-By Lucia Moses

Hearst Magazines has become the latest publisher to jump into the online food space, joining with longtime syndication partner MSN to create a food site, Delish.com.
 
Slated for a fall launch, the site will offer recipes, food- and entertaining-related articles, photos and video. Hearst’s Digital Media unit will own, build and edit the site, with sales and distribution handled by MSN, which has already been syndicating Hearst’s text and video content.
 
The ad-selling agreement isn’t limited to Delish.com; in addition to pitching inventory there, MSN also will sell ads in the food category on four Hearst sites: CountryLiving.com, GoodHousekeeping.com, QuickandSimple.com and Redbookmag.com.
 
Magazine companies have been building up their online food offerings, but of the top 10 food and cooking sites, only two come out of traditional publishing companies, Reader’s Digest Association’s Allrecipes.com and Condé Nast’s Epicurious.com (Source: Nielsen Online, May).
 
Hearst and MSN said they believe that MSN’s large reach will immediately put the site into the top 10 online food and cooking destinations in terms of Web traffic, though. Now heading that list is the online site of the Food Network, which also happens to be Hearst’s partner on a forthcoming still-unnamed food magazine.

Chuck Cordray, vp and general manager of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, said the site will set itself apart with a focus on the lifestyle sides of food, along with personalization and community features. “We’re looking at this as a food and entertaining site that looks at how food is incorporated into daily lives,” he said.
 
“With a dedicated sales staff on the MSN side and Hearst’s notable expertise in both Web site and content development, we are confident that Delish.msn.com will be a leader in this growing category,” Jeff Dossett, executive producer and general manager of MSN, said in a statement.