BBC to introduce food mag Olive to rival Delicious

Marketing 13-Nov-03

BBC Magazines is to launch a food magazine on November 19 under the title Olive. It is expected to go head-to-head with Delicious, which launched on November 5.

BBC Magazines decided to launch Olive after it lost out in the bidding to publish Delicious, which is produced by Seven Publishing under licence from its Australian owners, FPC Magazines, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The first issue of Olive will be discounted from £2.80 to £2 to price-match Delicious.

Olive claims to have identified a new group of target readers, christened the "white plate generation", who are aged between 25 and 44 and embrace restaurant culture, but like to recreate restaurant food at home.

Olive is edited by Christine Hayes, who has relocated from Australia, where she edited IPC's Brides To Be.

Olive will be promoted in the Saturday edition of The Times on November 15 with a 28-page Olive-branded food calendar.