Company description
2010 Webby Nominee "Best Social Network"
2009 Webby Nominee "Best Social Network"
2009 Girls in Tech Catalyst Winner "Top 5 Women Owned Companies"
2009 Twiistup Showoff
2008 Webby Honoree "Best Social Network"
2007 Webby Honoree "Best Social Network"
Gathering in the kitchen is a uniquely social tradition that connects people from all walks of life. That's because the kitchen is where we go when we're hungry... not just for food, but for friends, family and great conversation.
BakeSpace is all about preserving and reinventing this tradition in cyberspace. We're a grassroots online community where people from around the world gather to share recipes, build new friendships, learn from one another and express their passion for all things food-related.
Connect with us!
http://twitter.com/bakespace
http://facebook.com/bakespace
How it Works
On most recipe sites, the journey begins and pretty much ends with finding a recipe. But on BakeSpace, finding a recipe is just the beginning of the journey.
As a BakeSpace member you can post, search and swap recipes in real-time, and our unique recipe swap feature ensures that you'll always know what your friends are cooking. You can also build and customize your own "online kitchen," raid the "virtual pantry" (forums), upload videos, create blogs, get inspired, share your passion and learn from other members by tapping into our first-of-its-kind mentor program.
Team
Babette Pepaj founded BakeSpace.com in August 2006 as the Web’s first food social network and recipe swap. With virtually no tech industry experience, the former TV producer (and avid baker) has built the site into the largest online community of its kind for food enthusiasts. In the process, she has earned some of the industry’s highest accolades including three consecutive honors from the Webby Awards (the site was most recently named a finalist for the top prize in the competitive “Best Social Network” category).
With Babette at the helm, BakeSpace has introduced many innovations including the first online mentor program for home chefs and the proprietary “Recipe Feed,” which foodies up-to-speed on what their friends are preparing in the kitchen. She has also helped develop a “new recipe” for social media advertising that enables brands to connect and engage with consumers on a true peer-to-peer level and add value to the social networking experience. As a result, the independent grassroots site has hosted campaigns for blue chip brands such as KitchenAid, ABC, Sara Lee, Kodak, McCormick, Universal, Sony Pictures and FOX Searchlight.
Prior to launching BakeSpace, Babette worked for more than a decade producing and directing trend-setting reality TV programming. The common thread behind nearly all of her reality TV projects was an examination of the intriguing lives of ordinary people. Babette’s approach to telling their stories helped her programs earn high ratings and critical acclaim.
After studying photography on a scholarship at Syracuse University, Babette began her career in the then nascent reality genre by joining Bunim-Murray productions, where she quickly rose through the ranks to produce shows such as MTV's "The Real World" and "Road Rules." She went on to produce for The Travel Channel and Arnold Shapiro Productions, where she worked on the pilot and first season episodes of the innovative teen documentary series "Flipped." While at the company, she also wrote and produced episodes of the newsmagazine "MSNBC Investigates.
Babette then refocused her attention on broadcast network television, working as a director and producer for shows such as FOX Television’s "Classmates," NBC's "Love Shack" and "Livin Large," TLC's "For Better or For Worse," Fine Living Network's "Breathing Room," Court TV's "Fake Out," ABC Family's "Switched!," TBS' "He's A Lady" (featured on "Oprah," "The View" and "Good Morning America") and ABC's "Vacation Swap" (a spin-off the hit "Wife Swap").
Today, as the guiding force behind BakeSpace, Babette is helping define how consumers interact on the social Web.
Business model
BakeSpace.com -- launched in August 2006 as the Web's first food-themed social network and recipe swap -- our unique advertising platform enables brands to engage with consumers on a peer-to-peer level and add value to the social networking experience.
Currently we have partnerships with Sony,Universal, ABC, Fox Searchlight, Kodak, Reynolds, Sara Lee, McCormick, Duncan Hines to name a few.
From day-one, our grassroots site has helped brands transcend banner advertising by joining the conversation as an active community member. Each new ad campaign or promotion on BakeSpace is designed to preserve the site's grassroots sensibility and help members connect with one another, as well as with brands, in new and exciting ways.
A Genuine Grassroots Community
Created by and for food enthusiasts, BakeSpace is fundamentally different from food sites built by large publishers and marketing database companies attempting to enter the realm of social networking.
Our organic and transparent approach to brand integration allows brands to invite members to join their network of friends so they can share recipes, tips and other worthwhile content. This in-turn helps them build one-on-one relationships with members, rather than simply targeting them with a marketing message.
Campaign Examples:
http://www.bakespace.com/?wisterialane
http://www.bakespace.com/?julieandjulia
http://www.bakespace.com/?reynolds
http://www.bakespace.com/kitchenaid
To read more: http://bakespace.com/loginjoin/pressroom/
Competitive advantage
What we can do that our competition can't:
Able to sell large scale advertising campaigns to food brands as well as entertainment properties.
Appeal to the full spectrum of home cooks (amateurs to professionals). Most food sites cater to just one specific type of home chef.
Allow advertisers to engage consumers and form lasting connections around their product or service on a peer-to-peer level.
Enable members and brands to swap recipes automatically via our unique “Recipe Feed” enabling a brand’s message to spread organically throughout BakeSpace.
Provide members with the tools to fully customize their online kitchen and public profile.
Members can customize their browsing experience on BakeSpace - recipes are “pushed” to members in categories important to them which they can change as lifestyles change.
Attract an ever-growing base of members focused on sharing their passion for food.
Also,
-- Unique Recipe Feed
-- First-of-its-Kind Food Mentor Program
-- Social Market Research/Conversational Marketing
-- Branded Recipe Channels
-- Interactive Recipe Pages
-- Scalable Promotions and Giveaways
To read more: http://bakespace.com/loginjoin/pressroom/
Babette Pepaj
