New Recipe Site?

[chiggz]

Hey all,

Is there a need for a new site that does recipes well?!

I'm working on this idea where you have the single place to be for all things recipes. Just like how you come to OCUK for all things computer related!

Without getting into too much detail I'd love for you to spend a minute to fill in the following survey:
https://forms.gle/kQchfV55ASfA587U6

I'll be happy to share more details once I close off the survey. But for now I'd rather not provoke biased feedback if I reveal too much. I'll share my thoughts later in July and we can have a further discussion on it if it seems useful!

Hope this is acceptable within the forum terms. Thanks!

 

[arknor]

I'm guessing no since most people probably turn to youtube and watch someone else cooking the same meal as them.

you won't be able to compete with other recipe sites that already exist and your probably 10 years too late to get a youtube channel going amongst the massive sea of other people doing the same thing

 

[chiggz]

Hey arknor,

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm hoping for something new and different, so may actually compete with some of those existing sites out there.

I feel there's something missing in the market.

But to be honest, feedback like yours will help understand whether its viable or not.

Appreciate it!

 

[Stumble Bum]

The world does not need another cooking site, there is an abundance already and to be honest if I want to try out a new recipe then I want to watch someone make it on Youtube.

 

[Ahleckz]

I've never looked at Youtube for recipes, I'm not interested in watching someone make it - I know how to cut/fry/etc. I would like more recipes without the life story beforehand. Just give me some pictures, and the recipe. And, include metric and imperial measurements. I'll fill in your survey now.

 

[Begbie]

I've never looked at Youtube for recipes, I'm not interested in watching someone make it - I know how to cut/fry/etc. I would like more recipes without the life story beforehand. Just give me some pictures, and the recipe. And, include metric and imperial measurements. I'll fill in your survey now.

The knife story bores me, why oh why is this in every god damn recipe. I disagree though, YouTube is so good for recipes now. Especially for timing, technique and so on.

 

[chiggz]

Love hearing the replies.

All feedback is all good feedback!

The way I see it...
- Did Uber think there are too many taxi companies out there before they started...
- Did Facebook think there are too many social companies out there before they started...
- Did AirBNB think there are too many apartment websites out there...
- Did Amazon th...

You get the idea. Whatever I do needs to be much better than what's already out there, and something that consumers want (even if they don't yet know it).

I've been a member of these forums for years, so will love to share any progress (even if it goes beyond a year before a first release) on this thread!

 

[Martynt74]

I've never looked at Youtube for recipes, I'm not interested in watching someone make it - I know how to cut/fry/etc. I would like more recipes without the life story beforehand. Just give me some pictures, and the recipe. And, include metric and imperial measurements. I'll fill in your survey now.

Hugely, i don't want to spend 10 minutes scrolling down a page as they tell me how they had a holiday on the moon that inspired them to come up with a recipe for cheese.

 

[Stumble Bum]

Love hearing the replies.

All feedback is all good feedback!

The way I see it...
- Did Uber think there are too many taxi companies out there before they started...
- Did Facebook think there are too many social companies out there before they started...
- Did AirBNB think there are too many apartment websites out there...
- Did Amazon th...

You get the idea. Whatever I do needs to be much better than what's already out there, and something that consumers want (even if they don't yet know it).

I've been a member of these forums for years, so will love to share any progress (even if it goes beyond a year before a first release) on this thread!

I know you've probably just plucked a few examples...

But Uber did something very unique that no other taxi company did, Facebook was perhaps the second major social media company?, and very different to myspace at the time. AirbNb, again another unique selling point where anyone could list their property all in one popular place, perhaps there were others, but none that were highly successful and Amazon needs no explaining, the got in early into the eCommerce world and destroyed the high st as they had a usp.

So the point is, (and I know you're yet to release specifics) but for this to have any chance you would need to be able to provide something all these other recipe sites don't offer. If it's just another cooking website but 'done well/better' then it likely has no chance. I can't imagine off the top of my head what is missing from the online cooking world so I have reservations about there being a USP in this market but happy to be proven wrong.

I would suggest that the likes of youtube cooking channels are only going to become more popular compared to the traditional method of finding written recipes online, and the even more dated version of buying cook books which will only become more and more obsolete.

I hope you have a USP up your sleeve. I'll look out to see any updates as more details are revealed.

 

[SPG]

A cooking site without the seemingly 200 words of crap before you get to the ingredients then another 3000 before the method... Using metric measures would be most welcome tbh.

 

[seabiscuit]

Evening Chiggz, I seriously wish you every success with this. It was a shame when BBC announced they were cutting their recipes online significantly, although they still seem to have lots, so I don't know if any ARE missing. I think you would need something that has something that makes it unique. Much like Serious Eats goes with a lot of the science of why a recipe works and what is happening to the food to cause good or bad results. Or something with a specific focus. During lockdown, we've found a youtube pairing of mother/son Chinese takeaway owners who teach how to cook takeaway food. Fot claiming to be great chinese cooking, just takeaway that we were missing. You need it to be something different from everyone else. A reason to be noticed. Then word of mouth might start things.
It is difficult to get something like this noticed. There are a huge number of cooking sites/channels. Just database of recipes is great, but there are already *lots* of those. This may sound stupid, but it also needs a memorable name. I remember talking to one/a couple of the people behind "Cranble", and realistically, I never hear of it/them from other sources (sauces hah). I even have to follow links from their tech websites, to find the parent company, to find their food site because I can never remember it, and I'm their target audience. And getting there the presentation is great, the recipies look fine, it's all what I would expect a decent cooking website to be. So have a think why something with reasonable backing and a team of good content creators behind it hasn't...exploded. There's 250+ pretty well made video's. Decent photographs. A good amount of content over a good time frame. But nothing uploaded (at least on youtube) in over a year.
So good luck, but as others have said, it'll be a tough market to break into.
p.s. I don't mind some background information to the recipe/reason behind the recipe, so long as it reaches a point (or better yet a pint) fairly quickly. And I don't know "the knife story".

 

[arknor]

I don't think bbc took any recipes down they were planning to remove bbcgoodfood entirely if I remember right but it was saved due to public outrage?

 

[seabiscuit]

That was probably what I was thinking of. I hadn't paid that much attention.

 

[Begbie]

A cooking site without the seemingly 200 words of crap before you get to the ingredients then another 3000 before the method... Using metric measures would be most welcome tbh.

BBC?

Great British Chef

They're literally hundreds of them

I agree though, those sites are annoying.