Inside SideChef’s Playbook: 6 Successful Recipe Platforms and How They Were Built

Building the Foundation: How to Build a Recipe Website That Scales

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At the core of each SideChef-powered platform is our white-label web and app platform tech including a proprietary Recipe CMS Tool. This tool allows for flexible recipe publishing, global content localization, shoppable integrations, and seasonal campaign management—essential tools for any scalable recipe blog or branded recipe hub.

Each site is a mix and match of the core building blocks that SideChef provides, with intuitive recipe website features like:

• Editorial home feed for easy seasonal recipe campaigns
• Advanced recipes pages with dynamic serving size changes, interactive shopping list, cook mode, and community threads
• AI-driven content tagging for easy recipe clustering, categorization and advanced search filters
• SEO-optimized setup with schema markup, optimized core web vitals and keyword-rich content fields
• Personalized recommendations based on dietary preferences or purchase history
• Shoppable recipes linked directly to grocery partners
• Smart appliance integration (for kitchen appliance partners)

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These features aren't just "nice to have"—they’re designed to drive real engagement, conversions, and brand loyalty. Read more on the components of a successful recipe platform in our Ultimate Guide To A Successful Online Recipe Platform.

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Real-World Examples: The 6 Platforms in Action

Let’s take a closer look at how these platforms come to life:

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Mixlab by Bacardi

A cocktail recipe platform featuring professional mixology guides, product bundles, and immersive how-tos—all tailored for e-commerce. Check out the custom-build MyBar, where users can discover cocktails based on ingredients they have at home.

See Bacardi’s Mixlab Cocktail Hub, and read our full case study here. 

Marks & Spencer’s Cooking Inspiration Hub

A curated collection of delicious, highly curated recipes that tie directly into M&S food products and grocery promotions. With content from famous UK chefs such as Tom Kerridge, and Binky Felstead and all talented contestants from Cooking With The Stars.

See Marks & Spencer’s Cooking Inspiration, and read our full case study here. 

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SideChef Partners With Walmart On Recipe Ideas 

A budget-friendly, family-first recipe platform with seamless add-to-cart functionality and rotating weekly meal plans. All recipes are instantly shoppable, and you can save your favorites into a folder. Serving size is dynamically configurable, and each recipe shows Cost per serving, making it easy to cook with a budget in mind.

See Walmarts’ Recipe Ideas. Detailed case study can be found here.

LG ThinQ App with Recipes & Connectivity

Smart appliance users can browse recipes in the LG ThinQ App, that syncs directly with cooking settings on LG ovens, making it easier to go from app to plate.

Discover the LG ThinQ App for Google Play or iOS, and read the full case study here.

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VZUG’s V-Kitchen Website & App 

A premium Swiss cooking experience that blends inspiration with precision appliance control. The V-Kitchen platform consists of a website and an app, that you can download in the iOS Store and Google Play Store. 

See V-Kitchen platform, and read our full case study here.

SideChef Recipes On Amazon Fresh & Amazon Alexa 

Amazon Fresh offers an intuitive recipe experience where users can easily browse a wide variety of meal ideas. Each recipe includes step-by-step instructions, nutritional information, and the option to add all ingredients to your cart in one click. This makes it simple to go from inspiration to grocery delivery without leaving the site. 

Our partnership with Amazon also extends to Amazon Alexa. SideChef is a key recipe provider for Amazon Alexa, offering a rich library of voice-guided recipes that users can access through simple voice commands. Users can discover these recipes by asking Alexa for meal ideas and easily add ingredients to their Amazon shopping list or cart for convenient grocery delivery.

See Amazon Fresh Recipes Portal. For Amazon Alexa, get your device and ask for a recipe, such as ‘Show me pizza recipes’. Detailed case study can be found here.

Recipe Content Strategy That Drives Growth

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A great recipe platform isn’t just built—it’s curated. For each of the seven partner platforms, SideChef helps lead or co-develop a recipe content strategy that aligns with brand goals, seasonal campaigns, and user needs.

This includes:

• Trend-driven recipes to align with seasonal ingredients, cultural moments, and social media buzz
  
• Branded content collaborations, especially for partners like Bacardi’s Mixlab (global mixologists) or Marks & Spencer (partnering with top chefs and cooking shows)
  
• User-generated content opportunities for community-driven growth
  
• Search-first formatting with metadata that optimizes visibility across Google, Pinterest, and voice assistants

By combining editorial expertise with data-backed planning, each partner can launch and maintain a successful recipe site that performs across platforms.

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Editorial Strategy for Food Blogs and Brands

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One of the most overlooked elements of content planning for recipes is a strong editorial workflow. SideChef’s team collaborates with brand stakeholders to manage an editorial calendar for food blogs, ensuring a steady stream of fresh, relevant content.

This includes:

• Monthly or quarterly planning aligned with key retail or marketing moments
  
• Ingredient and theme-based curation (e.g., “Summer Grilling,” “Holiday Baking,” “Back-to-School Lunches”)
  
• Performance tracking to double down on what’s working
  
• Agile publishing workflows to respond to market or seasonal shifts

For example, during the winter holidays, SideChef coordinated campaigns across multiple platforms to spotlight shoppable baking content and festive dishes, while Mixlab rolled out curated cocktails in time for New Year’s.

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What You Can Learn from SideChef’s Playbook

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Whether you're a brand marketer, retailer, or food content creator, SideChef’s model offers a proven roadmap for how to build a recipe website that’s content-rich, user-friendly, and optimized for growth. We partner with brands to set up a strong recipe strategy for their brand, considering:

• Invest in a strong recipe CMS that can scale across formats and brands
  
• Prioritize your recipe content strategy with clear audience insights and SEO goals
  
• Don’t underestimate the power of a tight editorial calendar for food blogs—it keeps your platform fresh and your users coming back
  
• Build in features that elevate the experience: AI guidance, smart appliance integration, shoppable ingredients, personalization, community, gamification, family collaboration and interactive cooking.

By combining smart tech with strong storytelling, SideChef has shown that any brand—from a heritage retailer to a cutting-edge appliance maker—can grow a recipe platform that delivers real value.

Want to launch your own successful recipe site or explore a partnership model like these?

SideChef has the tools, the tech, and the team to help you make it happen.

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