LEBRON JAMES INVESTS IN KITTCH’S ABILITY TO BREAK INTO THE $500 BILLION COOKING MARKET

NBA star LeBron James is taking his talents to the kitchen by investing in Kittch, a new live streaming platform for the food-obsessed, according to Page Six. Kittch positions itself as the Twitch and TikTok of the culinary world. This may prove to be a long-term lucrative investment for the self-proclaimed foodie, as the global cooking class market was valued at $489 million in 2020 and is anticipated to reach $2.3 billion by 2029, according to Industry Global News24.

Why This Matters: James is as obsessed with nutrition as he is basketball, and Kittch is serving up a unique food experience. The platform allows foodies to interact and learn from some of the most famous chefs in the world. Co-founded by media veteran and entrepreneur Brian Bedol, who founded the sports channels that would become ESPN Classic and CBS Sports Network, Kittch provides a way for chefs to add new revenue streams and grow the digital side of their business.

Celebrity chefs already involved in Kittch include Marcus Samuelsson, Amanda Freitag, Amanda Schulman and many more. Page Six reported that professional chefs looking to join the app as creators will undergo a screening process, and that Kittch will look to add home cooks down the line.

The NBA champion is no stranger to investing in products and services across the food industry. He expanded his foundation’s partnership with Tex-Mex-style food brand Old El Paso to open its first-ever fast-casual dining establishment in 2023— The Taco Shop by Old El Paso.

What’s Next: The bulk of Kittch’s content, including 24/7 livestreams as chefs prepare meals from their homes or their restaurants, will be free to access, but users will also have the option to pay for classes. Following a four-month beta run, the application was officially released on March 8.