New York Times will soon deliver meals, not just newspapers
Partnering with Chef'd to sell meal kits is...one way to boost the media business.
The New York Times and Chef'd have partnered to provide meal kits that let you cook NYT recipes at home.
When thinking about ways to save the media business, we sure didn't consider food delivery. But the New York Times did.
The company on Thursday said it has partnered with El Segundo, California-based startup Chef'd to sell meal kits to cook recipes from the NYT Cooking site. That means all those fancy meals you read about in the newspaper and online can soon be on your kitchen table. All you have to do is order recipes you like, and Chef'd will deliver the fresh, ready-to-cook ingredients to your home within 24 to 48 hours.
You'll have two ordering options. For one, you can choose and reorder one-off meal kits at any time from the collection of NYT Cooking recipes. The other lets you sign up for a subscription to receive as many meals a week as you want, and you'll be able to swap out, add or delete any meal from your order. NYT Cooking and Chef'd will offer meal suggestions based on customer preferences, and recipes will be updated often that are focused on trends, seasonal items and holidays, the publication said in a press release.
The service will launch this summer, and meals can ship anywhere in the US except for Alaska and Hawaii. A spokesperson for the New York Times said prices haven't yet been decided.
Chef'd is only one of dozens of companies -- including Blue Apron and Plated -- that deliver meal kits to consumers homes. The New York Times, meanwhile, has been looking for ways to make money beyond its traditional print newspaper. The vast majority of its revenue still comes from circulation and advertising, which can be worrisome as the media climate changes.
Hopefully this new partnership means cooking that "Swiss chard rice bowl with chorizo" that's recommended by NYT Cooking won't be as daunting.