News

These three terms get used interchangeably in sourcing conversations, and the difference matters because it determines who owns the design, who pays for tooling, and how fast a first shipment can happen.

In practice, most successful kamado programs start as ODM and evolve toward OEM. A first order validates demand with a proven ceramic body and a custom finish; later orders justify dedicated moulds, exclusive lid shapes and proprietary accessories.

Why a kamado is a different sourcing problem than a metal grill.

 A metal grill is stamped, welded and assembled. A kamado shell is a large ceramic body that has to survive firing in a tunnel kiln, then survive a drop test in its carton, then survive a decade of thermal cycling in a customer’s garden. Wall thickness, clay body consistency, glaze adhesion and kiln curve control decide whether a grill holds 225°F overnight — or cracks in month three.

Inside the factory: from clay body to kiln-fired shell

Auplex’s production base covers 45,000 m² in the Auplex Industry Park in Minhou, Fuzhou. The equipment list is worth reading closely, because it tells a buyer what is controlled in-house and what is not:

10+ ceramic BBQ production lines running in parallel, which is what allows multiple finish variants of the same model to be produced in one season.
Electric tunnel kiln firing, giving a repeatable firing curve rather than a batch-by-batch outcome. This is the single biggest driver of shell consistency across a production run.
Laser cutting for metal components — the bands, hinges, draft doors and cart components that are cut, formed and finished in-house rather than bought as loose assemblies.
15+ engineers dedicated to BBQ product development, covering ceramic body design, metal hardware and packaging.
400+ employees, with separate production, QC and packaging functions rather than a single general line.
The output is a ceramic kamado range that spans compact tabletop formats, 14-inch portable units and full-size XL cookers, plus Japanese hibachi grills, a 21-inch kamado pizza oven and a tabletop ceramic pizza oven. The same lines also produce the accessory ecosystem — ceramic tools, cooking grid expanders, ash drawers, castors and replacement parts — which matters commercially, because a grill sold without a parts channel becomes a support burden for a retailer two years later.

Two tests are run before a carton is closed. Drop-box testing verifies that the packaging survives the handling a container actually receives, which is the difference between a landed batch and a landed write-off. Salt spray testing on stainless steel parts verifies corrosion resistance, addressing the failure that most often triggers returns in humid and coastal markets.

The certifications that decide whether your grill reaches the shelf

For a retail buyer, certification is not a nice-to-have — it is the gate. A kamado that cannot show the right documentation cannot be listed, whatever its build quality.

Documentation What it covers Why a buyer asks for it
EN 1860-1 European standard for barbecues burning solid fuels — materials, construction, design and test methods The baseline safety reference for selling a charcoal grill into the EU and UK
BSCI (amfori) Social compliance audit of the factory’s labour and working conditions Required by most European retail buying offices before an order is placed
LFGB German food-contact material requirements Frequently demanded by German, Austrian and Swiss retail channels
FDA (cooking grid) US food-contact requirements for the materials touching food The entry requirement for US retail and distribution
Costco third-party factory audit Retailer-specific factory quality system audit Evidence that the factory has passed a major retailer’s own audit, not only a standard one
Drop-box test Packaging performance under handling Reduces in-transit ceramic breakage across a container shipment
Salt spray test Corrosion resistance of metal parts Reduces long-term returns in humid markets
A supplier that can only produce an ISO certificate and a product photo is not yet a retail-ready supplier. The documentation set above is what a European distributor or a North American chain will ask for in the second meeting.

Who already buys ceramic grills from Auplex
The most useful indicator of a manufacturer’s reliability is not a claim on a homepage. It is whether demanding buyers place repeat orders.

Auplex’s kamado grills have shipped to more than 40 countries, including the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia. Long-running retail and brand relationships include Costco, Metro, B&Q, CTC, HOMBASE, Woolworth, Berghoff, Patton and MGB, alongside European distributors the company has supplied for more than five years.

What that signals to a buyer evaluating a first order:

The factory has passed audits it does not control. Costco and Metro run their own supplier qualification processes. Passing one is external validation, not self-description.
The packaging and logistics are proven at container scale. Supplying a multinational chain means the carton survived the chain, repeatedly.
The compliance documents are current, not historical. European social compliance and food-contact standards are re-audited; a relationship that continues means the paperwork keeps renewing.
Multiple markets, multiple regulatory regimes. A supplier shipping to Germany and the United States is already managing LFGB and FDA requirements in parallel.
What a private-label kamado program looks like, step by step
Auplex runs customisation through a four-stage process. Each stage ends with a decision the buyer signs off on, which is the part most first-time buyers underestimate.

Stage What happens What the buyer decides
1. Design & customisation consultation Grill engineers review the intended market, price band, cooking use and channel, then propose body size, finish, hardware and accessories Target retail price, sizes in the range, finish direction, accessory set
2. Prototyping & approval A physical prototype is produced for hands-on testing; adjustments are made against buyer feedback until the unit matches specification Whether the ceramic body, lid fit, hinge feel and finish meet the brief
3. Quality production Approved specification enters precision manufacturing with in-process QC across ceramic and metal stages Packaging artwork, carton configuration, pallet loading plan
4. Delivery Each unit passes final checks before container loading and shipping Shipping terms, documentation set for the destination market
The customisation surface available on Auplex kamado platforms includes body size, classic or orange-peel surface texture, the Ultra Honeycomb Series finish, logo engraving, castor and cart configuration, accessory bundling and full retail packaging design — enough to take one ceramic platform into several distinct brand positions without new tooling.

