Marc Lore is not a timid man. He started Wonder in 2018 with a vision of a nationwide network of food halls. In 2023 he added Blue Apron for meal kits. Last year he acquired Grubhub for delivery. And this week he onboarded digital media company Tastemade for content and marketing extensions.
All this activity may seem scattershot. But not to Lore. “We’re excited to enhance our ability to deliver innovative, end-to-end advertising opportunities for brand partners,” he said in a statement.
Wonder currently operates 38 food halls, predominately on the East Coast, with up to 30 brands enrolled in each spot, and delivery or pick-up offered through its app. The company has plans for 15 more food halls this year. The acquisition of Tastemade, for a reported $90 million, will help spread the gospel.
Tastemade has been producing food and cooking videos since 2012, including segments from celebrity chefs, and turning profits through advertising and customized marketing content. It offers recipes, meal plans, an online shop that sells kitchen products, and boasts an audience of 160 million social media followers and 13 million monthly streaming viewers. One dazzling result of the acquisition may be to allow Tastemade viewers to order a dish right after seeing a famous chef make it.
Lore has been quoted as saying his ultimate goal is to create an AI-powered super app capable of taking in individualized health and budget inputs and providing a meal for every occasion.
It’s ambitious. But for the time being Wonder can afford to be. It has raised more than $1.6 billion. That can buy a lot of taste. And it might make a lot of sense.
