FiFteen years ago, a group of five cookie-loving anthropology graduate students launched CookieRecipe.com—one of the web’s first social media sites, with all of its contents created by its community. A few years and a few dozen websites (CakeRecipe.com, BreadRecipe.com, ChickenRecipe.com, etc.) later, the sites were rolled up into one—Allrecipes.com. As use of the Internet grew among busy, family-focused women, Allrecipes grew as well. Today, the site that started with a single cookie recipe has grown to become the world’s largest digital food brand, with 17 sites and 9 apps serving 25 million cooks in 22 countries.

Much has changed in the world since Allrecipes first launched in 1997. In honor of its 15th anniversary, Allrecipes reran its first on-site survey from 1999 to capture a snapshot of these changes. Measuring attitudes and behaviors related to online recipe websites, Allrecipes discovered the impact digital food resources have had on the shopping and cooking behaviors of home cooks over the past 15 years.

insight 1: Smartphones are the Main IngredientMobile phones as a kitchen companion are one of the most significant changes of the past 15 years. In 1997, the typical cell phone weighed 10 ounces and was used primarily for making phone calls. Today, half of women with mobile phones are carrying smartphones, pocket-sized computers ready to assist with an astounding range of tasks. In 2012, more than one-third of online cooks use smartphones to look up recipes, while others use them to create digital shopping lists (18%), redeem digital coupons (16%), and watch videos to improve their cooking skills (15%).

12%

14%

15%

16%

18%

22%

23%

29%

35%

Shared a recipe idea on a social site

Viewed a digital shopping list in store

Viewed a cooking video

Redeemed a digital coupon or grocery saving offer

Created a digital shopping list

Snapped photo of a dish while eating out

Looked at a recipe while in a store

Snapped photo of a dish they prepared

Looked at a recipe anywhere

Use of Smartphones for Meal Planning and Preparation(Numbers represent all home cooks,

not just those with smartphones)

First recipe Posted on allrecipes: neapolitan Cookies i

1997 — 2012 Then & Now 1Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

the Measuring CupWhat American Families are Eating and Cooking

1997 — 2012 THEN & NOW

2012

$3.16 billion$134 Million

2000

insight 2: Video is VitalIt’s no surprise food videos represent a growing trend. In the past 15 years, food video has moved from basic cooking shows, to mega celebrity chefs, to sensational reality series. What might not be evident is that cooks are rapidly switching their viewing behaviors from the big screen (TVs) to small screens (laptops and mobile devices). today, three-quarters of women watch cooking videos online. Furthermore, the percentage of women who consider how-to videos a must-have for recipe websites has nearly doubled in the past 13 years (from 45% in 1999 to 74% in 2012), and this trend is expected to grow. Nearly half of cooks (43%) believe that in 15 years, more people will learn how to cook from videos than from their parents.

insight 3: Food and Tech Appetites Go Global The ease and appeal of finding recipes online is not just a U.S. phenomenon. Digital food and recipe resources can now be found around the globe. While tastes and food customs vary by country, cooks are more alike than they are different when it comes to finding recipes online. The top digital resource for recipes globally is search engines (43% of online cooks) followed very closely by recipe sites (42%). And the #1 search term worldwide? Chicken, of course.

insight 4: Interactive Advertising SoarsAccording to eMarketer, in 2000, CPG brands spent $134 million in online ad spending. Twelve years later, their investment in online advertising has grown exponentially, projected to reach 3.16 billion in 2012. Digital media has the unique ability to speak to a wide audience on platforms available at all points of need – desktop, tablet and mobile – through a diverse portfolio of interactive executions. As more consumers move online, and dollars follow, ad products will continue to evolve from static displays (the standard ad unit in 1997) to solutions and entertainment for the consumer – offering cou-pons, video, relevant content and more, targeted to the right person in the right place at the right time.

45% in 1999

74% in 2012

today, three-quarters of women are watching cooking videos online.

online Display ad spending

top 3 search terms

• Us – Chicken, Cookies, Meatloaf

• UK – Cake, Chicken, Pizza

• australia – Chicken, Cake, Pizza

1997 — 2012 Then & Now 2Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

insight 5: Sharing Food Has a New MeaningFifteen years ago, the social channels we know and trust today didn’t exist. In 2012, the social web is a mainstay with sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, and Allrecipes all ranking among the top 50 most-visited websites. Their impact on shared food experiences is significant: one-third of female cooks consider it important for food websites to provide opportunities to share recipes on social sites (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest).

