Buzzfeed’s Tasty social network has teamed up in the kitchen with General Mills, serving up a new line of Tasty Dinner Kits, offering exotic meals for consumers burned out by a year-plus of Covid cookery.
Tasty is the world’s largest social food network, and is a division of the Buzzfeed publishing world. Buzzfeed says the company’s goal is to “make it easier than ever to cook delicious, versatile meals at a time when consumers are looking for a solution to kitchen burnout.”
Tasty Dinner Kits are available in four vibrant flavors: Chicken Tikka Masala, Creamy Salsa Verde Chicken, Korean-Style BBQ Beef, and Creamy Tuscan Chicken. Each kit includes seasoning, sauce and a rice or pasta base, and simply requires the consumer to add a protein and a vegetable to complete the whole dish.
“We are thrilled to add Tasty Dinner Kits to our portfolio of meal solutions,” said General Mills Dry Meals Brand Manager, Luke Niethammer. “With their highly engaged audience and data-driven insights into meal trends, Tasty is the perfect partner to help General Mills reach new consumers and empower them to make new and exciting meals easily.”
The companies say the product has a huge advantage because Tasty was able to tap into its direct feedback loop with its massive online audience, and used deep consumer insights to develop a collection of diverse flavors that would resonate with today’s home cooks. By representing four different cuisines (Indian, Mexican, Korean, and Mediterranean), Tasty is continuing its mission to make cooking more accessible and giving modern consumers a simpler way to try culinary traditions that might seem intimidating to cook from scratch.
BuzzFeed applied its data-driven approach when creating the kits, leaning heavily into several rounds of insight testing which demonstrated that consumers are looking for dinner solutions that simplify complex meals and feature unique, bold flavors across various ethnic cuisines.
“We know consumers across the country have been cooking at home more than ever before, and it can be challenging to come up with new ideas for dinner every night that check all the boxes: delicious, quick and easy, and budget-friendly,” said Eric Karp, BuzzFeed’s SVP of Global Brand Licensing. “The box that often doesn’t get checked is: new and exciting.
“With Tasty Dinner Kits, we set out to give consumers a way to check every single box, including exciting new flavors and culinary traditions,” added Karp. “We’re delighted to introduce these vibrant cuisines into General Mills’ lineup of meal solutions and help cater to what we know consumers are craving now more than ever.”
Tasty Dinner Kits are currently available at Kroger stores nationwide. The kits will be rolling out to regional grocers throughout the summer and fall. Each kit has a suggested retail price of $2.99.
The strategic partnership between General Mills and BuzzFeed includes a licensing program with four Tasty branded meal kit SKUs and a robust media plan from the General Mills portfolio promoted across the BuzzFeed network over a two-year period.
By partnering with BuzzFeed across both licensing and media, General Mills is leveraging Tasty’s proven track record of bringing fresh and innovative products to market that help make cooking more accessible and tapping into its highly engaged audience of home cooks who look to Tasty for cooking inspiration. The social network’s stats show that eight out of 10 Tasty viewers have made a Tasty recipe.
Tasty Dinner Kits with General Mills is the latest consumer food product by Tasty, following Tasty Meats with Mistica, Tasty Breakfast Poppers with Food Story, Tasty Dairy Treats with Schrieber, Tasty Seasonings with McCormick, Tasty Baking Kits with Kraft and more.
BuzzFeed’s robust licensing business extends the iconic Tasty brand IRL, giving its massive audience additional touchpoints for engaging with Tasty throughout their daily lives, including a versatile collection of CPG products, an ever-expanding kitchenware line at Walmart, a series of best-selling cookbooks, and more.