The top-level domain (TLD) is the last segment of the domain name, its purpose is to categorize websites broadly by function or type. It has been used since the dawn of the Internet to classify and organize millions of websites worldwide.
The “.food” TLD is a category dedicated to all things relating to food. It is treated as a generic TLD under ICANN’s (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) New gTLD Program. This program was designed to enhance competition, innovation, and consumer choice by expanding the namespace of the Internet with potentially useful and meaningful domain extensions.
The use of specifically themed TLDs like “.food” is located in the broad movement to organize the internet and make it more intuitive for users. It can be seen as analogous to how libraries categorize books or how supermarkets arrange goods. This gives people an immediate understanding of what the website might contain, just from the URL.
Businesses and individuals that engage in anything food related such as restaurants, catering services, personal chefs, food bloggers, nutritionists, dieticians, food wholesalers and manufacturers, cookware suppliers, recipe sites, meal planner sites, and even food delivery services, might opt for a “.food” domain to make a strong branding statement.
For instance, a restaurant called ‘Spicy Bites’ could have the domain ‘www.spicybites.food’ instead of ‘www.spicybites.com’, instantly signifying that their website relates to food.
Though, as of October 2021, the “.food” domain is not yet available for public registration. The application for “.food” was filed by Dot Food, LLC in 2012 but has been facing opposition from organizations like the International Organization for Standardization due to concerns it could be monopolized by one entity and would impede fair trade if wrongly used.
The final decision on whether or not the “.food” TLD will be released for registration lies with ICANN and relevant stakeholders. If ICANN decides it is in the best public interest, they can then go ahead to sign a Registry Agreement with Dot Food, LLC.
Sources Used:
1. ICANN’s list of TLDs (https://data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt)
2. ICANN’s New gTLD Program (https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/)
3. Information about the status of .food TLD (https://icannwiki.org/.food)
4. Opposition to .food TLD (https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2013/03/27/Food-industry-urges-ICANN-to-reject-.food-domain-name-applications#)
5. Explanation of top-level domains (https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/domains/domain-extensions-what-are-top-level-domains/)
6. Top-level domains on W3 (https://www.w3.org/2001/12/StdLiaison#dn6)
