Websites using Yummly

Let s break down Yummly, covering its overview, revenue aspects, alternatives, pricing, and customer care.

Yummly Overview

• What it is: Yummly is a popular digital food platform designed to help users discover, save, and prepare recipes. It s essentially a powerful recipe search engine and personal recipe box that uses smart technology to personalize the cooking experience. Think of it as a Google or Pinterest specifically for recipes.

• Key Features & Functionality:

  • Recipe Search & Discovery: Yummly aggregates recipes from across the web, pulling from numerous food blogs, recipe websites, and cooking sites. It allows users to search using detailed filters like cuisine, diet, allergies, cooking time, ingredients (include or exclude), nutritional needs, and more.
  • Personalized Recommendations: Yummly learns your cooking preferences and dietary needs over time and provides personalized recipe recommendations tailored to your tastes. This smart element is a core differentiator.
  • Smart Grocery Lists: Users can add ingredients from recipes directly to a smart grocery list, which organizes items by grocery store aisle for efficient shopping.
  • Meal Planning: Yummly helps with meal planning, allowing users to create weekly or monthly meal schedules.
  • Recipe Box/Collection: Users can save and organize recipes they like into digital recipe boxes, making it easy to find them later.
  • Step-by-Step Guided Recipes (in Premium): The premium version offers step-by-step guided recipes with voice instructions and timers, making cooking more interactive and easier, especially for beginners.
  • Yum Button: Similar to a like or save button, the Yum button allows users to quickly save recipes they re interested in.
  • Visual Appeal: Yummly is known for its visually appealing interface with high-quality food photography.
  • Integration with Smart Kitchen Appliances (in Premium): Premium subscribers can connect Yummly to select smart ovens and other kitchen appliances for automated cooking.

• Target Audience: Home cooks of all skill levels, from beginners to experienced cooks. It appeals particularly to those who are:

  • Looking for recipe inspiration.
  • Have dietary restrictions or preferences.
  • Want to simplify meal planning and grocery shopping.
  • Appreciate personalized recommendations.
  • Enjoy using technology to enhance their cooking experience.

• Platform Availability: Website, iOS app, Android app, and integration with some smart kitchen appliances.

Revenue

Yummly operates on a freemium model. This means they offer a core set of features for free and generate revenue through:

• Advertising: The free version of Yummly includes advertisements. These can be display ads or sponsored recipe placements. This is likely a significant source of revenue for the free tier.
• Premium Subscriptions (Yummly Premium): Yummly offers a paid subscription service, Yummly Premium, which unlocks additional features. This is the primary revenue driver beyond advertising.
• Affiliate Marketing: Yummly likely participates in affiliate marketing programs. This means they might earn commissions when users click on links within recipes (e.g., links to purchase ingredients or kitchen tools on external websites).
• Data & Insights (Potentially): While less direct revenue, the vast amount of data Yummly collects on user preferences, cooking habits, and recipe trends is valuable. They could potentially anonymize and aggregate this data to sell insights to food brands or market research companies, though information on this is less publicly available.
• Parent Company Integration (Whirlpool Corporation): Yummly is owned by Whirlpool Corporation. While not direct revenue for Yummly as a standalone platform, its integration with Whirlpool s smart kitchen appliances and ecosystem creates value for the parent company and could indirectly contribute to Yummly s sustainability.

Revenue Figures:

• Difficult to pinpoint exact figures: Yummly is now a subsidiary of a large corporation (Whirlpool), and specific revenue figures for Yummly alone are not typically publicly disclosed.
• Prior to Acquisition (Indications): Before being fully acquired by Whirlpool, Yummly had raised significant funding and was considered a successful startup in the food tech space. This suggests healthy revenue streams and growth potential.
• Focus on Premium Growth: Yummly s ongoing push for Premium subscriptions indicates that this is a key area for revenue growth and profitability.

Alternatives to Yummly

There are many recipe apps and websites available. Yummly s key strengths are its personalization and powerful search. Here are some notable alternatives, categorized by their strengths:

• General Recipe Sites & Apps (Large Recipe Databases):

  • Allrecipes: Massive user-generated recipe database with a strong community aspect and reviews.
  • Food Network Kitchen: Recipes from Food Network chefs, plus live cooking classes and on-demand shows.
  • BBC Good Food: UK-based with a wide range of reliable recipes and strong editorial content.
  • Simply Recipes: Well-curated, high-quality recipes with a focus on clear instructions and beautiful photography.
  • Epicurious: Reputable source for recipes, articles, and cooking guides from Condé Nast publications.

• Meal Planning & Grocery List Focused:

  • Mealime: Specifically designed for meal planning, grocery lists, and minimal food waste.
  • Plan to Eat: Highly customizable meal planner with recipe clipping and organizational tools.
  • CopyMeThat: Recipe manager, meal planner, and grocery list app with strong organizational features.

• Subscription-Based Cooking Platforms (Premium Content):

  • Cookidoo (Thermomix): Recipe platform for Thermomix users, offering a vast library of guided recipes (subscription required for full access).
  • NYT Cooking: Recipes from The New York Times Cooking section, known for quality and reliability (subscription required).

• Social & Visual Recipe Platforms:

  • Pinterest: While not solely recipe-focused, Pinterest is a huge source of visual recipe inspiration and allows saving recipes.
  • Instagram: Many food bloggers and chefs share recipes on Instagram, though less organized for searching.

• Ingredient Delivery & Meal Kit Integration:

  • Some meal kit services (like HelloFresh, Blue Apron) have recipe apps or online recipe databases for subscribers.

Yummly Pricing

• Yummly Basic (Free):

  • Free to use.
  • Recipe search and discovery.
  • Saving recipes.
  • Smart grocery list.
  • Personalized recommendations (basic).
  • Includes advertising.

• Yummly Premium (Subscription - Pricing may vary by region and promotional offers, but generally around $4.99 - $6.99 per month or $49.99 - $59.99 per year):

  • Ad-free experience.
  • Step-by-step guided recipes with voice control and timers.
  • Advanced nutritional information and analysis.
  • Integration with select smart kitchen appliances (like Whirlpool ovens).
  • More advanced personalization and recommendation features.
  • Potentially other exclusive content or features as they evolve.

• Trial Period: Yummly often offers a free trial period for Premium (e.g., 14-day free trial) to allow users to experience the paid features before committing to a subscription.

Customer Care Details

• Primarily Digital Support: Yummly s customer care is mainly online and self-service, typical for app-based services.
• Help Center/FAQ: Yummly will have a comprehensive online help center or FAQ section on their website and likely within the app itself. This should address common questions about using the app, features, subscriptions, troubleshooting, etc.
• Email Support/Contact Form: There s usually an option to contact customer support via email or a contact form on their website for issues not covered in the FAQ.
• In-App Support: Many apps offer support access directly within the app settings or menu. Look for a Help, Support, or Contact Us option in the app.
• Social Media (Limited Support): While not a primary channel for direct support, you might find Yummly active on social media (like Twitter or Facebook). They may respond to general inquiries or redirect you to official support channels.
• Phone Support (Less Likely): Phone support is less common for app-based services like Yummly, especially for free users. It s unlikely they offer direct phone support, but it s best to check their official support channels to confirm.

How to Find Customer Care Information:

1. Yummly Website: Go to the official Yummly website (yummly.com) and look for links like Help, Support, Contact Us, FAQ, usually found in the footer or navigation menu.
2. Yummly App: Open the Yummly app and check the settings or menu. Look for similar options like Help, Support, Contact Us, or About.
3. App Store/Play Store: Check the Yummly app listing in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Sometimes, developer contact information or support links are provided there.

In Summary:

Yummly is a powerful and visually appealing recipe platform with a strong focus on personalization and smart features. It operates on a freemium model, generating revenue through advertising and premium subscriptions. While there are many alternatives, Yummly s strength lies in its recipe search engine, personalized recommendations, and user-friendly interface. Customer care is primarily digital, with a focus on online help resources and email support. If you enjoy cooking and want a smart, organized way to find and manage recipes, Yummly is a solid option.