About Us
A BIT ABOUT US
The Ozpig story started with Allan and Assunta Shepherd, who had recently retired with their plan of life on the road. They finally hit the mighty Murray River and spent six months traversing its banks. the Shepherd’s soon learnt that having an open fire for warmth and cooking was not to be as easy as first thought. Simply put, there were too many places along the Murray River that didn’t permit open fires.
With Allan’s creativity and Assunta’s love for food, the idea of the Ozpig was born as the Shepherd’s went about creating a solution for their love of fire and cooking. Born was a unique design that could pack down into itself, preserving critical space in the back of the caravan. When the unit was set up, it was high of the ground with a spark arrestor that slid over the top of the chimney to arrest hot embers and ash from flying out.
With its unique chimney design, the unit was also very efficient, so what you would burn in an open fire in an hour could last all night in the Ozpig. With Assunta’s love of cooking came the open top design. Featuring a circular barbecue plate that could slide over the fire, this created a large flat cooking surface while also having the functionality to be removed to fit a frying pan, wok or camp oven, so Assunta had all cooking options available.
Allan and Assunta quickly realised they were not alone in facing the challenge of not being able to enjoy all a fire has to offer while out on adventure and as such, bought the Ozpig to their first show at the Gympie Muster in 2006. Demand exploded with Allan’s larger than life personality out front, gathering the masses from far and wide to listen intently about this ingenious new unit to hit the market. With Assunta whipping up incredible dishes on the Ozpig, flavour born from fire had arrived and people started to fall in love.
To meet demand, Ozpig Australia Pty Ltd was set up and the guys hit the road attending caravan and camping shows across the country. Not long after this, Allan and Assunta’s youngest son Anthony joined the family business. Bringing a background in boiler making, he immediately got to work on product development and improving production. With a focused eye on detail and a passion for delivering quality products built to last, Ozpig started to expand.
As demand continued to increase, Ozpig overhauled their branding and introduced a fresh new logo and website. At this time, Ozpig’s dealer network grew to over 100 stores across Australia and expanded operations into New Zealand, Japan, the United Kingdom and Europe. It was time for this little piggy to fly!
It was at this point that the journey took a sad turn with the sudden loss of Assunta at the end of 2014 and Allan in mid 2015. With Anthony at the helm, the next 12 months understandably were quiet as the focus turned to family after such a devastating loss. With Allan and Assunta’s legacy now in place, Anthony set about expanding the range thanks to the invaluable feedback from the people who drive us to continually improve. You.
After 13 years of feedback and watching the market progress through the growth of adventure and camping, more and more of Ozpig’s loyal customers kept coming back with the same statement. We want a smaller pig for the campervan and we want a bigger pig for the back deck!
This set about the development of the Ozpig Traveller and the Big Pig and both products were launched in 2019. The Traveller is our paired back and dedicated adventure ready model with the Big Pig dedicated to home use and achieving maximum flavour and heat from cooking over wood. With the inclusion of the Oven Smoker, the Ozpig range now sits just as comfortable at home as it always has out in the bush.
In 2021 we will be back at the Gympie Muster celebrating our 15 year anniversary. Many things have changed over the years but our passion for our product and giving people the best unit on the market continues and we thank you for your loyalty to Ozpig and for believing in flavour born from fire as much as we do.
- The Shepherd Family
5 KEY PRINCIPLES
There are five key principles that shape Ozpig's DNA and everything we do. Every key principle is factored into every product we develop and produce and if all five key principles aren't met, the product ceases to exist. At Ozpig, our DNA consists of five key principles in three categories. Cooking and Heating encompasses everything we stand for and without these, Ozpig doesn't exist. Our key markets are Adventure and Home with products sitting exclusively in each market, as well as a product range that boldly crosses the two markets. Captivating ties Cooking and Heating to Adventure and Home as we want you to feel passionately about your Ozpig and the quality products we produce. We constantly endeavor to add value to, and help create lasting memories and new lifestyle experiences for you with your friends and family.
Cooking
The Ozpig woodfired stoves are built for cooking. One of our key design philosophies is to embrace versatility in cooking and ignite the passion in people to explore the vast and wonderful world of woodfired culinary experiences. What this means for our customers, is that when you purchase an Ozpig woodfired stove, you know that you are getting a product that allows you to do more than just barbecue. With the open top woodfired design of the Ozpig, you have the flexibility to interchange your cooking surface, and by doing so, you will be exploring the endless the possibilities the Ozpig range has to offer.
Heating
With real fire at the core of the Ozpig, outdoor heating comes second nature to us. With the unique open door design of the Ozpig, you can ensure that the maximum amount of heat is directed out towards you, as opposed to being directed upward and out into the atmosphere. Unlike conventional indoor stoves that use radiant heat to heat up an internal space, the same method would not work so we had to think outside the box. As the Ozpig unit heats up, this gently radiates the heat 360 degrees, as well as pushing the warm air out it’s front door, keeping you nice and toasty.
Captivating
Another key design feature was to create a product that would truly captivate the imagination and soothe the soul of those sitting around the fire. We are big believers in the philosophy that disconnecting from the world and reconnecting with family and friends around the fire is so important in the busy lives we lead. Whether it’s entertaining friends and family at home, or out adventuring away from civilization with mates, great times are always had around an Ozpig fire.
Adventure
The Ozpig is born from adventure, with the original Ozpig designed to travel around our rugged and vast country of Australia. As you know we have some massive extremes down under from fire to flood and everything in between. This led us to designing the Ozpig as a safe and portable way to enjoy cooking, heating and the ambience of the fire when you’re out exploring on your next adventure.
Backyard
With the growth in popularity of the Ozpig, we saw a shift in the units becoming a staple in the backyards of many outdoor entertaining spaces. With the endless cooking options and great flavour from cooking over wood to the ambience of the fire and drawing people into relaxation, the Ozpig is the perfect all round outdoor cooking and heating solution.
