Sony cooks up recipe DVD line
Titles feature Food Network chefs such as Rachael Ray
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/6/2008
OCT. 6 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has whipped up a 12-title recipe DVD line for distribution in the grocery channel.
Meals On DVD: Shop, Watch, Cook! titles feature Food Network chefs including Rachael Ray, Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis and Ina Garten and are designed to appeal to stores in Sony’s 9,000 grocery outlet distribution network. Priced at $7.99 each, titles will street Nov. 18 (prebook Oct. 16).
Each themed title holds downloadable recipes and shows the star chefs and others preparing the meals.
“This is for the person who might be in the grocery store thinking about something for dinner, and at a minimal price, they can pick this up too,” said Jack Talley, Sony senior VP of retail expansion. “And there is Rachael Ray and Alton Brown showing them how to prepare meals for their families.”
Meals On DVD will be organized by different themes, such as the title Perfect Thanksgiving Dinner, which includes recipes and cooking demonstrations for turkey, cornbread stuffing and pumpkin gooey butter cakes, among other dishes.
To maximize consumer awareness of Meals On DVD, Sony is looking at numerous merchandising placement points within grocery stores.
“We want it in the main body of the store, so people pick it up before they finish shopping,” he said. “We’re looking at the produce and deli sections, and in some cases, looking in the kitchen gadget section.”
Talley says that Sony wanted to add the interactive download element to the titles because of evolving consumer kitchen trends.
“Thirty-five percent of U.S. homes have a laptop near the vicinity of the kitchen,” he said. “So these [titles] are the best of both worlds, where you can watch them on a DVD player or through the laptop in the kitchen.”
Sony hopes to release additional Food Network recipe DVDs next year.
Other titles included in the Nov. 18 batch are Mac and Cheese Feasts, Simple Side Dishes, Easy Chicken Dinners, Cozy Comfort Foods, Pastas From Giada and Soul Soothing Soups. There also are Quick Meatloaf Recipes, Holiday Dinner Party, Holiday Cookies, The Great Bakeoff: Great Dessert Recipes From Paula Deen and Slow Cookin’: Great Slow Cooker Recipes From Paula Deen.
