🔥 Special interest Groups🔥

The barbecue and grilling industry is full of different paths. Some members are building restaurants. Some are launching products. Some are planning events, growing their brand, teaching classes, competing, catering, or looking for the next opportunity.

That is why the National Barbecue & Grilling Association offers Special Interest Groups, also known as SIGs.

These member-focused groups give you a place to connect with others who understand your specific part of the BBQ world. Each SIG is built around focused education, peer connection, industry insight, and real conversations that help you grow.

Whether you are focused on business, food, events, marketing, or products — or you compete, or you simply love live fire — there is a place for you inside NBBQA.

Choose the SIGs that fit your path

MARKETING  |  BUSINESS  |  EVENTS  |  CULINARY  |  PRODUCTS  |  ENTHUSIAST  |  COMPETITION

📣 NBBQA MARKETING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) 📣

Grow your reach. Strengthen your brand. Tell your story better.

Marketing changes quickly, and BBQ businesses need more than a good logo and a few social media posts. This group helps members understand what is working now, how to reach the right audience, and how to create content that builds trust and visibility.

Whether you are promoting a food truck, launching a rub, selling sauce, growing a catering business, building a restaurant following, or trying to make your brand more recognizable, this SIG gives you practical tools and real-world ideas you can use.

Topics we cover:

• Social media strategy for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and more
• Branding and message development
• Content planning and storytelling
• Digital advertising and SEO basics
• Working with influencers and brand ambassadors
• AI tools for content creation and marketing support
• Email marketing and customer engagement
• Photography, video, and visual branding

This SIG is for anyone who wants to get noticed, stay relevant, and grow their BBQ brand with purpose.

EXCLUSIVE ENTHUSIASTS RESOURCES

💼 NBBQA BUSINESS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) 💼

Build a stronger, smarter BBQ business.

Running a successful barbecue business takes more than just great food—it takes sharp business skills, smart systems, and constant adaptability. This SIG is your hub for real-world advice, best practices, and peer support on the topics that keep your business running and growing.

We dive into the challenges today’s BBQ professionals face—from rising costs and labor shortages to using new tech tools, navigating legal requirements, and managing finances in a fast-paced world.

Topics we cover:

• Business planning and scalability

• Point-of-sale and restaurant technology

• Cost control and inventory systems

• Accounting and tax strategies

• Legal and licensing essentials

• Insurance, HR, and staffing

• Business funding and partnerships

• Exit strategies and succession planning

Whether you own a restaurant, food truck, competition team, or product brand—this group helps you protect what you've built and grow what’s next.

EXCLUSIVE ENTHUSIASTS RESOURCES

🎪 NBBQA EVENTS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) 🎪

Plan. Promote. Execute. Elevate your BBQ events.

Whether you're organizing a BBQ competition, hosting a live fire class, planning a pop-up dinner, or building a full-scale festival, this SIG is built for you. Today's event world is fast-paced, community-driven, and content-hungry—and this group helps you stay ahead of the curve.

Connect with event planners, promoters, caterers, competition reps, and venue partners who share your passion for bringing people together through barbecue. Learn what works, what to avoid, and how to make your event profitable, engaging, and memorable.

Topics we cover:

• Competition planning & sanctioning (SCA, KCBS, backyard, youth, etc.)

• Live fire demos & educational classes

• Public event logistics & permitting

• Budgeting, sponsorships, and vendor management

• Volunteer coordination & staffing

• Marketing, ticketing, and social media promotions

• Event-day operations & post-event evaluations

• Creating content and media opportunities at events

If you’re already running events—or ready to start—this SIG gives you the support and insight you need to make it a success.

EXCLUSIVE ENTHUSIASTS RESOURCES

🍽️ NBBQA CULINARY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) 🍽️

Where BBQ food professionals connect, create, and grow.

If you're in the food business, this SIG is designed to help you thrive—whether you own a catering company, run a food truck, manage a restaurant, or compete in cooking events. In today’s ever-evolving culinary world, staying sharp means staying connected.

This group brings together pitmasters, chefs, operators, and competitors to share resources, trends, and tips that improve both your craft and your kitchen operations. From menu innovation and flavor trends to equipment, staffing, and food safety—this SIG covers what you need to succeed behind the scenes and on the plate.

Topics we cover:

• Live fire and pitmaster techniques

• Menu planning & recipe development

• Catering systems & scaling for volume

• Food truck operations

• Commercial kitchen tools & technology

• Staffing, scheduling & kitchen leadership

• Cost control and food margins

• Culinary competition strategies

If you feed people for a living, this SIG is your pit crew.

EXCLUSIVE ENTHUSIASTS RESOURCES

📦 NBBQA PRODUCTS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) 📦

From concept to customer—grow your BBQ product brand.

If you’re involved in developing, distributing, or selling barbecue-related products—like rubs, sauces, gear, or supplies—this SIG is built for you. Whether you're launching a new item, managing a growing line, or scaling up production and distribution, this group connects you with others who understand the journey.

Tap into real-world insight on everything from product development and packaging to sales, logistics, e-commerce, and retail partnerships. Share ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and explore what’s working across the BBQ industry.

Topics we cover:

• Product development & co-packing

• Branding, labeling, and packaging design

• Wholesale, retail & direct-to-consumer sales

• Distribution and warehousing solutions

• Pricing strategies and profit margins

• Navigating food regulations & compliance

• Online sales, Amazon, and e-commerce platforms

• Trade shows, events & demo opportunities

If you’ve got a product in the BBQ world, this SIG helps you move it—from idea to shelf to sale.

EXCLUSIVE MEMBER RESOURCES

🍖 NBBQA ENTHUSIAST SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) 🍖

Cook better. Learn more. Find your people.

You do not have to barbecue for a living to belong here. This SIG is for the members who fire up the smoker on weekends, chase a better bark, argue about pellets, and want to get genuinely good at this craft. It is the friendliest room in the association and the best place to ask the question you think everyone else already knows the answer to.

You will sit alongside pitmasters, judges, chefs, and product people who are happy to share what they know — plus fellow enthusiasts who are one step ahead of you and remember exactly how they got there.

Topics we cover:

• Judging and identifying quality meat
• Live fire fundamentals and technique
• Smokers, grills, pellets, and fuel — choosing and using them
• Technology and equipment innovations
• Healthier grilling methods
• Rubs, sauces, and building flavor
• Trying your first competition or cook-off
• Connecting with pitmasters and industry pros

If barbecue is your passion rather than your paycheck, this SIG is your table.

EXCLUSIVE ENTHUSIASTS RESOURCES

🏆 NBBQA COMPETITION SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) 🏆

Cook cleaner. Score higher. Travel smarter.

Competition barbecue is its own discipline — different from catering, different from a restaurant line, and unforgiving of guesswork. This SIG brings together competitors from KCBS, SCA, backyard, and youth circuits to compare what actually scores, what wastes money, and what separates a good cook from a consistent one.

Whether you are building your first team or refining a program that already walks, you will find people here who have made the mistakes you are about to make and will happily talk you out of them.

Topics we cover:

• Contest strategy and turn-in presentation
• Judging criteria and how scoring really works
• Meat selection, trimming, and sourcing for competition
• Cook timelines and competition-day schedules
• Travel, rigs, and on-site logistics
• Team roles — and competing as a family
• Entry fees, budgets, and finding sponsorship
• Moving from backyard cooks to sanctioned events

Whether you are chasing your first walk or your next Grand Championship, this SIG is your crew.