Tastemade

Market position

Positioned as a global lifestyle media network and studio. In 2018 it reported an audience of over 200 million monthly users across 200+ countries; its website currently claims 1 million daily home cooks and a catalog of more than 12,000 recipes. It has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies (2015) and a Most Innovative Company in Media (2021).

Combines an owned library of professionally produced, award-winning food/travel/home programming with a consumer utility layer — personalized meal planning, aisle-sorted grocery lists and guided cook-along mode — marketed as a connected system rather than a standalone recipe archive.

Technology

Consumer web and mobile applications delivering a recipe library with step-by-step video, personalized meal planning that adapts to stated tastes and diets, automatic grocery lists organized by supermarket aisle, and a cook-along mode with guided steps, nutrition data and serving-size scaling. Shoppable video capability has been implemented using Shopsense.

Go-to-market

Distribution across social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat Discover), streaming and connected-TV services including free ad-supported channels and Apple TV, its own website and apps, and partnerships with platforms such as Amazon MGM Studios, Amazon Live and Pinterest. Consumer subscriptions are marketed on the website via a free seven-day trial.

Consumers interested in food, travel and home & design content, with the current app aimed at home cooks planning weekday meals; the company has historically been described as millennial-focused. On the commercial side, advertisers and brand sponsors seeking integrated video content.

Geography

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, serving audiences worldwide. Production studios have been reported in Los Angeles, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, London, Tokyo and Paris, with a Japanese subsidiary/joint venture (Tastemade Japan) established in 2016 and jointly held with Mitsui from 2020.

History

After launching in 2012, Tastemade grew through short-form social video, notably "hands and pans" cooking videos on Facebook, and joined Facebook's video revenue-sharing and Anthology programs in 2015. It became an early Snapchat Discover publisher in August 2015, expanding that channel to the UK and France, and its channel was added to Apple TV in early 2015. In April 2016 it agreed with Facebook to produce 100 Facebook Live shows monthly, and launched Tastemade Japan the same year. In 2017 it added home and travel verticals and opened production facilities in São Paulo, London, Buenos Aires and Tokyo. In 2020, Mitsui became a partner in Tastemade Japan, converting it into a joint venture. Recent activity includes a multi-year Amazon MGM Studios content deal (January 2024), a Pinterest live-streaming partnership (February 2024), the shoppable series Kitchen Glow Up (May 2024), the appointment of Elvina Payne as CFO (June 2024), and the launch of the Tastemade Cooking app (November 2024). In March 2025 food delivery company Wonder acquired Tastemade for $90 million.

Risks & controversies

The Wikipedia entry carries an editorial notice flagging promotional content (November 2023). Reporting at the time of the 2018 Series E noted that online food video had become an increasingly competitive niche, prompting Tastemade's diversification into home and travel verticals. The 2025 acquisition price of $90 million was below the $115 million in total venture funding raised.