Top motivations for sharing recipes include: attractive photos (79%), cook plans to make the recipe (78%), recipe has positive peer ratings/reviews (75%).

insight 6: Fast Features at Your FingertipsWhen asked to choose only one cooking resource to use for the rest of their lives, half of home cooks selected cooking websites (44%), followed by cookbooks (19%), and parents (9%). Use of cooking websites has surged 207% in 15 years.

In Allrecipes’ “Then and Now” survey, many of the features cooks expect to find on food websites showed strong growth. The fastest movers included “dish recommendations,” up 1,210% in 2012 compared to 1999, community ratings up 558%, while digital shopping list, menu planner and the ability to scale serving amounts all increased more than 300%.

insight 7: Show Me the RecipeThe widespread availability of free cooking resources on computers and mobile devices has increased cooks’ appetites for using recipes. According to a 2012 survey, 16% of home cooks are now using recipes all the time when cooking, up from just 9% (80% growth) 13 years ago. Surprisingly, even though it’s easier to find recipes today, recipes haven’t simplified cooking as much as one would expect. only 35% of cooks responded positively when asked whether recipes make cooking easier, compared with 73% of cooks who responded positively to this same question in 1999.

Top motivations for sharing

Attractive photo

Plans to make

Peer ratings

79%

78%

75%

Shopping list- eggs- flour- vanilla- brown sugar- chocolate chips

“Dish recommendations”

Community ratings

Digital shopping list, menu planner, recipe scaling

Up 1,210%

Up 558% Up more

than 300%

expected food website features

44%

19%

9%

7%Printed recipe cards from family/friends

My mom or dad

Cookbooks

Cooking websites

Preferred Cooking resource

35% say yes

73% sayyes

1999 2012

Do recipes make cooking simpler?

1997 — 2012 Then & Now 3Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

insight 8: Organic Goes MainstreamToday, the majority of home cooks (58%) report picking recipes where they can use organic and natural ingredients, an increase of 66% since 1999. This represents a rise in the collective consciousness of home cooks who are looking closely at food labels (59%), and shopping for locally-sourced ingredients (62%). Interestingly, only 44% report being very health conscious and always eating healthfully. Perhaps home cooks are using organic shredded cheese and veggies from their local farmers’ market to make a cheesy lasagna, followed by pre- packaged but all-natural cookies?

insight 9: Changing Challenges for Dinnertime Families with kids say finding time is one of the hardest parts of getting dinner on the table: 22% for households with kids, vs. 16% for those without. To mitigate this, home cooks with children at home are much more tech-savvy than their childless counterparts, leveraging digital devices and tools to get things done quicker and easier. Home cooks with children are 76% more likely to have created a shopping list on their mobile device, 56% more likely to look at a digital shopping list in store and 73% more likely to have redeemed a digital coupon on a mobile device than families without children.

insight 10: Where Fridge and Wallet IntersectIn 1999, the U.S. economy was happily in the black, the average median household income was up 10%, and only 3% of home cooks reported cost as the hardest part of getting dinner on the table. Today, cost has increased 243% as the hardest part of getting dinner on the table. The solutions? Sixty-seven percent say they cook at home because it’s cheaper than eating out (up 9%) and 68% believe it’s important that recipe websites offer coupons (up 133%).

58%

35%

1999 2012

home cooks picking recipes where they can use organic and natural ingredients

67% say home cooking is cheaper

I love allrecipes.com

10% say cost is a

n

obstacle

68% want recipe website coupons

up 243%!

up 133%

1997 — 2012 Then & Now 4Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

insight 11: Internet Dining DeliversRecipe sites are now the most frequently used recipe resource for home cooks (86%), surging 207% from 1999, eclipsing cookbooks (66%), magazines (53%), and even friends (43%). Over the past 15 years, the use of recipe websites has evolved from an occasional diversion, catering primarily to hard-core foodies, to a must-have everyday resource for the majority of American home cooks. Cooks today visit websites and food blogs (now estimated to number more than 164 million worldwide) covering all types of cooking styles, dietary needs, regional cuisines and food passions.

