Behind the Scenes: How We Create a Grill Masters Club Subscription Box

Author: Lead Pitmaster Rosalie Pareja (@castironskillz)

Here at GMC, we work hard to make sure our subscribers get the most out of our Grill Masters Club boxes! There’s a method to our madness. It’s so much more than just picking out high quality ingredients. There’s an entire process from sourcing products to crafting recipes, and from production to your doorstep. We put a lot of thought, time, preparation and value into our boxes, and we're proud of the process from start to finish.

How a Grill Masters Club Box is Created

Step 1: Exploring the Concept of the Box

We create each box experience to coincide with the grilling season, so that the products and recipes in each box are incredibly useful to our subscribers. I have so much fun brainstorming our themes!

When creating the theme for the box, I first think about what holidays or special times of year are approaching like Thanksgiving, Superbowl, 4th of July, and so on. Then, I brainstorm what type of recipes we would want in the box. Once I have that locked in, I move to the products!

Step 2: Sourcing the Products for the Box

Once we figure out the theme of the box, we source our products! So at this point, we know we already have an awesome contact list of small businesses with high quality, small batch products.

We are also always talking to new small batch brands or brands “new” to use from all over the United States! So, we reach out to our brands and see if they’ve got a product that fits our theme and we go from there!

For example, for Thanksgiving we want at least one solid turkey rub, a seasoning that can be versatile with sides, a sauce that can be a marinade, binder or addition to a side, and maybe something sweet.

For 4th of July, we go full BBQ with a savory rub, sweet rub, mustard based barbecue sauce, and a tomato or vinegar based barbecue sauce. Once these products are locked in, I write and shoot the recipes!

Step 3: Writing and Shooting the Recipes for the Box

This is my FAVORITE part! I love taking the four sauces and rubs and brainstorming the perfect combination of recipes. I aim to have at least one recipe in the booklet that features all four sauces and rubs, then I usually do two recipes with the products paired up, then maybe one recipe featuring one product or three.

I love having the perfect balance of a variety of recipes, and also having a minimal supply list so that you can create all six recipes without breaking the bank. From there, I will create the recipes, tweak where I need to, and shoot the photography for the box. In the midst of that, I’ll get some content too!

Step 4: Putting Together the Recipe Book for the Box

After creating and shooting the recipes, I’ll head over to the computer to type up the recipes and build the book! I start with formatting and setting up the structure that we follow, then type away!

Once I finish the recipes, I’ll begin working on my grilling tips. The grilling tips consist of hosting guides, extra recipes, articles, recaps and more! Once all of the recipe book is typed up, it goes to Gary (our Member Services Director), who gets it ready for the designer. The designer gives us a draft, we tweak if needed then approve for the printer!

Step 5: Production of the Box and Delivery Straight to Your Door

The products are all sent from the small businesses across the US to our fulfillment warehouse that builds the boxes in Texas (ironically in the heart of BBQ!). The products are all added to the box, along with the recipe book, then shipped to your door! From there, it’s yours to enjoy.

Step 6: Getting the most out of Your Grill Masters Club Box

To get the most out of your grill masters club box, I highly suggest the first thing you do is take some time to read the recipe booklet. The booklet will have a full breakdown of each product and how they work together.

Then, read through the recipes and see what catches your eye. From there you can check out the grilling tips then execute your game plan! Create a grocery list from the recipes you like, go shopping then get grilling! We always offer some recipes for weeknight meals, weekend grilling, holiday gatherings, football sundays and more. We’ll make sure the box is crafted for that season of your life, you just have to follow along!

One of my favorite things is creating recipes that can serve for both weeknight grilling and weekend grilling. You can plan out a whole week's worth of meals when following our box!

So as you can see, my team and I put so much time, effort, and pride into these boxes. I hope you enjoy your box and if you want to shop for extra products, boxes and grilling tools, head over to our Pitmaster Shop or Build Your Own Bundle today!