At the time Dan and Carrie were pursuing their new business concept, Weber® Australia/New Zealand released a range of in-built barbeques. Dan personally loved the Weber barbeques and pivoted to design his SustainaPod around the line. ‘We consulted a business mentor who said, “If you build it for Weber, go to Weber”. So we called them and set up a meet,’ Carrie says.
Dan loaded a prototype into a van and drove to Adelaide to meet the managing directors of Weber Australia/New Zealand, who immediately loved the idea. Before long they launched in 10 Weber specialist dealer stores in Victoria and are now manufacturing two SustainaPod series – LITE and All-Weather – in their fully equipped workshop, exclusively for the Weber range of sit-on and built-in barbeques.
By 2017, SustainaPod had expanded throughout Australia. ‘The Weber Stores were getting built nationwide, and I met with the Weber Store development manager who was fitting them out,’ Dan explains. ‘He liked what we were doing and wanted to put us in all of their Weber Stores. We were a great solution for what they needed.’
Sleek cabinetry and beautiful natural granite benchtops define the SustainaPod outdoor kitchen range – a contrast to the sterile-looking and clunky stainless steel variations that were already on the market. Configured in a way that’s simple to assemble, homeowners can choose pods which can add on features such as sinks and in-built bar fridges.
‘We’ve produced a fully exposed alfresco solution that’s 100 per cent weatherproof,’ Dan explains. ‘It doesn’t matter how much rain or sunshine it gets or how close to the ocean it is, we’ve built it to withstand the Australian elements.’