Epicurious.com dines with Dean & Deluca
The home of online magazines Gourmet and Bon Appetit signs an agreement to make Dean & Deluca its exclusive specialty foods retailer.
The deal calls for Epicurious.com, operated by the online CondeNet division of the Conde Nast publishing empire, to promote Deandeluca.com on its site. In turn, the food and kitchenware retailer will handle all merchandising, fulfillment and customer service for shoppers, according to the companies.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Our visitors are interested in every aspect of food--from research to preparation to presentation," CondeNet director Sarah Chubb said in a statement. "Having the ability to buy specialty products on the site--products possibly not available at local retailers--is a huge plus for Epicurious.com."
Epicurious.com has been beefing up its e-commerce offerings for nearly a year.
Like many online magazines, Epicurious.com is veering away from advertising as its chief revenue stream and moving toward grabbing a greater share of retail sales. Among the high-flying magazines that have entered e-commerce agreements are Playboy and Harper's Bazaar. Conde Nast's fashion stalwarts Vogue and GQ have begun selling clothes and other products on their sites as well.
Privately held Dean & Deluca also has been stepping up its e-commerce efforts. Last month, the New York-based company named a new Internet-savvy president and received a $20 million investment from venture capital firm Hummer Winblad.
"Dean & Deluca's alliance with Epicurious.com has been in the works for over a year," said Dane Neller, chief executive of the gourmet merchant.
"Dean & Deluca gets access to Epicurious.com's sophisticated audience and Epicurious' audience gets immediate gratification for their sophisticated palates," he said.
New York-based Epicurious.com offers more than 10,000 recipes online and boasts one of the largest Web communities of food aficionados.