São Paulo, April 2026 – Swift/Wild Fork launches BBQ – Built By Quest – a competition that puts improvised barbecue grills in the spotlight and reinforces a central message of the brand: when it comes to barbecue, almost everything can be improvised—except the quality of the meat.
The competition brings together eight participants who gained visibility on social media with creative solutions for grilling meat without traditional structures. They compete for the best “DIY-style” grill called “gambiarra” (a Portuguese term meaning improvised, handmade solutions), in challenges that evaluate both the construction and the final cooking results. The competition will be released in seven episodes on Swift’s social media channels and includes a promotional plan with digital media and influencer activations.
The concept is based on a widespread behavior in Brazil. Although barbecue is one of the country’s main social rituals, 48% of the population does not have a grill at home, according to market research company Offerwise, which drives people to create improvised solutions to make barbecuing possible.
Hosted by comedian Maurício Meireles, the reality show combines entertainment with technical evaluation. The judging panel—made up of pitmasters Dr. Churras (@@doutorchurras) Ju Lima (@chefjulima), and Chef Roberto, all brand ambassadors—assesses criteria such as flavor, juiciness, and doneness of the meat, as well as creativity, functionality, and execution of the improvised structures.
“Swift pays close attention to consumer behavior and popular culture. We enjoy seeing people’s creativity in continuing to host barbecues with friends and family despite not having a proper grill. Since our purpose is to provide the best meat, we decided to join in the fun and reward those who are most creative, innovative, passionate about barbecue, and who don’t stop grilling just because they lack the ideal setup,” says Mario Casanova, Swift’s Marketing and E-commerce Director.
“Disruption doesn’t always come from technology. In this case, it stems from cultural behavior. ‘Gambiarra’ is part of the Brazilian repertoire, and we used it as a starting point to create a competition that pushes this logic to its limits,” says Leo Macias, CCO of Lola\TBWA.
With this project, Swift/Wild Fork turns an everyday behavior into proprietary content and reinforces its positioning as a barbecue specialist.
