Did you know that 42.8% of all high traffic blogs are in the food niche!?
They also have the highest median monthly income, according to a study by RankIQ. Most of this income though is derived from display ads and other monetization methods, while affiliate marketing accounted for 10% of blog earnings.
If you’re a food blogger and you’re looking to add affiliate programs as a way of diversifying your blog income, then I’ve put together a list of 12 of the best food blog affiliate programs to heat up your earnings.
From cookware to gourmet ingredients, there’s a buffet of options waiting for you. Check out these 12 mouth-watering affiliate programs that’ll have your bank account looking as good as your dishes!
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Understanding Food Blog Affiliate Programs
Food bloggers can cover a wide range of topics that can help incorporate affiliate links naturally.
Most of the time, we’re talking about recipes but can also be about different cooking technique or specialty foods like cake making. In any case, readers who want to follow along may need ingredients or special cooking supplies or equipment. These present an opportunity for referring products and earning a commission.
On this blog, I’ve already mentioned two niches that can fall within food blogging:
Affiliate opportunities for food bloggers are plentiful and can range from cookware and recipe books to educational courses and gourmet ingredients.
The benefits to your readers are that they get great recommendations on the best products and services to use to get results like what you’re getting.
Now, here are some of the best food affiliate programs you can join and what they offer.
1. Amazon Associates Program
Amazon Associates is the go-to affiliate program for nearly all bloggers because they’re well-known, trustworthy and beginner-friendly.
They also function as an affiliate network in a way because of their product range. It doesn’t matter what niche you’re in, you’ll find something on Amazon to promote. And that applies to food bloggers.
On Amazon, you’ll find a wide range of food and kitchen products you can promote to your audience.
Linking is easy with the SiteStripe tool but you’ll have to either use the API or a tool like Tasty Links to get product images.
The “kitchen” category on Amazon offers 4.5% per sale on a 24 hour cookie. Doesn’t sound like the best situation but Amazon converts a lot higher than most other ecommerce websites due to brand recognition, trust, and well-optimized product listings.
You can check out my review of the Amazon Associates program if you haven’t joined as yet. It will tell you everything you need to know about the affiliate program and what to expect.
2. Thrive Market Affiliate Program
Have a health-conscious audience? Thrive Market is the perfect brand to recommend to them as they deal only with high quality organic, Non-GMO and natural food products.
If you cater for an audience with special dietary needs such as ketogenic, vegan, kosher, gluten-free and so on, then they may benefit from having a Thrive Market membership which starts at $5/month billed annually or $12/month billed monthly.
Affiliates can earn a flat $5 or $30 commission on the first subscription depending on which membership type the new customer chooses. The affiliate program is on CJ Affiliate which is great because that network has advanced tracking capabilities such as cross-device and cookie-less tracking enabled.
A 14-day cookie window is typical for affiliate programs in this niche but they offer an extended cookie if you’re doing well with this program as a content producer or influencer.
There are also bonus commission opportunities so that you can earn extra with the program.
3. Blue Apron Affiliate Program
Blue Apron is a meal kit delivery service that focuses on delivering high-quality ingredients for delicious dishes directly to your readers doorstep.
Kits are delivered weekly and customers can choose from a variety of plans ie. 2-person, 4-person, vegetarian, etc. Step-by-step recipe cards are also included.
This is a great fit for recipe-focused blogs and affiliates can join through CJ Affiliate where the program pays a flat $30 for the first order by a newly registered customer or 20% for gift cards.
The affiliate program offers a 30-day cookie window and since it’s on CJ Affiliate, you can benefit from the platforms advanced tech with cookieless and cross-device tracking.
If your blog focuses on meal-planning, healthy eating, or appeals to busy food enthusiasts, then Blue Apron is a good offer to promote to your readers.
4. HelloFresh Affiliate Program
HelloFresh is another popular meal kit delivery service that sends pre-portioned ingredients and recipes to their customers. They focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients.
Customers can expect various meal plans tailored to their needs with customizable menus of over 30 recipes to choose from weekly.
HelloFresh is a good option for blogs with food and recipe content.
A wide variety of dietary preferences are covered so niche food blogs are welcomed to promote. Affiliates can find the program on the CJ Affiliate network. An American and a Canadian version of the affiliate program is available so depending on the traffic you’re sending, you can sign up for the relevant HelloFresh affiliate program.
