Condé Nast has acquired the digital food shopping and recipe organizer service ZipList. While the deal is not sizeable, All Things D reports the sale price at around $14 million, the technology can easily integrate with Condé‘s food titles allowing deeper engagement with the content.
ZipList allows consumers to organize grocery lists, create meal plans and save recipes in their own "recipe box." While users can use the service directly via ZipList, the company has also created tools and SDKs for integration into partner sites and apps—Martha Stewart, The Daily Meal and GalTime are among the company’s 6,500 partners.
In March, ZipList says it passed the 1 million mobile and website shopper benchmark.
The move enables Condé to enhance its food content by allowing customers to take action while they’re still engaged with it. With the ZipList technology integrated with that yummy apple pie recipe, site visitors won’t have to disengage to create their shopping list. It also opens up targeted opportunities for marketers looking to get in front of shoppers right as they’re getting ready to hit the grocery store.
The deal basically allows Condé to become a preferred customer, ZipList will continue to operate as an independent company while Condé’s food brands, such as Epicurious, Bon Appétit and Gourmet Live become the latest clients. "Our goal is to build ZipList as an independent company while collaborating with our food brands to integrate its core technology, and to create partnerships that allow other companies to do the same," said Condé Nast president Bob Sauerberg in a statement.
