In the age of social media and all things content-driven, there’s something refreshingly analog about a cookbook. It’s a tactile object, something with weight and texture; it’s a resource that can be flipped open at a moment’s notice for inspiration or meal planning; and it’s art — a colorful, creative medium that can be perused like a coffee table book.
But for brands, perhaps the most powerful aspect of a cookbook — especially one with your name on it, and with your products featured — is that it becomes part of your customers’ daily life. Online recipes live in virtual spaces, but cookbooks live in peoples’ homes.
And we should know! The Dish Works studio is home to a vintage cookbook collection, title after title of gloriously retro cookbooks that we lovingly store on our bookshelves. Unearthed at thrift stores, gifted by friends, and snapped up at flea markets, these books are a testament to a culinary history that we’re proud to be a part of.
Nestled among cookbooks about entertaining, Pennsylvania Dutch-specific cookbooks (shoutout to our roots), and multiple copies of The Joy of Cooking, you’ll find cookbooks from heavyweight heritage brands, like Crisco, Hunts, Campbell’s, Knox Gelatine, and, of course, Betty Crocker.
This classic marketing move capitalized on the notion of “brand authority” and “brand loyalty” before those phrases were even part of the lexicon. They helped home cooks gain confidence in the kitchen, and, perhaps even more importantly, made the prospect of putting dinner on the table, night after night, a more fun and achievable feat.
These cookbooks also illustrated how many ways there were to use seemingly simple ingredients, like sugar, ketchup and canned soup.
While culinary branded cookbooks have a charmingly old-school feel, they’re actually having a real resurgence. Perhaps this is in response or reaction to the prevalence of virtual content, or maybe it’s a subset of the super-charged cookbook trend that’s been on the rise since the pandemic (in 2021, cookbook sales were 42% higher than the year prior).
We’ve seen gorgeous releases from imaginative brands, like Barilla, Ooni, Diaspora Co. and King Arthur Baking Co., among others. From a marketing perspective, a branded cookbook is a timeless way to make your products come alive, and a way to inspire and delight your customers.
If your brand is wisely considering producing a cookbook, Dish Works’ Cookbook Content services are the perfect resource. Our team of chefs, creatives and photographers love to ideate, style and bring to life beautiful editorial-looking content. Unlike other types of studios, we offer it all, from recipe development and testing, to behind-the-scenes video content, to professional hand models, we’ve got you covered. And these services are available, whether you need all of your cookbook content custom-created, or just need a few photos and recipes to round out a project.
Recently, we’ve been honored to collaborate on some really fun cookbook projects with our clients. One standout is the forthcoming kids’ cookbook we created for the legendary Highlights Magazine; we cannot stress enough how colorful, creative and cool of a shoot this was! While we can’t spill all the beans, we can tell you to keep an eye out for this cookbook to drop soon, and to scoop up a few copies for the young chefs in your life.
We also created content for “Soulful Creations,” a new cookbook by Savor, filled to the brim with delicious recipes that celebrate the rich culinary heritage of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. It was such an exciting project to be a part of; you can download a PDF version of the cookbook on Savor’s website.
There has never been a better time to consider a branded cookbook: The market is hot, and Dish Works is here to help make it happen as seamlessly as possible! Reach out to start the conversation.