The affiliate page on the HelloFresh website asks interested affiliates to submit an inquiry. However, you can just go to the CJ Affiliate network if you’re already a publisher there and apply for their program to start promoting.
Affiliates get a $10 commission on the first sale within 14 days of the click. Other commissions include a $4 reward on gift cards, bonuses, performance incentives and more.
A dedicated affiliate team offers marketing material, logos, banner ads, and more if you need them and they’ll even enable deep-linking if you reach out.
5. Sur La Table Affiliate Program
In the kitchen goods and cookware space, Sur La Table is known for offering high quality appliances, kitchen tools and cookware.
They also offer cooking classes and cooking demonstrations both online and at their physical locations.
Sur La Table is especially appealing to cooking enthusiasts and home chefs so if your blog is focused on this type of audience then this is a good offer to promote.
You can find Sur La Table on the Ascend network (formerly PepperJam). They offer a 4% per sale commission rate but they do carry high ticket items that can pay over $100 in commissions. A cookie length of 30 days allows you time for conversions from the initial click.
On the Ascend network, you’ll find a host of creatives including banners, text links, coupons and over 8000 kitchen products to link to.
6. Vitamix Affiliate Program
Vitamix has been in business since 1921 and is known for their high-performance blenders, a staple tool for every kitchen.
The company manufactures durable and powerful blenders for every need and budget, both for home and commercial use. They also offer other kitchen accessories and even cookbooks.
10% per sale is offered to affiliates, such as food bloggers, who focus on creating content. Vitamix offers a lot of high-ticket items so that you can earn high commissions. Like many of the other affiliate programs on this list, you’ll find them on CJ Affiliate where you can take advantage of the network’s advanced tracking technology.
A cookie window of 30 days is offered. Vitamix is only looking for US and Canadian traffic but you can become an affiliate from anywhere.
As a Vitamix affiliate, you’ll get regular program updates and dedicated support. There are also special promotional offers available around the holidays so you’ll make even more commissions.
7. Butcher Box Affiliate Program
Butcher Box is a meat delivery service that focuses on ethical and sustainable meat sourcing. So, grass-fed beef, free-range organic chicken, pork raised crate-free, and wild-caught seafood.
They deliver monthly or bi-monthly subscription boxes (wither curated or customizable) with the meat frozen inside eco-friendly packaging.
This affiliate program would be a great fit for BBQ and meat-focused blogs and complements recipes about high-quality meats. It’s perfect for audiences that are health-conscious and ethically-minded.
You’ll find the Butcher Box affiliate program on Impact were affiliates can get $20 flat commission for each new Butcher Box subscription referred. A 30-day cookie window ensures that you get paid for your clicks when readers return to Butcher Box to buy.
Affiliates can get access to a variety of creatives, product images and landing pages. The dedicated affiliate team also offers support in helping to optimize campaigns and content creation.
8. Winc Wine Club Affiliate Program
A wine subscription service like Winc Wine Club is a great option for food blogs with food and wine pairing content.
Winc Wine Club focuses on making wine selection easy and personalized and delivers curated wines on a monthly basis based on the customer’s taste profile.
If you blog educational content about wines and pairings then Winc is a great offer that will make you money. Their affiliate page points to Ascend but I also found them on Flexoffers with much better terms. You can get $14.40 for the first sale when you get a reader to subscribe to a plan.
There is a 30-day cookie so that you can get paid for your referrals no matter when the reader decides to subscribe. Winc is a growing brand in the wine subscription industry so readers interested in exploring wines will be glad to learn about this service.
If you go to the Winc website outside the United States serviceable area, you may encounter some problems accessing the website. You can use a VPN app to view the website and everything they have to offer.
9. EveryPlate Affiliate Program
EveryPlate is a meal kit delivery service that is owned by another meal kit deliver company on this list – HelloFresh.
It was designed to be a more budget-friendly version of the service and appeals to more cost-conscious readers. The service operates similar to HelloFresh, delivering meal kits weekly with pre-portioned ingredients and helpful recipe cards.
