March 27, 2014

Recipe app Gojee acquired by XO Group

Popular recipe-finding website Gojee was recently purchased by the XO Group, according to TechCrunch. Financial details about the transaction were not disclosed, but the startup had been in talks with several large firms, including Yahoo, but those plans did not pan out. 

XO Group is the owner of several female-focused websites including The Knot, The Bump and Wedding Channel. As a part of the technology acquisition, XO agreed to hire five of Gojee's employees including co-founders Mike LaValle and Tian He. The site will continue running and will target the same demographic of young women. 

Josh Himwich, XO's Vice President of Product confirmed news of the deal in an email to TechCrunch. 

"We recognized this great moment to take the special sauce that Gojee has in collecting content that people are emotionally connected to, and present it to our users in compelling new ways," Himwich wrote. "Gojee's award-winning apps have been featured in Apple commercials and retail stores nationwide—the exact talent and forward product thinking we're excited to bring on."

In addition to maintaining the Gojee site, the startup's engineers will also work to improve all of XO's existing web properties. Specifically, they will be working to improve the mobile experience. The sites owned by XO only had 4.7 million unique page views in February 2014, an 18 percent plunge from the year before. Its largest property, The Knot is the exception, however, as it has seen a 2.7 percent rise from the same period last year. 

The addition of Gojee may bring a fresh perspective into the XO Group. Founded in 1996, it is a relatively old business in the realm of the internet.