Whirlpool spins further into IoT with Yummly

The acquisition signifies the home appliance giant's intent to improve its smart kitchen's digital offerings with new and consumer-relevant content.

The world's largest home appliance manufacturer, Whirlpool, acquired recipe website and app Yummly for an undisclosed amount.

The California-based food-centric company, founded by David Feller and Vadim Geshel, is notable for suggesting personal recipes and other cooking resources based on an individual's preference. It also supports semantic searches, shopping lists and, in certain areas, one-hour grocery shopping and delivery. Yummly, last valued at $100 million is considered as one of the world's largest digital recipe platforms with more than 20 million registered users. It comes with an app compatible with iOS, Android and Windows devices.

The acquisition, which will be finalized later this month, will further strengthen the development of Whirlpool's next-generation smart kitchen offerings, particularly in terms of consumer-relevant content and convenient IoT experience. With access to Yummly's millions recipes, cooking appliances, for example, can recommend and prepare a wider variety of dishes based on the user's preferences and with a single press of a button.

The purchasing of technology startups by non-tech-based corporations and industry giants is nothing new. In fact, this has quickly become a trend as more companies seek to stay relevant in the smart home and kitchen market by offering IoT-integrated models. Partnerships with household names can launch small- and mid-sized businesses to larger demographics, providing more opportunities for future growth.