Affiliates benefit from promoting a budget-friendly option in the meal kit market. Due to a lower price point, the service has the potential for higher conversions. You’ll find it on the CJ Affiliate network with commission rates of $5 for new signups and $3 for gift cards.
The cookie length for referrals is 14 days. Affiliates get access to dedicated affiliate support who will offer deep-linking when requested in addition to custom creatives, regular program updates and more.
10. YesChef Affiliate Program
Some people subscribe to cooking blogs because they want to refine their own cooking skills. You can take advantage of this opportunity by referring readers to an online cooking education platform like YesChef.
The platform features online cooking classes with world-renowned chefs like Nancy Silverton, Jamie Oliver and others. Students get high-quality video lessons with cinematic production and learn different cooking techniques after paying one of the subscription options.
The YesChef affiliate program offers a base commission of 10% with options for a CPA if you can give them extra exposure (more traffic and conversions). All of this is managed thorugh the AWIN affiliate network where you will find multiple creatives and linking options.
11. Cuisinart Affiliate Program
Cuisinart is a well-known kitchen appliance and cookware manufacturer that focuses on innovative and high-quality kitchen tools.
They offer a wide range of kitchen products for various cooking needs (baking, food processing, cooking, food prep, etc.). Your audience will probably already be familiar with this brand.
If you have recipe content with tool recommendations, then Cuisinart is a good, trusted brand to recommend and can lend itself to repeat purchases due to brand loyalty.
Cuisinart pays a baseline 5% on sales which are tracked through CJ Affiliate. The affiliate page for Cuisinart says that you can make up to 18% commissions. With a mix of generally affordable and premium product offerings, you have the opportunity to make high commissions. The cookie length is 30 days.
A dedicated affiliate team ensures that you get all the help that you need including custom creatives, access to special discounts, opportunities for future campaigns, and additional perks.
12. Crowd Cow Affiliate Program
Similar to Butcher Box on this list, Crowd Cow is an online meat delivery service focusing on high-quality, sustainably sourced meats and seafood.
With their flexible ordering options, customers can make one-time purchases or subscribe for curated boxes. Orders are flash-frozen and delivered in eco-friendly packaging. With their transparent sourcing policy customers get info about the independent farms and ranches where the meat was sourced.
Bloggers who promote ethical eating and have an eco-conscious audience will find Crowd Cow a good fit for monetizing their blog. You can partner with Crowd Cow through Shareasale where you can get up to 14% on sales.
Affiliates benefit from promoting a brand that isn’t available in local stores. The program is managed by a dedicated affiliate management team Advertise Purple, experts who know what affiliates want. This means you’ll have access to high-converting creatives, sales opportunities, contests, and more to motivate you.
CPA increases, bonus opportunities, and cash credits to try out Crowd Cow products are all great reasons to partner with this food blog affiliate program.
Choosing the Right Affiliate Programs for Your Food Blog
There are endless food related affiliate programs out there to promote. The ones you choose for your blog will depend on your particular food niche and how relevant they are to what your audience is searching for.
This is crucial for achieving conversions and long-term success. For example, if you’re running a blog on making smoothies, trying to fit in a plug for Butcher Box would be useless. Vitamix would be a more relevant offer along with fresh produce from Amazon’s Whole Foods Market.
You also want to choose companies that have a great reputation and generally good reviews so you don’t alienate your audience with bad recommendations. All the affiliate programs mentioned on this page are trustworthy and have good feedback in their respective niches.
You’ll also find that you mention some brands and products naturally because you’re already using them. This is great because you can go partner with the brand and earn commissions with products you already have experience with.
Tips for Successful Food Blog Affiliate Marketing
There are a lot of food blogs out there competing for the same readers whose attention you want. The good news is that people are looking for different experiences when it comes to food and yours is unique.
If you want to be successful with food blog affiliate marketing, here are some tips.
Finally, if you need to expand your marketing knowledge so that you can blog about food more effectively and profitably, a training course like Food Blogger Pro may be able to help.
Conclusion
There you have it – 12 of the best affiliate programs to spice up your food blog’s income! Remember, the key ingredient is picking programs that mesh well with your content and resonate with your readers.
Mix in some genuine enthusiasm, a dash of creativity, and a sprinkle of strategy, and you’ll be cooking up a storm of passive income in no time.
