The barbecue season can never start early enough. Moreover, since the temperatures this November are more like spring fever than a shivering winter mood, there might still be one or two barbecue evenings left. If you prefer to go out into the countryside, you don’t need to be on your way to the next barbecue site with lots of equipment. Rather, the complete grill equipment – from the charcoal grill up to the ingredients – everything fits into the grill-to-go of the resident of Munich Start-up Knistergrill. Extra convenient: it is perfectly optimised for cycling – with a specially developed transport device. Easy to mount on almost any conventional cycling handlebar.
Since her childhood, founder Carolin Kunert has wanted a barbecue to be used in the forest. But she soon found out there was nothing suitable to solve the transport problem of a barbecue in the city. In 2015, she took up the idea while studying industrial design in Munich. She built the first prototype. However, the barbecue she built was much too heavy and was mounted on the luggage rack.
During a semester abroad in Denmark, a new team came up with the brilliant idea to move it from back to front. The grill now found its place on the bicycle handlebar. This system was so popular with the jury of the Startup Weekend competition that Kunert and her team won first prize. Back in Germany, however, the international team lost cohesion. “It’s hard to start a company if the co-founders don’t all live in the same place,” explains founder Carolin Kunert. But with the help of friends and relatives, she took the plunge into self-employment in 2017 – at the age of 22.
The idea of Knistergrill – crackling grills – is as simple as it is good. The clue about the idea is that the portable grill can be attached to the handlebars without screws. And if the size of the grill is not enough for you, you can simply double the size. According to Knistergrill, up to nine outdoor eaters can then be satisfied.
In order to bring the idea to production maturity, Kunert launched a Kickstarter campaign in May 2018. A proud 17,167 euros from 155 supporters came together. Production started in June 2018 in Germany and Poland. The founder attaches particular importance to the high quality of her product and short transport distances. The Knistergrill is available in three versions – Knister Original, – Small and – Premium for €90,00. The crackling charcoal can be ordered at the same time.
Photos: Knistergrill
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