Launched as an iOS app with 100 recipes, Kitchen Stories has developed into an international cooking platform with a global community in recent years. Many millions of people are inspired by the recipes that are sure to succeed — even before its 10th birthday, the Berlin-based company is taking the next big step and not only presenting a completely personalized and individual user experience, but also adding a new design at the same time.
In its tenth year, the transformation of the platform, which has always impressed its users with successful recipes, a clean look and intuitive technology, continues. In recent years, more people have once again enjoyed cooking at home. At the same time, demands and (value) concepts have shifted, the “one size fits all” system no longer works, and competition in the food publisher market is constantly intensifying. These circumstances have prompted the company, which has been part of the BSH Group since 2017, to focus on users even more than before and to accompany them even more closely on their personal cooking journey.
“Today, we not only have to prove ourselves against other cooking apps: Food content is also increasingly being shared on platforms such as Netflix and Instagram. So there are literally tons of excellent content. Our goal wasn't to reinvent ourselves, but to stand out from the crowd once again and serve our community even more,” says Mengting Gao, founder and CEO of Kitchen Stories.
“Our mission is to inspire, empower and inspire ambitious and cooking enthusiasts to cook at home every day and to make them feel comfortable in the kitchen. To achieve this, we offer the best personalized support for every single user's cooking journey through proven recipes, helpful content and a seamless digital user experience.”
The Kitchen Stories app took the market by storm in 2014 because it was different: modern, appealing photos and videos in HD quality, a clean design and, above all, no nationwide, third-party advertising. The success continued; it was only in recent years that other cooking apps also discovered the appealing design for themselves. Kitchen Stories is now going one step further and once again stands out from the competition thanks to its unconditional focus on user experience: The editorial app gives way to an algorithmic feed. This makes it possible to display content individually based on times of day, seasons, and weather forecasts. In order to display this content in an even more personalized way, there is also user onboarding, which allows users to select their dietary restrictions and favorite dishes. With these innovations, Kitchen Stories allows users to take their cooking journey by the hand and promise “Anyone can cook!” to substantiate.
“Most people are looking for simple recipes. But 'simple' means something different for everyone. And we go one step further: We not only want to accompany, but also to encourage. We're talking about the “Cooking Comfort Zone”, which we want to lure our users out of and encourage them to try something else — based on their preferences and cooking level. Our new app feed also takes that into account.”
At the same time, the introduction of the algorithmic feed also entails new requirements for the design of the cooking platform. “The old design went well with our editorial feed. But now the app is becoming more dynamic and this must also be reflected in the look & feel and the visual experience,” says Sebastian Graus, Head of Creative at Kitchen Stories. “The challenge was primarily to create a brand personality that represented the young, innovative and hungry part of Kitchen Stories while conveying the warm, calm and emotional aspects of cooking. It was important to us to find a balance between fun and timeliness while being reliable and practical.”
The in-house developed design follows a clear mobile-first approach: All content is initially developed based on the Kitchen Stories app.
“We want to motivate everyone to cook while being perceived as a reliable partner who doesn't take themselves too seriously. It is precisely these attributes that we want to convey to the outside world with the new design by using strong colors and radiating peace and security through timeless typography. Wave elements in various forms express the joy of cooking.”
Kitchen Stories has always relied on native advertising placements. You search in vain for large banners in the app and on the website. Instead, for brands that want to place their products on the cooking platform, their own campaigns are produced in-house, which go far beyond the development of recipes. These campaigns can now also be played out on partner platforms: With Food Alliance Does Kitchen Stories have a Alliance of various premium food publishers launched. Together, the Food Alliance now reaches more than 8 million people every month, forecast: Steady growth.
And the B2C offering is also growing: The first will soon be Kitchen Stories online store Go live. The cooking platform is thus meeting the needs of the huge community — by the end of this year, the first “Kitchen Stories” articles be available in your own shop.
Kitchen Stories website: www.kitchenstories.de
Press contact: luise.linne@kitchenstories.de
Contact the Partnerships Team: melina.steinwender@kitchenstories.de
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