Food Network and Cooking.com announced plans to enter into a multi-year partnership to expand Food Network’s already successful e-commerce business with a new online storefront — FoodNetworkStore.com, to launch October 1, 2007. Earlier this year, Cooking.com, e-tailer of kitchenware products, announced a partnership with Gourmet Catalog, a buying group of over 160 independent kitchenware retailers across the country.
This new partnership will allow the Food Network Store to expand its product offerings, taking the site from approximately 1,000 products to over 20,000 products. Cooking.com will provide a “powered by” solution, building and operating a leading-edge, easily navigated site that will include product reviews, tips from the Food Network Kitchens and product videos. Cooking.com will provide customer service support and fulfillment for the online orders at FoodNetworkStore.com.
Food Network and Cooking.com will create a uniquely branded shopping experience by going beyond the online store model — offering products that align with the Food Network brand, creating connection points to the store through recipes and searches on FoodNetwork.com, testing the products through the Food Network Kitchens, highlighting Food Network talent products, and offering unique product bundles that are only available at the FoodNetworkStore.com. The site will also carry gourmet foods and hard-to-find recipe ingredients.
The partners aim to provide visitors with an opportunity to shop for cooking and kitchenware products and services in a fun, approachable way. The new site will feature cooking tips from the Food Network Kitchens, helpful hints for product care and maintenance, and product reviews from customers. In the future, the brands plan to add applications for users to post user-generated videos as well as add features such as an auction-based sales model for exclusive offerings, gift cards, and continuity programs.