insight 12: Generational Joys of Cooking Whether or not you like to cook may have more to do with your age than culinary preferences. As cooks move through life stages, motivations for cooking change. To illustrate, today’s Millennials see cooking as optional, fun, and exploratory; for mid-life, family-focused Gen Xers, it’s a must; while for today’s Baby Boomers in more diet- restricted stages of life, cooking is less frequent with less freedom.

insight 13: More Tools Mean More TimeDigital tools continue to make meal planning easier. When asked in 1999 what was the most difficult thing about getting dinner on the table, 29% said “finding time to plan and cook.” Today this number has dropped 39% as home cooks use websites and mobile phones to find recipes and menus quickly and easily, make organized shopping lists on the fly, and download coupons with the click of a button. Home cooks also report a 212% increase since 1999 in the importance of recipe websites offering menus and meal planning solutions.

Internet sites +207%

Cookbooks -1%

Magazines +21%

Relatives +136%

Friends +148%

Product Packaging +508%

Newspapers -9%

Inte

rnet

sit

es +

20

7%

Co

okb

oo

ks -

1%

Mag

azin

es +

21%

Rel

ativ

es +

136

%

Frie

nd

s +

148

%

Pro

du

ct P

acka

gin

g +

50

8%

New

spap

ers

-9%

1999 Survey 2012 Survey 1999 Survey

2012 Survey

55%

47%

63%

41%

78%

47%

39%

56%

52%

75%

34%My kitchen is always

well stocked

I am very health conscious and always try to eat healthfully

I regularly read ingredients on packages

I am cooking more than I have in the past

I really enjoy cooking

52%

47%

69%

87% Millennial Gen X Baby Boomer

29% in 1999 down 39% in 2012

said “finding time to plan and cook” was the most difficult thing about getting dinner on the table

1997 — 2012 Then & Now 5Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

insight 14: Super Fast, Super Local and SuperstoresSupermarkets look nothing like they did 15 years ago. Large chains are devoting more and more space to hot, ready-to-eat food, local farmers’ markets are a part of every city’s weekend landscape, and superstores that sell everything from electronics to produce are sprouting up around every corner. Yet with all these options, when comparing 2012 with 1999, 24% more consumers say shopping for ingredients is the hardest part about getting dinner on the table.

insight 15: There’s an App for ThatOne word describes the future of meal planning: digital. The grocery shopping experience is being revolutionized as consumers turn to devices to help them plan meals, create lists and shop. In the last decade, retail-ers have introduced savings and loyalty cards, eliminating the need to clip coupons from the weekly flyer. When polled, 90% of consumers believe 15 years from now printed coupons will be extinct. eighty-two percent of respondents also believe they will be paying with their mobile device, and 64% of consumers believe groceries will be delivered direct to their door-step which, ironically, means the future might hold a return of the milkman.

90% believethe printed coupon

will be extinct

82% plan to pay with mobile

device

64% believe groceries will be

delivered

15 years into the future...

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1999

2012

24% increase

1997 — 2012 Then & Now 6Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

about allrecipes.com

Allrecipes, the world’s largest digital food brand, receives 750 million annual visits from family-focused women who connect and inspire one another through photos, reviews, videos and blog posts. Since its launch in 1997, the Seattle-based social site has served as a dynamic, indispensable resource for cooks of all skill levels seeking trusted recipes, entertaining ideas, everyday and holiday meal solutions and practical cooking tips. Allrecipes is a global, multiplatform brand providing insights into the lives of women everywhere based on activity from 17 websites, 17 mobile sites, 9 mobile apps, and 14 eBooks serving 22 countries in 11 languages. Allrecipes is part of Meredith Corporation, the leading media and marketing company serving American women. For additional information regarding Meredith, please visit www.meredith.com. For additional information regarding Allrecipes, please visit http://press.allrecipes.com.

Methodology

Data provided is from an online survey of 1,020 U.S-based panel participants and 1,208 Allrecipes community members in July 2012. No incentives were used to re-ward or incent participation. The survey questions were based on questions from Allrecipes’ 1999 Motivations survey, to provide food and technology trend data for the past 13 years. For more information on survey methodology such as response counts for each question or details on question order or format, please feel free to contact us.

Please Contact:

stephanie robinettDirector, Communications206.708.9271stephanier@allrecipes.com

1997 — 2012 Then & Now 7Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup