The launch of Tasty cookware and kitchenware products at Walmart is the first of a broad licensing program at BuzzFeed that will be extended to include the company’s Goodful (wellness), Nifty (DIY) and other brands, says BuzzFeed’s Eric Karp. The new line, developed by licensee Epoca International and exclusive to Walmart, launches chainwide in the U.S. Monday and online today at Walmart.com and jet.com.

While BuzzFeed has an existing licensed publishing pact with Penguin Random House for Tasty Latest and Greatest: Everything You Want to Cook Right Now cookbooks, the 90 multi-colored products – 11-piece cooking sets, Dutch ovens, frying and sauce pans, utensils, mixing bowls, cooking sheets and cake pans – represent the Internet company’s most extensive branded line since forming BuzzFeed Product Labs and BuzzFeed Commerce under former Quirky executive Ben Kaufman in 2016.

BuzzFeed hired Karp last year to develop a brand licensing program. Goodful brand products will likely ship late this year with Nifty items due in spring 2019. Other brands are in development for parenting and beauty. The Tasty channel was launched in 2015 and followed by Goodful and Nifty a year later. A separate Tasty licensee is expected to add kitchen electrics by year-end.

For Walmart, the Tasty brand is being aimed at the millennial consumers – as evidenced by its millions of YouTube subscribers and Facebook followers — that have may eluded the chain’s housewares section in the past.

For Epoca, which also has a license for Meredith Corp.’s Cooking Light brand, the Tasty line also broadens its reach with millennials and it will be extended to include cutlery, says Epoca’s Mark Brelsford, who was hired last July to handle the Walmart business.

It’s believed the Tasty products will have some overlap in products and price with Gibson Overseas’ licensed Pioneer Woman cookware. Pioneer has been exclusive to Walmart for three years, but the brands can coexist, with Pioneer Woman key in rural markets and Tasty playing to urban/suburban customers. The Tasty products will get 8 linear feet (14-16 linear feet including endcaps) in the Walmart housewares department depending on store size and be divided across several sections including cookware and kitchen gadgets.

Walmart Will Promote the Line on TV Monitors Throughout the Stores

While BuzzFeed has set its sights on licensing, the company will continue to design products itself such as the Tasty Top slow cooker it jointly developed with GE Appliances and Homesick candles, which are positioned as carrying scents specific to particular states (i.e. “crisp apples” for Connecticut or “mountain spruce” for Alaska), says Karp.

“We are never going to give up developing product internally because that is what separates us from competitors in the lifestyle brand space,” says Karp. While Buzzfeed has Tasty sub-brands (Tasty Junior, etc.) “we are focused on building the master brand at retail and we will explore variations of that later.”

Contacts:

BuzzFeed, Eric Karp, Head of Licensing, 914-486-1285, eric.karp@buzzfeed.com
Epoca International, Mark Brelsford, VP Walmart, 561-353-3913, mark.brelsford@epoca.com
Walmart, Jason Rogers, Senior Buyer Housewares, 479-273-4000, jason.rogers@wal-mart.com

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