Meredith Corporation And Bellisio Foods Sign Brand Licensing Agreement For EatingWell Healthy Frozen Food Product Line

NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP; www.meredith.com), the leading media and marketing company serving 100 million unduplicated American women monthly and more than 60 percent of U.S. millennial women, announced today that it has agreed to a multi-year licensing partnership with Bellisio Foods, Inc., for the EatingWell® brand.

"We're excited to expand on our successful licensing programs with our first licensing partnership for the EatingWell brand," says Elise Contarsy, Vice President of Meredith Brand Licensing. "Licensed products are one of our biggest growth categories, including existing partnerships between Better Homes and Gardens and Walmart, Realogy and FTD, Allrecipes' partnership with Clipper Corporation on a line of cookware, bakeware and kitchen gadgets, and our recently announced partnership between SHAPE and Apparel Bridge LLC for the SHAPE Active collection of women's activewear."

Contarsy notes that this is also Meredith Brand Licensing's first expansion into the retail consumable food category.

EatingWell frozen products will be available for consumer purchase at supermarkets and retail grocery stores nationwide beginning in fall 2016. At launch, the EatingWell product line will focus on single-serve frozen entrées. Meredith and Bellisio Foods anticipate future food expansion into products such as multi-serve meals, appetizers, sides, snacks, vegetables, breakfast items, desserts and breads.

Joel Conner, Bellisio Foods Chairman, CEO and Partner, says, "We're thrilled to commence this partnership with Meredith. The EatingWell brand is perfectly positioned to help meet the ever increasing demand from our consumers for remarkably delicious, authentic and convenient frozen food products that fit their healthful lifestyles."

"We're always looking for new ways to engage consumers with our exceptional brand portfolio," says Tom Witschi, President, Meredith Women's Lifestyle Group. "This agreement demonstrates the depth and appeal of our media brands, and, in particular, EatingWell's strong following in the rapidly growing healthy eating marketplace."

Meredith and Bellisio are collaborating on the selection and development of recipes, with all recipes meeting the health parameters of the EatingWell brand. The editors of EatingWell magazine are providing inspiration and taste-testing expertise throughout the process.

"Our mission is to help make healthy happen every day," says Jessie Price, Editor-in-Chief of EatingWell magazine. "As much as we'd like to cook every meal from scratch, we don't always have the time. When we're busy, a great-tasting frozen meal that's healthy and made with good, clean ingredients is an excellent option – and that's exactly what this new line of EatingWell food will provide."

Launched in 2002, EatingWell is a leading source of science-based nutrition advice, inspiring articles about food, farms and cooking, and delicious, healthy recipes. EatingWell is a fast-growing multimedia brand in the expanding healthy-eating sector. Its core mission is to make healthy eating a joyful way of life. In 2013, EatingWell was named to Advertising Age's "A-List" as one of the "Top 10 Magazines of the Year." The brand has also won 13 James Beard awards, with an additional 16 nominations.

EatingWell is published six times a year by Meredith, with a rate base of one million and more than 4.1 million readers. The brand has diversified to multiple formats, including a content-rich website that reaches over five million unique visitors per month, content and brand licensing, custom publishing and consumer cookbooks. Additional information may be found at www.eatingwell.com.

ABOUT MEREDITH CORPORATION

Meredith Corporation has been committed to service journalism for more than 110 years. Today, Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms – including broadcast television, print, digital, mobile and video – to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners.

Meredith's National Media Group reaches 100 million unduplicated women every month, including 60 percent of American millennial women. Meredith is the leader in creating and distributing content across platforms in key consumer interest areas such as food, home, parenting and health through well-known brands such as Better Homes and Gardens, Allrecipes, Parents and SHAPE. Meredith also features robust brand licensing activities, including more than 3,000 SKUs of branded products at 4,000 Walmart stores across the U.S. Meredith Xcelerated Marketing is a leader at developing and delivering custom content and customer relationship marketing programs for many of the world's top brands, including Kraft, Lowe's and NBC Universal. 

Meredith's Local Media Group includes 17 owned or operated television stations reaching 11 percent of U.S. households. Meredith's portfolio is concentrated in large, fast-growing markets, with seven stations in the nation's Top 25 – including Atlanta, Phoenix, St. Louis and Portland – and 13 in Top 50 markets. Meredith's stations produce approximately 650 hours of local news and entertainment content each week, and operate leading local digital destinations.

ABOUT BELLISIO FOODS

Bellisio Foods, Inc. is one of the nation's largest and fastest growing frozen food companies with a rich 25-year history of providing quality, innovative food tailored to consumer tastes and lifestyles. Based in Minneapolis, Bellisio Foods markets more than 400 products spanning a wide variety of categories, including single and multi-serve entrees, snacks, side dishes and specialty sauces. While many of Bellisio's products are branded, the company also co-manufactures private label, retail and foodservice items. For more information, visit www.bellisiofoods.com.    

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SOURCE Meredith Corporation