With the
relaunched New Zealand Herald now simmering along, APN is turning some of its
attention to the imminent launch a new website that will be dedicated to all
things food and cooking, called foodhub.co.nz. The digital offering will house APN’s new
and archival recipe and food content, showcasing more than 6,000 recipes drawn
from APN’s newspaper and magazine publications including the NZ Herald,
its regional newspapers, and magazines including the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly
and the New Zealand Listener.
APN chief operating officer Todd McLeay says Food Hub will
appeal to a wide range of New Zealanders who want trusted recipes using local
ingredients.
“Our consumer research has shown us there’s a real
need for recipes that appeal to us as New Zealanders, using seasonal ingredients
that are easily accessible,” he says. “Focus groups also told us they wanted
Kiwi recipes using standard New Zealand weights and measurements. We’re all
busy, don’t have much time and find it annoying to have to convert US imperial
measures.”
The website will be a digital partner to the NZ
Herald’s new Monday food section, Bite,
as well as featuring new content as it appears across the APN network of
titles. At last
count, Food Hub launch publisher Kirsty Cameron says various APN publications
collectively generate about 30-plus new recipes every week, and 95 percent of
the recipes on the website will be from the APN portfolio. But as well as being a repository for
recipes, reader interaction will be an important component.
“We’re
really keen to engage with our reader and build a nice, strong sense of
community around the site. You’ll be invited to register and become a member of
the food hub and that will allow you to post and comment on the website,” she
says.
Food-orientated print publications face a number of
hurdles: the market is already crowded and people are increasingly jumping
online to find recipes instead of turning to magazines. But what makes Food Hub
stand out as a digital proposition, says Cameron, is the currency of its
content and its mobile and tablet optimisation.
“You could be sitting on the bus in the morning thinking about what you
might make for dinner that night. Obviously if you don’t have a magazine with
you, it’s a little harder to find that inspiration. But if you’ve got your
phone, you can jump on Food Hub and be inspired.”
APN has secured three key launch partners, including Countdown,
wine distributor Advintage and Sealord.
Cameron says the sponsors are supported throughout the
site with traditional run of site advertising, and the site will also house
sponsor-generated recipes, though these will clearly be marked as sponsor
content.
The
website was built Born Digital and is currently undergoing internal testing, launching towards the
end of the month.
