Yum! Steaks or Burgers? Many Americans Fire up the Grill All Year Round

Business Wire, July 1, 2008

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- July is National Grilling Month and as a new Harris Poll of 2,454 U.S. adults surveyed online between June 9 and 16, 2008 by Harris Interactive([R])shows, Americans like to grill and they do it all year round. Specifically:

* Half of Americans (50%) say they grill at least a few times a month with one-quarter (23%) barbequing at least once a week. Just one in six (14%) say they never grill or barbeque outdoors;

* Over half (57%) of grillers do so in the summer, two in five (40%) grill in the Spring and one-third (33%) grill in the Fall.

* Two in five (39%) grillers say season doesn't matter and they grill all year long;

Looking at it by age and region:

* Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62) and Gen Xers (those aged 32-43) are grillers. Three in five Boomers (60%) and Gen Xers (59%) grill at least a few times a month compared to just one-third (35%) of Matures (those 63 and older) and two in five (41%) Echo Boomers (those aged 18-31);

* Half of Baby Boomers who grill (49%) say they do so all year long;

* Three-quarters (74%) of this Echo Boomers who grill at least a few times a year do so in the summer;

* Regionally, Easterners (53%) and Midwesterners (52%) are more likely to grill at least a few times a month, especially compared to Westerners (47%).

Certain foods just taste better on the grill and people have their favorite barbeque:

* Beef comes out on top - over half (56%) say steak is one of their two favorite foods prepared on a BBQ, followed by just under half (47%) saying hamburgers. Two in five (38%) say chicken, followed by hot dogs (16%), sausage (12%), vegetables (10%) and fish (6%) with 7 percent saying other;

* Men and women, not surprisingly, have some differences. Men are more likely to like sausage (15% versus 8%) and steaks (59% versus 54%) while women are more partial to chicken (42% versus 34%) and vegetables (14% versus 6%);

* There are also partisan differences. Almost two-thirds (63%) of Republicans say steak is one of their favorites compared to half (53%) of Democrats, while Republicans are also more likely to choose hamburgers (54% versus 46%). Democrats are more likely to choose chicken (40% versus 34%) and vegetables (11% versus 5%).

Methodology

This Harris Poll([R]) was conducted online within the United States between June 9 and 16, 2008, among 2,454 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Full data tables and methodology for this study can be found at www.harrisinteractive.com.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

Harris Interactive Inc. 7/08