Like many great innovations Space Grill was created to solve a problem and for Inventor Ryan Martin it’s been an all-consuming personal journey.
After bouncing between a number of apartments growing up in Sydney’s west, Ryan was like many other Australians he loved Barbequing and entertaining. He was also obsessed about creating a high-quality space saving BBQ.
“All the places I lived when I was younger had a small entertaining area that I didn’t want clogged up with a BBQ that was more large surface area than cooking space. For me, more people on a balcony and less BBQ space equaled a better time for all”
“When I was in the early stages of Space Grill development, I entertained on the balcony and my friends couldn’t tell that the unit on the wall, was the actual Space Grill. It was only when I folded it out that they realised it was a BBQ. It made for some funny and enlightening moments that gave me some great feedback and intel’
A plumber by trade Ryan took lessons, good and bad, in what he saw to functionally design and develop a premium space saving BBQ.
“I knew the design had to hinge, that was a given because I wanted to create a BBQ that would fold down to a width of a thin suitcase to save space. What was more challenging was to capture the cooking juices and fats, so you didn’t have to clean the unit every time”
“This was achieved by my overlapping pivoting drip tray design which moved with the hinging of the unit at any angle to achieve a fully sealed BBQ. The juices are captured by the drip tray and to clean it, the tray simply clips off and can be wiped with a damp cloth”
Space Grill has gone to another level of functionality with its new models, the customers have spoken and Ryan’s been listening “ I’m very hands on and really like the interaction, our customers love the design and its through their feedback we came up with the new models”
“Many customers I spoke to, wanted a more compact version so we created the little brother to the 3 burner, the Space Grill 2 burner model, which is 640 mm wide by 335 mm deep. It can easily cook for 6-8 people and folds down and tucks away when you are finished”
New design features have also emerged for both the 2 & 3 burner models and Ryan is wrapped about the latest chapter “It was essential to design an Integrated lid. We achieved a functioning lid and splash back that can open when the unit is mounted close to a wall but doesn’t take away from the aesthetics and lines when the Space Grill is folded away”
Further feedback has also made the new Space Grill more cost effective “Plenty of customers were calling to order an extra grill or hotplate but now with the new reversable design you can have three combinations, full hotplate, full grill, or half hotplate half grill, so we have come up with a solution for customers without the need for them to buy extra accessories”
Winning gongs such as the Vesta award for the best outdoor gas BBQ in the USA, Australia’s good design award, the Indy best buy in the UK and the IDA international design award, has placed Space Grill as the market leader in space saving BBQ’s.
But for Ryan it all comes back to customer satisfaction “I’m always learning and wanting to improve, my need to solve a problem of BBQ space and functionality started Space Grill, but it’s our customers that now drive the products evolution, I like the fact that by listening to the people who love our product I get to adapt and change to what the market wants”
Space for many Australians is becoming valuable in the way they cook and how many people they can entertain; Space Grill is committed to keep on solving problems and in doing so provide the highest BBQ quality and functionality.
“We will continue to listen and adapt, our aim is to keep on being the market leader in this BBQ space, I’m always thinking about ways to improve, innovation never stands still”