Canadian Magazine Industry News
29 May 2008,     VANCOUVER
Edible Vancouver joins the local food chorus
The newest magazine in the franchise-esque Edible Communities line.

Vancouver has joined the growing ranks of edible cities. Make that uppercase, italics “edible,” as in Edible Vancouver, the latest in a franchise-esque series of independent magazines launched by U.S.-based Edible Communities Inc. The new mag, which premiered this month, is the 44th such title and the second in Canada. (Edible Toronto launched last September. See Sept/Oct. 2007 Masthead Starts for details.)

“We’re all about connecting people with the source of their food, getting people to start to think a little bit more about where their food is coming from,” says editor Debbra Mikaelsen. (Husband and partner Philip Solman is handling the magazine’s sales.)

Much like the other Edible titles, “we’ll be telling the stories of small-scale farmers, cheese artisans, bakers, wineries and breweries. And we’ll include seasonal recipes in each issue,” Mikaelsen says.

Using Burnaby, B.C.-based Hemlock Printers, about 20,000 copies of the 36-page launch issue were printed on uncoated, FSC, post-consumer recycled paper. The quarterly freebie is available at grocery stores, butchers, cafés, and independent bookshops throughout Vancouver. Subscriptions are also available for $28. Full-page ads go for $2,800.

The launch has been a whirlwind since Mikaelsen, a copywriter and fiction author, first heard about Edible Toronto last fall. “The great thing about Edible Communities is that they’re incredibly flexible and you’re allowed a lot of range so you can tailor it to suit your need,” says Mikaelsen.

“It’s technically not a franchise. We operate through license agreements that give them the right to publish a magazine using our brand,” says Tracey Ryder, president and co-founder of Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Edible Communities. In addition to an up front licensing fee, the company takes “a small percentage on all the advertising they sell as a royalty.”

Edible Communities are now fielding queries from would-be publishers in London, Paris, Australia, and New Zealand. Next to sprout up in Canada may be Montreal – “We’re hoping it will be our first bilingual magazine,” says Ryder – but they’ve also had preliminary contacts with interested parties in Alberta and Ontario.

— Allan Britnell
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Wow, Torstar really seems to be on a mission to bankrupt one magazine after another....
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