Panna Cooking

Panna is a video cooking resource offering Online Cooking Classes and Video Recipes from award-winning chefs, established in 2012. The brand includes a website, iOS, Android., and Apple TV apps, as well as an Amazon Prime Subscription.

Founding

Panna was founded in 2012 as a video cooking magazine for reading on tablet devices by David Ellner. Ellner decided to start the company as a solution to the disconnect he felt lay between his efforts to create dishes from chefs’ cookbooks and how they appeared in the book’s photos. The app was initially funded by a Kickstarter campaign. The first issues contained thirteen to fifteen recipes each, with ten minute videos accompanying each recipe recorded by professional chefs. The first issue was published in September 2012. The company is based in New York, NY.

Panna Timeline

Date

Event

December 2011

David Ellner incorporates Panna under How2Media Inc.

May 2012

Panna worked with their first chef, Rick Bayless.

October 2012

Panna launched in App Store.

September 2012

Panna launches their first issue for sale—Jonathan Waxman’s Thanksgiving.

December 2012

Panna was chosen as one of the Best Apps in the App Store for iPads.

February 2013

Panna launched their app for iPhones.

June 2013

Panna raised their first venture-backed seed round.

November 2014

Panna launches Simmer, a user generated version of Panna.

January 2015

Panna runs out of money.

February 2015

Panna raises an angel round.

July 2015

Panna office moves from Summit, NJ to NYC.

August 2015

The company business model changes from a purchase by issue to an "All you can eat" subscription model.

October 2015

Panna raises a series A round.

June 2016

Panna relaunched the Panna product with a completely new design across web and app.

October 2016

Panna launched their Apple TV App for the big screen.

January 2017

Panna moved into a new office space, with their own custom built kitchen for filming content in house.

April 2017

Panna expanded their product line to include Cooking Classes, for a deeper dive into specific cuisines/techniques.

May 2017

Panna launched their Android App, finally delivering their content to all mobile operating systems.

Content

Recipes come with auto-generated shopping lists for readers to make the dishes themselves. Videos can be downloaded for offline streaming. In 2013, the publication added an “Ask the Chef” section, where readers could ask chefs questions about their recipes. Panna Cooking also offers "Classes." In a class, one chef delves into a specific type of cuisine and the subscriber gets a package of recipes and cooking tips.

The magazine’s contributing chefs have included Mario Batali, Andrew Zimmern, Rick Bayless, Anita Lo, Nancy Silverton, Jonathan Waxman, and Chad Sarno.