By Claire Reilly

SYDNEY, NSW: Fisher & Paykel was in fine form at Sydney’s Good Food & Wine Show over the weekend, showing off a range of new products, a sleek and oh-so-minimalist black and white branding aesthetic, and a new range of barbecues for the serious grill guru.

Speaking exclusively to Current.com.au, Peter Russell, national marketing manager for Fisher & Paykel, was very excited about the new barbecue offering.

“We feel that the economy is picking up sufficiently, and consumers, particularly males, are quite receptive to premium-end barbecuing,” said Russell. “Most people have a fairly decent BBQ at home, but a premium really well-made barbecue? We sense there’s a very strong demand for that sort of thing now.”

Click here to sign up for our FREE daily newsletter

The range of barbecues, known as DCS by Fisher & Paykel (short for Dynamic Cooking Systems) has already found success in America, where barbecuing is virtually a national sport.

“It’s a very high-end brand over there and it’s very well established – the Americans take their grilling and their barbecuing deadly serious. They’re designed in Huntington Beach, California and they’re North-American made.

“This is an heirloom-quality barbecue, and that’s how it’s pitched over in the States. It’s the kind of thing that a dad hands down to a son because it’s so beautifully made.”

The range will consist of 4 models, a 36-inch built-in barbecue and 32-inch freestanding model (set on its own trolley), as well as built-in and freestanding 42-inch models.

The high-end barbecues are set to retail from around $5,500 for the smaller built-in, up to $10,000 for the larger stand-alone model.

But Russell insisted that the higher price-point doesn’t necessarily mean it will only be bought by wealthy consumers.

“It could just be for the average guy who says, ‘I’m willing to save up for this’. It’s a bit like an expensive LCD TV or home stereo system – most people are going to see the value in this. And I think Australians can get really sophisticated with what they do on the barbecue.”

Russell said F&P were still finalising distribution options, but he did have an important message to retailers.

“Some retailers put out the barbecues for summer, then take them all away and put them out the back, and then put something else in for winter. But Johnny Consumer needs to be exposed to this kind of product all year round, because he might be looking at one a year out and then purchasing it closer to the time.

“So some of those retailers that are getting into seasonal coverage, they’re doing themselves an injustice. If you want to take barbecue sales seriously, especially top-end barbecues, you’ve got to allocate store-space for it year round.”

The DCS by Fisher & Paykel range is set to be released in early 2012.

The new DCS by Fisher & Paykel 36-inch built-in barbecue, displayed at Sydney's Good Food & Wine Show.