Food Network Cooks Up Food2

Web Site Targets Adults 21-34 Using Social Media, How-to Videos

By Daisy Whitney

In a bid to win young audiences online, Food Network is launching a Web site this week designed to reach adults 21 to 34 who are interested in food, drink and pop culture.

The new site, Food2.com, comes to market with Newman’s Own on board as a launch sponsor. Food Network has secured additional advertisers and will announce them in the coming weeks.

The launch stands out because it comes at a time of massive retrenchment at media companies, with most holding off on introducing new products and Web sites as advertisers slash their budgets.

“We are in the middle of an advertising recession, not an audience recession,” said Deanna Brown, president of Scripps Networks Digital.

Scripps decided to launch the new site based on research it has conducted with younger consumers in the last year regarding their interest in food programming online.

Ms. Brown declined to disclose costs for the new site, but the network has been able to tap into some of its existing Food Network content and assets to build it.

With more than 1,000 videos on the site at launch, Food2.com will include regular Web series, how-to videos, and some FoodNetwork.com programming, as well as social media components to attract the younger demographic. That includes Facebook and Twitter integration on the site itself, Ms. Brown said.

Food2 has been building a following with a Facebook page, Flickr photos and Tweets since early March, she added.

“The key to the success of this business will be reaching a new audience, so there will be traditional marketing with online and on-air, and we will also use social media tools and we will find people and people will find us,” Ms. Brown said. To hook younger viewers, Food2 will give away food baskets and other items on Twitter.

Visitors also will be invited to participate in Food2 Web challenges to find interesting and unusual food, such as the best mashed potato sculpture.

The network is relying on “The Next Food Network Star” Kelsey Nixon, “Top Chef 4” finalist Spike Mendelsohn and other popular food bloggers to contribute to the site.