Walmart and First Media Take Shoppable Content To a Whole New Level

Consumers now can access a unique shopping experience that saves time and stretches food budgets

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May 18, 2021, 09:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, May 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- So Yummy, the food-focused brand from First Media with nearly 350 million monthly video views on social media and in 40 million TV homes across the U.S., and Walmart, the retailer that helps people around the world save money and live better, announced today they have joined together on a revolutionary campaign to eliminate the friction between engaging in fun food content and shopping for groceries.

Starting May 17, television viewers can tune in to So Yummy TV (as well as So Yummy Facebook and other social platforms) to watch the fun new food competition show Unbox'd. Three of social media's most well-known food influencers will compete head-to-head with a mystery box of ingredients in UNBOXED BY SO YUMMY. Using only the ingredients provided in a specially curated box and whatever additional products they can buy with a $10 Walmart gift card, these modern-day cooks have just two hours to create delicious, themed dishes in their home kitchens. Along the way, the Unbox'd judges will critique, poke fun, and praise the competitors as they bring their creations to life in this ultimate social media-inspired cooking competition. Each episode ends with the selection of a winner based on resourcefulness, culinary technique, and presentation. The recipe for the first place creation is then shared via So Yummy, made fully shoppable by Walmart. Television viewers can also get the shoppable recipes, or any other item seen on the show, sent directly to their phones by connecting via text. A link with a fully-shoppable recipe will be delivered instantly, bringing the culinary creation from the TV directly to the table.

Walmart is an industry leader in pioneering the art of shoppable content, and their partnership with First Media takes the concept to a whole new level. Now consumers have a new way to shop -- online and on the air -- through 100% shoppable content. Not only can consumers instantly purchase all ingredients necessary for a recipe they see on So Yummy TV, Facebook or Instagram, this new offering features a built-in savings maximization tool which works to ensure that the particular products added to a consumer's shopping cart are in the appropriate size or quantity needed for the recipe, all at Walmart's everyday low prices. No more five lbs. of flour just sitting around your kitchen! In addition, So Yummy's recommendation engine serves up additional recipes that use the same ingredients, allowing consumers to stretch their food budget even further, save time, eliminate food waste, and maximize their savings. This revolutionary new shoppable experience is accessible where consumers already are - on TV, on social - without any extra steps, hoops, or downloads. In addition, this means all of So Yummy's new video content is shoppable from all platforms, leading directly to Walmart.

Mor Aldaag, Vertical Lead, Entertainment for Facebook says "We are thrilled to be working closely with Walmart and First Media to take their extremely engaging content on So Yummy to the next level. To be able to extend consumer engagement and purchase action by offering a fun and easy way to get recipe ingredients to your doorstep in just a few steps is truly unique and the future of online consumption."

"Marrying the art of curated food content with the science of proprietary technology is in our DNA at So Yummy," says Sharon Rechter, President of First Media, So Yummy's parent company. "This campaign provides the buyer with one seamless action and journey, from content engagement to purchase -- with no roadblocks. With our maximization feature, customers can not only automatically take advantage of Walmart's low prices, but they will receive recommendations for additional recipes that use the same ingredients, saving them time, maximizing their budget, cutting down on food waste, and making life a little easier."

"Walmart is focused on meeting our customers where they are and we continue to create innovative ways to shorten the distance between inspiration and purchase," says Sarah Henry, Senior Director of Content & Influencer Marketing at Walmart. We are excited to partner with First Media to bring entertaining, shoppable food content to customers in a fun, seamless way."

So Yummy will create, produce and distribute 10 episodes of Unbox'd, which will be distributed across multiple platforms, including So Yummy TV, a network which is currently seen in 40 million homes across the U.S., and So Yummy's highly engaged social media channels.

About First Media
First Media's lifestyle-focused brands inspire people every day to reimagine the ordinary to extraordinary. First Media creates the most engaging content, using human ingenuity and AI-driven algorithms, distributed through its brands, to supply audiences with shoppable ideas and products for a more inspired life. The multi-platform portfolio of entertainment and lifehacking brands including BabyFirst TV, Blossom, and Blusher reach more than 170 million fans on cable, digital, and out-of-home each month. The company's data-informed creative studio boasts some of the most-shared and watched original and branded video content online today. Connecting with a highly-engaged millennial audience, First Media provides creative content solutions for its brand partners across food, lifestyle, DIY, home decor, beauty, children's programming and parenting tips. For more information, visit First.Media.

SOURCE First Media