The George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine, commonly
known as the George Foreman Grill, is an indoor, electrically-heated grill
manufactured by Spectrum Brands. It is promoted by former boxing champion
George Foreman. Since its introduction in 1994, over 100 million George Foreman
grills have been sold worldwide. History
The concept for the grill was created by Michael Boehm of Batavia, Illinois. The
original intention was to create an indoor grill that would provide a unique
benefit of cooking on both sides at once A second key benefit was to reduce the
fat content of hamburgers and other meats by draining away the fat into a
separate reservoir. Michael Boehm designed the product with a floating
hinge and slanted grilling surface to accommodate foods of different
thicknesses and drain fat away from the food. Engineering work was done by Bob
Johnson. The grill had been promoted at industry trade shows in the early 1990s,
but received little interest. The slanted Grill concept was pitched by
Tsann Kuen to Salton Inc. Salton sent samples of the grill to George Foreman's
colleagues who then sent the grill to George to test out. Michael had nothing
to do with teaming up the grill and George.
The Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine, as it became known, was
introduced in 1994 and promoted with distinctive infomercials which featured
Foreman. A combination of his affable personality and the unique features of
the product made it a huge success. The product gained a certain success that it
had previously not been able to attain prior to Foreman's endorsement. Such was
the popularity of these infomercials that Foreman's famous tagline, "It's so
good I put my name on it!", is now part of popular culture. In Asia, the grill
is endorsed and promoted by both George Foreman and Jackie Chan.
The success of the George Foreman Grill can be attributed to the combination of
an innovative product design, Salton's commitment to the manufacturing and
distribution of the grill and Foreman's enthusiasm, charisma and passion for the
product. Design
The product has a clamshell design which simultaneously heats the top and bottom
surfaces of the food, eliminating the need to flip it. Each heating surface is
grooved to reduce contact area, and covered in a non-stick coating. The
lower heating surface is angled to allow melted fat and other fluids to drain
through the grooves into a removable drip tray, which clearly shows the
amount removed from the food. This arrangement has been marketed as a way
to "knock out the fat", suggesting a more healthy way to cook.
The grill is offered in various sizes for cooking individual or multiple
servings. In 2006, the George Foreman "Next Grilleration" Health Grill was
launched, which features detachable grilling plates for easier cleaning. It
has gone through several other versions, differing in their control interfaces
and design. Reception
The worldwide popularity of the George Foreman grill has resulted in sales of
over 100 million units since it was first launched, a feat that was achieved
in a little over 15 years. Although Foreman has never confirmed exactly how
much he has earned from the endorsement, Salton Inc paid him $137 million in 1999
in order to buy out the right to use his name. Previous to that he was being paid
about 40% of the profits on each grill sold, so it is estimated he has made a
total of over $200 million from the endorsement, a sum that is substantially
more than he earned as a boxer. Competition
The success of the George Foreman Grill spawned a variety of similar
celebrity-endorsed products such as the "Evander Holyfield Real Deal Grill" and
the "Carl Lewis Health Grill". In the VH1 show Hogan Knows Best, Hulk Hogan
claimed that he was offered the contract for the grill first, but missed his
agent's phone call because he was "picking up the kids", and thus missed
out on the endorsement. Instead, he endorsed a Hulk Hogan blender, and later
the "Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill". See also
Sandwich toaster Panini press
Waffle iron References
External links Official US site
Official UK site