Food Magazines In Circulation Decline
The highly competitive food magazine sector has had a difficult time according to the most recent ABC figures, with the majority of titles displaying dramatic falls in their circulation.
The titles considered here are food magazines and those magazines that have a large amount of food-related editorial, and therefore compete for readers in the food sector. An example of this is Prima which demonstrated a decent 6.09% increase in circulation, where virtually all the other titles recorded a decline.
Good Housekeeping displayed a tiny increase of 0.01%. Perhaps its recent announcement that it is putting together a masthead programme for ITV (see Newsline) could lead to an increase in its circulation as a knock-on effect.
Jan-Jun ’98 ABC Food Sector YoY Comparisons
| Title | Jan 97 – Jun 97 | Jan 98 – Jun 98 | Actual Change | % Change | |
| BBC Good Food | 342,380 | 290,053 | -52,327 | -15.28 | |
| BBC Vegetarian Good Food | 79,653 | 72,125 | -7,528 | -9.45 | |
| Essentials | 312,996 | 290,324 | -22,672 | -7.24 | |
| Family Circle | 306,764 | 262,589 | -44,175 | -14.4 | |
| Food Illustrated | n/a | 21,208 | n/a | n/a | |
| Good Housekeeping | 440,655 | 440,721 | 66 | 0.01 | |
| Prima | 501,154 | 531,678 | 30,524 | 6.09 | |
| Sainsburys The Magazine | 361,109 | 370,862 | 9,753 | 2.7 |
The appointment of a new marketing and promotions manager at Essentials late last year (see Newsline) doesn’t appear to have done them any favours, as their circulation figures were down by 7.24% year on year, giving them a figure of 290,324.
Prima is still the market leader therefore, totting up its circulation to 531,678, its closest contender being Good Housekeeping .
Within the food specialist market, BBC Good Food‘s circulation decreased to 290,720, and BBC Vegetarian Good Food decreased to 72,125. Food Illustrated posted its first ABC of 21,208, with the newly launched Food & Travel planning to release a Jan-Dec figure.
The press database can be accessed by selecting “Press” from the drop-down box at the top of this page.
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