Digital Brand Architects Forays Into Food, Signing Giade De Laurentiis, The Defined Dish, More

Digital Brand Architects, the UTA-owned talent management firm that reps roughly 140 lifestyle influencers, has added celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis to its roster, and will work with the Food Network host on her lifestyle and ecommerce website Giadzy.

At the same time, DBA is officially moving into the food category — specifically the green-eating vertical — by signing several other culinary-focused creators, including The Defined Dish (269,000 Instagram followers), The Modern Proper (161,000 followers), and Food Heaven (58,000 followers). DBA will work with de Laurentiis and the other stars to build their digital presence, diversify audience reach, and generate new brand opportunities.

Giadzy features Italian lifestyle content — including travel, entertainment, and tabletop products. The Defined Dish (Dallas-based Alex Snodgrass) is a Whole 30 and Paleo recipe developer, while The Modern Proper (mom duo Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer) are also meal plan and recipe vloggers. Registered dietitians Wendy Lopez

and Jessica Jones of Food Heaven create nutrition-centric vlogs and podcasts. DBA will manage entertainment opportunities, digital distribution, brand partnerships (the company has worked with Target, Neiman Marcus, and Microsoft), merchandise, and more.

This isn’t DBA’s first food-centric signing; in March, the company signed Irish food writer, photographer, and host Donal Skehan.

“We are seeing more and more brands from traditional talent take advantage of digital platforms to further engage with their fans, especially in the food and lifestyle space,” DBA co-founder and CEO Raina Penchansky said in a statement. “Giadzy is an incredible example of a lifestyle platform from a well-known television personality successfully broadening her impact across platforms, and we are looking forward to helping her continue to create new opportunities on digital and beyond.”