traditional gas grilling experience though, they don’t have anything. That’s an area that Charbroil and their sister company, Current Backyard, have been capitalizing on.
There’s a new trademark that was filed for the Weber Verve, which is for an electric outdoor grill. Given that they already have the Lumin line that’s a relatively new product, we’re guessing that the Verve will be a full-sized electric grill.
Traeger Irontop
Traeger jumped into the gas griddle market with the Flatrock two years ago. It was their first grill that wasn’t pellet powered. Since then, they’ve released the Flatrock Two Zone earlier this year, a 2-burner version of the Flatrock.
Traeger has multiple trademarks on griddles that haven’t been released yet. We covered previously that they filed for the name Wasatch, which is for a griddle. They just released another trademark for the name Irontop, which is also a griddle.
The name Irontop could be used for describing the cooking plate itself or a griddle accessory, but the trademark says it’s for “cooking appliances, namely, griddles”. That is a good indicator that it’s for a complete griddle.
With already having 2-burner and 3-burner griddles, our guess is that the Irontop will be a smaller camping sized griddle, leaving Wasatch to be the largest griddle in the line-up. There’s also a chance that Irontop could be a retailer exclusive. It doesn’t follow the “rock” naming convention, so that’s evidence that it won’t be part of their main offerings.
Traeger Westwood
Traeger follows the good, better, best philosophy with their pellet grills. In their current line-up that’s the new Woodridge, the Ironwood, and Timberline, respectively. They also come out with their newest tech on the best model, then have the innovation trickle down.
The Timberline is their top model, but it was released in 2022, so it’s three years old at this point. It probably only has a couple years left in its lifecycle if you follow how often Traeger releases model refreshes. Traeger released the Gen 1 Timberline in 2017.
Traeger filed for a trademark on the name Westwood, which covers connected pellet grills. With the Woodridge being released this year, and the age of the Timberline, it makes us guess that Westwood will replace the Timberline.
If that happens, it means that they’re moving on from the Timberline name. On the one hand, there’s some equity in that name, but on the other, they moved on from the Pro Series with the Woodridge. It also lets them have all their pellet grills have “Wood” in the name for branding purposes.