Sales of nyama choma grilling stoves are climbing this festive season amid a surge in Kenya’s holiday barbecue culture, be it on city balconies or village homes.
Sellers say demand for barbecue grills has gone up, also opening up new income streams for small-scale metal fabricators who are now making them.
Among the businesses riding this wave is Cookswell Jikos, a family-owned enterprise led by Teddy Kinyanjui and sellers along Nairobi’s Landhies Road and Ngong Road.
‘The festive season is very rewarding. Everyone is grilling nyama, having barbecues, and everyone is happy. During peak season, stock runs low, and delivery can be difficult because roads get packed. We advise customers to wait until January for delivery,’ Teddy said, adding, ‘many of the customers buy the grills as gifts, and for people living upcountry without reliable electricity, the charcoal ovens make sense.’
Cookswell Jikosis owned by Teddy, his two sisters, and their mother. ‘It was started by my late father back in the early 1980s when he developed the Kenya ceramic jiko, a small household stove with a clay lining.’
Now their flagship Cookswell charcoal oven which serves as multi-functional grill, smoker, and oven is among their best-sellers.
‘People love them because they can barbecue, smoke meat, and even run a small bakery. Half our sales are to homes, and half to restaurants, hotels, safari lodges, and off-grid users,’ Teddy says.
There is a high demand for their animal-shaped grills. ‘We partner with artisans who make them. For instance, the camel jiko has a chimney in its neck, and smoke comes out of its nostrils. They are more expensive, but people love them because they impress and add artistic flair to the kitchen,’ he says, adding that prices for these grills range from Sh18,000 to Sh20,000 for smaller home ovens, up to commercial models at around Sh90,000.
He adds that the Covid-19 pandemic season, where people were locked indoors, helped fuel demand that has sustained since then.
‘After Covid, many people learned to cook at home and started smoking foods such as bacon or making artisanal dishes,’ he says, adding that they have also sold organic wood chips from pear, apple, and indigenous trees such as African olive and African pepperbark.
‘Chefs are increasingly interested in authentic flavours that connect to tradition,’ Teddy says.
Social media, just like many businesses, has helped in expansion. ‘Around 2008, I started uploading photos of our jikos online. Over the years, social media has allowed us to connect with customers globally, from Uganda to Switzerland, the US, Australia, Peru, and Pakistan. It’s amazing to see photos of people cooking with our ovens thousands of miles away.’
Simon Kioko, the owner of Sparks Kitchen, a juakali metal workshop in Nairobi, says the festive season has become the most lucrative period for small-scale barbecue grill makers as demand from households spikes.
Simon, who has been in the grill business for about two years, says small grills dominate his sales during the holidays, even as rising metal prices squeeze margins.
‘The BBQ grills, especially the small ones, are the most popular with customers. Most of the buyers are individuals, not restaurants,’ he says.
‘We have been in the juakali grill business for about two years now, and so far, I would say the business is not bad. It has its slow months, but when demand comes, especially during the festive season, it really picks up,’ he says.
With the high demand, he increases prices.
‘A grill like this one, with a lid and a chimney, is currently selling at around Sh10,000. But before the festive season, around March or October, the same grill was going for about Sh6,000. Some of the smaller grills that can sell for as low as Sh3,000 during the off-season cannot go for less than Sh5,500 during the holidays,’ he adds.
Despite the price hike, he says ‘customers would come and we didn’t have enough grills ready. Going forward, we are planning to increase our stock so that we don’t miss sales during peak seasons.
On a good month, he says he can sell between 20 and 35 grills.
‘Every week, sales from grills alone can bring in about Sh80,000 (upwards) depending on the types of grills customers buy,’ he adds.
Despite the higher demand, Simon decries the rising input costs, which eat into his margins. ‘The biggest expense in this business is metal. Metal prices keep going up, especially when suppliers see that demand is high. Paint and other materials matter, but metal is the main cost,’ he explains.
Social media has become central to keeping the business afloat. ‘Most of our customers come through social media. TikTok works best for us, even better than Facebook. When people see the grills on TikTok, they come asking for the same designs,’ Simon says.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, he emphasises visibility over production alone. ‘Making the grills is not enough. You really have to advertise. You can make very good products, but if people don’t see them, they won’t buy. Marketing, especially online, is very important in this business,’ he says.