Why Recipe Content Matters In The Smart Kitchen

Smart appliance manufacturers have been jumping on board with recipe content for several years now. Companies like Bosch, LG and GE have partnered with content providers and apps to help power their appliances. In May, BSH Hausgeräte GmbH announced that they had invested in Chefling. At a recent Electrolux future kitchen event, panelists included Recipe Guru CEO Niamh Sterling and Drop's Ben Harris. Home cooking is experiencing a bit of a resurgence too. More of us are happy to cook up a storm in the kitchen on a more regular basis, and thanks to years of high-quality food programming and social media content, we're not shying away from more complicated cooking methods.

Appliance manufacturers know this. Electrolux, for example, acquired sous vide company Anova in 2017. They also know that while sous vide circulators are gaining in popularity, the majority of consumers want the appliances they recognise to offer an efficient and convenient cooking experience that suits their busy lifestyles. Brilliant smart kitchen ecosystems offer a level of connectivity that enables home cooks to control the cooking process from start to finish through one simple app, creating perfect results every time. For this to work, appliance manufacturers are turning to recipes as, in the words of Hestan's Jon Jenkins, 'the software of the smart kitchen'.

There's no denying that smart kitchen appliances are lagging behind the rest of the smart home in terms of adoption. The reality is that smart kitchen appliances are an investment, and consumers don't change their kitchen appliances that often, so manufacturers need to work hard to make their products desirable at a higher price point. Reliable, regularly updated recipe content adds genuine value for the 52% of consumers who say deciding what to make for dinner is the hardest part. It's an issue most of us deal with at some point. Just yesterday I spent 20 minutes trying to figure out what to cook for the next three days, keeping in mind that I had broccoli, red peppers and chicken fillets to use up. Even for the most enthusiastic of cooks, it's easy to get stuck in a rut of cooking the same recipes week-in-week-out. According to Kraft Heinz, US consumers spend a staggering 40 minutes a week deciding what to eat and looking for recipe inspiration.

Using the powerful combination of customer data and fresh recipe inspiration, smart appliance manufacturers have the power to give consumers this valuable time back. Appliance manufacturers have an advantage here. When a consumer browses a recipe on a recipe website, it's impossible to know whether they've gone ahead and cooked it unless they leave a review. When a consumer chooses a recipe on a smart appliance manufacturer's app, the guided cooking and connectivity aspects give manufacturers a full understanding of their customers' preferences on an individual basis. As the smart appliance user selects and cooks recipes, and patterns begin to emerge, smart appliance manufacturers can offer a more personalised experience, giving users quick access to recipes they are guaranteed to love.

The quality of recipes available online is an issue. We've all followed an online recipe to the letter only for it to fail because it hasn't been tested properly. For smart appliance manufacturers, there's a temptation to go for quantity over quality. Quantity can be built up over time, but consumers will not put up with unreliable recipe content for long. With competition not only from cookbooks and online recipes but also from other smart kitchen apps, it only makes sense for smart kitchen manufacturers to prioritise recipe content rather than viewing it as an afterthought.

While it's still early days in the smart kitchen, word of mouth from early adopters will count for a lot when consumers are deciding whether to choose a smart appliance or not. By now, the experience should be seamless, inspiring and convenient. Regularly updated recipe content provided to the right user at the right time is key in establishing such an experience.

Recipe Guru's vast database of 100,000+ recipes is helping smart appliance manufacturers add genuine value to their smart kitchen appliances. Exclusive, reliable and chef-authored, our recipes give home cooks the confidence they need to try something new and make the most of their smart appliance. If you'd like to chat about adding our recipes to your platform, email jane@therecipeguru.com and let's cook up something amazing.

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