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Tastemade & Walmart announce Holiday Edition of Struggle Meals

November 19, 2020

Walmart continues to expand its realm in shoppable recipes. The largest U.S. retail chain is partnering with modern media company, Tastemade, to launch two special holiday episodes of the Daytime Emmy-nominated series, Struggle Meals, on Tastemade’s streaming network. The episodes are Tastemade’s first brand partnership for Struggle Meals, and allow viewers to shop easily for holiday recipe ingredients using Walmart’s pickup & delivery service for delivery or curbside pickup. The first episode debuts today, followed by the second episode, which will go live on December 17th.

With the pandemic prompting American families to cook at home and prepare meals in advance, the retail chain is focused on finding innovative solutions and partners to help streamline the process for people to get food on their tables. Walmart has teamed up with Tastemade for two exclusive holiday-themed episodes of Struggle Meals offering viewers tips on how to cook inventive, better-for-you, minimum waste meals that will help them save time and money, while also alleviating the stress of holiday cooking and planning. Struggle Meals, hosted by Chef Frankie Celenza, is one of Tastemade’s most successful shows to-date, garnering an audience of more than one million viewers per week cross-platform.

“We know Chef Frankie Celenza has a massive, loyal fan following. And they will certainly be on the lookout for his special holiday recipes! Viewers will be able to easily shop all the ingredients for these amazing holiday recipes, while cooking alongside their favorite chef and enjoying delicious meals with their loved ones. It doesn’t get better than this,”said Mary Schulke, Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships at Walmart.

As part of this partnership, Struggle Meals viewers will have the unique opportunity to text an on-screen number from their phones to add ingredients from the featured recipes in the episodes directly to their Walmart shopping cart using Walmart’s pickup & delivery service. The episodes will be available across Tastemade’s streaming network and social channels.

“The holidays will look a little different this year, so with these special Struggle Meals episodes, we’ve partnered with Walmart to help consumers prepare delicious meals that will save time and money, and that will allow for more time to be spent with friends and loved ones – whether that’s virtually or in-person,” said Jeff Imberman, Head of Sales & Brand Partnerships at Tastemade. “We are thrilled to team up with Walmart for a best-in-class,  content-to-commerce streaming partnership to provide viewers with a seamless, in-episode shopping experience so that they can effortlessly cook Chef Frankie’s festive meals at home this season.”

In each episode, Chef Frankie offers techniques to cook Thanksgiving and holiday-themed meals, and shares tips to creatively use ingredients viewers already have at home to make delicious fare for their guests in addition to the main dishes. The Struggle Meals holiday edition features a unique take on bold holiday flavors, including dishes like Thanksgiving turkey burgers, cinnamon nutmeg doughnuts, tacos with holiday brisket, creamy butternut squash soup, and more.

“I am thrilled to share these special episodes with the Struggle Meals community this holiday season,” said Chef Frankie. “It’s been awesome to work with Walmart to give our engaged and passionate audience a special gift when they need it most, making the recreation of these meals at home as convenient and cost-saving as possible. The ability to text and instantly purchase recipe ingredients through the Walmart app is quick and simple, which we know our fans will appreciate during the busiest time of the year.”

The episodes will air on Tastemade’s streaming network, on the newly launched Tastemade en Español streaming channel (with Spanish subtitles). These episodes will also be available on Struggle Meals’ YouTube, Snapchat, and Facebook, and Tastemade’s Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Categories: Press Releases

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