VIC LLC., announced today that it has purchased recipe app BigOven, and rebranded as Aisle Ahead. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the purchase helps Aisle Ahead become a player in the soon-to-be hotly competitive shoppable recipe space.
If you’ve been reading The Spoon over the past few months, you’ve seen shoppable recipes become a hot topic of coverage. Recipes are no longer inert pieces of inspiration. Combined with same day delivery, recipes are becoming actionable discovery and commerce platforms.
See a delicious recipe for lasagna but don’t have all the ingredients? No problem! Click a button in the recipe and have what you need delivered to your doorstep in time to make dinner.
Founded in 2004, BigOven has 350,000 recipes in its database and the app has been downloaded 13 million times with more than 3.3 million registered members. BigOven also offers meal planning, shopping lists and an API to plug into outside services.
Aisle Ahead is an “end-to-end digital commerce platform that connects millions of shoppers with grocers.” With the addition of BigOven, Aisle Ahead can now enable shoppable recipes that consumers can order and get fulfilled from participating grocery stores.
The acquisition is a move to counter Amazon, which was called out by name in the BigOven press announcement with Aisle Ahead CEO, Steve Siopsis saying “The combination allows us to deliver ideal solutions for any grocer wishing to compete effectively, after hearing the wakeup call from Amazon and Whole Foods.”
The Aisle Ahead announcement comes on the heels of Myxx partnering up with Kroger for shoppabale recipes. You can bet there will be more announcements like these as smaller players roll up to try carve out their own space against the likes of Amazon and Instacart.
Amazon has already set itself up to dominate the shoppable recipe space with the acquisition of Whole Foods, partnerships with Fexy Media and AllRecipes, and integration of Alexa into smart refrigerators and other appliances.
