Kingsford

What Kingsford does

Kingsford Products Company manufactures and markets charcoal briquets, hardwood pellets, and adjacent grilling products under wholly-owned subsidiary ownership of The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX), which acquired the brand in 1973. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Oakland, California, Kingsford operates four US manufacturing facilities in Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon, and West Virginia, collectively processing approximately one million tons of waste wood annually into charcoal briquets and related fuel products. The company's core product lines span Original, Match Light, Easy Light Bag, Professional, Mesquite, and Beercoal charcoal briquets, the Craftsmoke hardwood pellet range (Hickory, Cherry, Oak, Applewood, Mesquite, and blends), prepared foods (BBQ ribs and entrées), spices/seasonings, grilling accessories (storage, lighters, cast iron, tools), and branded apparel.

The underlying product technology is centered on converting carbonized wood with natural binders into pressed briquets featuring a proprietary groove architecture branded "Sure Fire Grooves" designed to improve airflow and lighting performance, alongside differentiated formulations such as 100% Mesquite hardwood and Beercoal. Revenue is generated through hardware sales of these physical SKUs across brick-and-mortar retail and the Kingsford e-commerce store; pricing varies by format and is broadly undisclosed beyond limited-edition online exclusives such as the Slow Burn fragrance ($30.62). The customer base is mass-market US consumers (home grillers, tailgaters, and serious BBQ pitmasters) with additional reach into Australia and New Zealand. Go-to-market leverages content marketing (recipe database, technique guides), social media across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest, an email/membership program, and celebrity partnerships (notably former NFL player Jason Kelce) used to launch novelty and seasonal SKUs. Kingsford competes in the US BBQ charcoal market (approximately $1.2B in 2025, projected to reach $1.9B by 2035 at 4.6% CAGR) and the broader global barbecue accessories market.

Name

Kingsford

Legal name

Kingsford Products Company

Website

https://kingsford.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kingsford Products Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Clorox Company, manufactures and markets America's #1 charcoal briquets, hardwood pellets, complementary grilling accessories, and prepared BBQ foods, serving mass-market US home grilling consumers via retail and direct-to-consumer channels from four US manufacturing facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charcoal & Grilling Products

NAICS

Meat Retailers (44524), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013)

akta.pro primary industry

Grills, Smokers & Outdoor Cooking Retail (Fuel, Accessories) (CRAIAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biomass Pellets, Briquettes & Solid Bioenergy Products (industrial/residential) (IMAMALAJ), Charcuterie & Cured Meats Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAE)

Keywords

• Charcoal briquets
• Hardwood pellets
• BBQ seasonings
• Grilling accessories
• Charcoal manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Charcoal Products: Sale of charcoal briquets including Original, Professional, Mesquite, Match Light, and Easy Light varieties in various bag sizes ranging from 4 lb to 20 lb packages.
2. Hardwood Pellets: Sale of premium hardwood pellets for pellet grills including Hickory, Cherry, Oak, Applewood, and Mesquite flavors in 20-30 lb bags.
3. Food Products: Sale of prepared foods including BBQ ribs, entrees, and spices/seasonings.
4. Grill Accessories: Sale of charcoal and wood pellet storage solutions, BBQ lighters, cast iron cookware, grilling tools, and apparel merchandise.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kingsford manufactures and sells charcoal briquets, hardwood smoking pellets, BBQ rubs and seasonings, prepared BBQ foods (e.g., ribs), grilling accessories, and branded apparel primarily for at-home and competitive grilling consumers in the United States, with selected international presence in Australia and New Zealand. The portfolio spans original, match-light, easy-light, professional, mesquite, and beer-infused charcoal variants plus flavored hardwood pellets, sold through grocery and mass-retail channels and the brand's own e-commerce store.

Product overview

Kingsford is a consumer charcoal and grilling products company offering a comprehensive portfolio centered around their core charcoal and pellet grilling products. The main product lines include charcoal briquets (Original, Match Light, Easy Light, Professional, Mesquite, Beercoal flavors), hardwood pellets (Hickory, Applewood, Chef's Blend, Grillmaster's Choice), and complementary products including spices/seasonings, BBQ ribs and entrées. Additionally, the company offers grilling accessories (storage solutions, lighters, cast iron, grilling tools) and branded apparel/accessories (aprons, YETI collaboration products, hats, hoodies, t-shirts). The products are sold primarily in the United States with distribution through retail partners and the company's online shop. Kingsford has been manufacturing charcoal since 1920 and operates as part of The Clorox Company family of brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kingsford™ Original Charcoal Briquets: The flagship charcoal product, America's #1 charcoal since 1920. Made with locally sourced wood and natural ingredients, lights fast, burns long with consistent heat.
• Kingsford™ Match Light™ Charcoal Briquets
• Kingsford™ Professional Charcoal Briquets
• Kingsford™ Easy Light Bag
• Kingsford™ Mesquite Charcoal Briquets
• Kingsford™ Craftsmoke Premium Pellets
• Kingsford™ Beercoal Charcoal Briquets
• Kingsford™ Spices and Seasonings
• Kingsford™ BBQ Ribs & Entrées
• Kingsford™ Charcoal and Wood Pellet Storage
• Kingsford™ BBQ Lighters
• Kingsford™ Cast Iron
• Kingsford™ Grilling Tools
• Savor It