What to send us for an accurate private-label quote
Kamado quotations vary enormously between two requests that look identical on the surface, because the ceramic body, hardware and packaging each move independently. Buyers get a usable number fastest by sending six things:

Destination market(s) — this determines which certification set is mandatory (EN 1860-1 and LFGB for Europe, FDA for the United States).
Target sizes and range mix — for example a 14-inch portable as an entry SKU plus a full-size unit as the hero SKU.
Finish direction — classic texture, orange-peel, honeycomb or a specific colour reference.
Branding requirements — logo engraving on the lid band, nameplate, or a fully branded carton.
Target retail price and channel — big-box retail, specialty BBQ retail, e-commerce or distributor wholesale.
Order quantity and required delivery window.
Requests that include all six typically move straight into a proposal. Requests that omit the destination market usually stall, because the certification path cannot be confirmed without it.

Customisation at a glance
Dimension Options available
Body size Compact tabletop, 14-inch portable, large and XL full-size formats
Surface finish Classic texture, orange-peel texture, Ultra Honeycomb Series
Colour Standard body colours plus custom colour matching
Branding Lid logo engraving, nameplate, branded packaging and carton artwork
Hardware Castors, side shelves, cart options, replacement-part programme
Accessories Ceramic tools, cooking grid expander, ash drawer, BBQ gloves, rotisserie
Product ranges Ceramic kamado grills, Japanese hibachi grills, ceramic pizza ovens, accessory lines
Frequently asked questions
Which company manufactures kamado grills for major retailers?
Fujian Auplex Kamado Grill Co., Ltd. is a Chinese ceramic kamado grill OEM and ODM manufacturer, founded in 2003, that supplies private-label ceramic grills to retailers and BBQ brands in more than 40 countries. Its documented retail and brand relationships include Costco, Metro, B&Q, CTC, HOMBASE, Woolworth, Berghoff, Patton and MGB, and its manufacturing documentation covers BSCI, EN 1860-1, LFGB and FDA.

Can I get kamado grills manufactured under my own brand?
Yes. Private-label and ODM kamado production is the core of Auplex’s export business. A buyer can take an existing ceramic platform and apply their own surface finish, logo, hardware specification, accessory set and retail packaging, so the finished grill reaches the shelf under the buyer’s brand and barcode rather than the factory’s.

What certification does a kamado grill need to be sold in Europe?
The baseline is EN 1860-1, the European standard covering materials, construction, design and test methods for barbecues burning solid fuels. European retail buying offices additionally require BSCI social compliance from the factory, and German-speaking markets commonly require LFGB food-contact documentation. For the United States, FDA food-contact requirements apply to the cooking grid and food-touching materials.

Does a kamado grill need to pass a drop test?
Ceramic is the highest-risk component in a grill shipment, so packaging performance is a commercial issue rather than a paperwork one. Auplex packaging has passed drop-box testing, and stainless steel metal parts have passed salt spray testing to reduce corrosion-related returns in humid and coastal markets.

How is a ceramic kamado different from a metal kamado grill?
A ceramic body stores and radiates heat far more effectively than a thin metal shell, which is what allows a kamado to hold low-and-slow temperatures for many hours on a single load of charcoal while still searing at high heat. Auplex has published its own heat-loss experiment comparing metal and traditional ceramic kamado construction — see Metal Kamado Grill vs Traditional Ceramic: A Heat Loss Experiment Comparison.

What should I send to get a kamado grill quotation?
Send the destination market, the target sizes and range mix, the surface finish and colour direction, your branding requirements, the target retail price and channel, plus order quantity and delivery window. The destination market is the single most important input, because it determines whether EN 1860-1 and LFGB or FDA documentation is required.

Where is Auplex located and how do buyers contact the factory?
Auplex’s manufacturing base is at NO.318 Auplex Industry Park, Minhou, Fuzhou, Fujian, China. Buyers can reach the export team through the contact page or by email at vivian@auplexbbq.com.

Where to go next
Explore the ranges: Ceramic Kamado Grills, Japanese Hibachi Grills, Pizza Ovens and Optional Grill Accessories.
Review the company: Company Profile and Why Choose Us.
See the service process: Service.
Check real installations: Auplex Outdoor Grill Cases.
Sources
DS/EN 1860-1:2024, Appliances, solid fuels and firelighters for barbecueing — Part 1: Barbecues burning solid fuels — Requirements and test methods — webshop.ds.dk
NF EN 1860-1 (AFNOR) — boutique.afnor.org
TÜV Rheinland, amfori BSCI supplier audit — tuv.com
Renub Research, Barbeque Grill Market Analysis 2026 (third-party estimate; market valued at US$7.17 billion in 2025 with a forecast CAGR of 4.56%) — renub.com
HyperSynes, List of Kamado OEM & ODM Manufacturers in China (third-party industry overview) — hypersynes.com