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ years of grilling expertise and American manufacturing heritage
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Jason KelcecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 11 December 2025Jason Kelce partnership expanded with Christmas Coal limited-edition product launch, featuring holiday-themed packaging and promotional giveaway at select retailers.
• Northann CorpminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2025Northann Corp entered into an asset purchase agreement with Kingsford. Details of the transaction are not specified in available sources.
• Jason KelcecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 October 2025Kingsford partnered with former NFL player Jason Kelce to launch the Slow Burn charcoal-scented fragrance ($30.62) in November 2025, and previously collaborated on Christmas Coal holiday promotion and a promotional giveaway. The partnership leverages Kelce's sports celebrity status to reach grilling and sports enthusiasts.
• Hidden Valley RanchminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCross-promotional partnership within The Clorox Company family where Kingsford recipes feature Hidden Valley Ranch products (e.g., Original Ranch Dips Mix used in Smoked Beef Queso Dip recipe).
• YETIminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYETI products including Rambler 10 oz Lowball and Hopper Flip 18 Soft Cooler are sold through Kingsford's e-commerce shop, creating a complementary grilling accessories partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Big Green Egg: Big Green Egg is the leading premium kamado-style charcoal grill brand, dominating the high-end charcoal-cooking niche. It competes with Kingsford for serious grilling enthusiasts and pitmasters, an overlapping customer segment that uses both premium charcoal grills and Kingsford fuels.
• Camp Chef: Camp Chef makes pellet grills, outdoor cooking systems, and related accessories, frequently selling wood pellets and griddle accessories. It is a comparable outdoor-cooking brand competing in the same tailgating, camping, and backyard segments that Kingsford targets.
• Weber: Weber is one of the world's largest grilling brands, selling charcoal grills, gas grills, and related fuels and accessories. It competes with Kingsford both as a grill manufacturer (Kingsford being a fuel brand) and at the overall grilling occasion, making it the closest analog to Kingsford's category dominance model.
• Royal Oak Charcoal: Royal Oak is a long-established U.S. charcoal briquet brand sold primarily at club and mass retail. It competes directly with Kingsford's Original line for value-conscious charcoal buyers and is one of the most visible price-based competitors at retail.
• Cowboy Charcoal: Cowboy Charcoal is a direct competitor in the U.S. lump charcoal and briquet category, marketing all-natural hardwood charcoal. It competes for the same grilling enthusiast consumers seeking premium flavor and clean-burn attributes adjacent to Kingsford's Mesquite and Professional lines.

Emerging players

• Traeger Grills: Traeger popularized the pellet grill category and sells both grills and its branded wood pellets. It is an emerging direct competitor in outdoor cooking fuels where Kingsford has now entered with Craftsmoke pellets, going head-to-head for pellet-fuel market share.
• Pit Boss Grills: Pit Boss is a fast-growing pellet grill and smoker manufacturer owned by Dansons. It competes with Kingsford in both grill hardware and pellet fuel, providing a low-cost, rapidly-scaling alternative to Traeger and a parallel pellet-fuel opportunity.
• Rec Tec (Recteq): Recteq is a direct-to-consumer pellet grill and smoker brand competing with Traeger and Pit Boss. It overlaps with Kingsford's Craftsmoke pellet target customer and represents another emerging pellet-fuel demand pool Kingsford can address through its pellets line.
• Duraflame: Duraflame dominates the firelog and firestarter category and is an adjacent outdoor fire / cooking-fuel brand. It overlaps with Kingsford in fire-starting products and overall outdoor fire occasions though it does not directly compete in grilling fuel.

Broad incumbents

• The Clorox Company: The Clorox Company is Kingsford's publicly-traded parent and operates other household brands like Hidden Valley, Glad, and KC Masterpiece. It is the corporate parent allocating capital to Kingsford and governs the brand's strategic direction and resource access.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Kingsford
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CharcoalGrilling
• Facebookfacebook.com/kingsford
• Instagraminstagram.com/kingsford
• Pinterestpinterest.com/coalgrilling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kingsford