Dotdash Meredith announced their first joint project earlier this week. FOOD & WINE is launching a FOOD & WINE Classic Insider subscription service for $99 a year on an automatic renewal basis. The new Classic Insider subscription gives foodie subscribers exclusive access to FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen videos, complete with demonstrations and seminars from top chefs and wine experts from around the world.
In addition, subscribers get access to special advance purchase opportunities for tickets to the FOOD & Wine Classic in Aspen event scheduled for June 17-19, 2022. Pre-sale tickets will be available to members only starting January 12, 2022 and are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“The next best thing to being on the ground at the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen is getting access to the candid, smart and entertaining presentations hosted by the amazing talent who were there—it’s a tremendous opportunity to learn from some of the top experts in their fields. We’re excited to create more ways for people to enjoy the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen—and to provide perks for those who can’t get enough of this singular event,” said Tom Bair, VP/Publisher of FOOD & WINE, in a December 13, 2021 news release.
“Once a year, a lucky few descend upon Aspen to join the world’s most accomplished winemakers, chefs & culinary insiders for the ultimate epicurean experience. Now for the first time, you can access 20 hours of exclusive demonstrations, a brand new special pre-sale opportunity for the 2022 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, and more,” said FOOD & WINE.
At launch, FOOD & WINE Classic Insider content includes more than 20 hours of previously-unreleased video content from the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen 2021. This includes 14 cooking demos, including:
- Guy Fieri: Winner, Winner, Veggie Dinner
- Martha Stewart: Fruit Desserts
- Kristen Kish: Remixed Fast Food Favorites
- Claudette Zepeda: Birria! Birria! Birria!
- Justin Chapple: Fruit-full Entertaining
Other cooking demonstrations feature Andrew Zimmern, Kevin Curry, Melissa King, Shota Nakajima, Brooke Williamson, Kwame Onwuachi, Rodney Scott and Carla Hall.
The FOOD & Wine Classic Insider subscription service also includes 10 wine seminars led by Ray Isle, Bobby Stuckey, Ariel Arce, Shayn Bjornholm, Alpana Singh, Mark Oldman, and Amanda McCrossin. Prospective subscribers can preview the video collection on the new subscription’s welcome page.
Insider Take
There are so many things to love about this new subscription service. First, you know we love the “Insider” name instead of using Plus or Class in the subscription name. Second, this is sheer genius. FOOD & WINE magazine took content that already existed and made it available to a very specific audience. They may have had to update or change their delivery platform, but the content – exclusive to the brand – was something they did not have to recreate. Aside from technology and marketing costs, the subscription revenue is gravy.
Let’s say in a year’s time they get 10,000 subscribers at $99 each. That’s $990,000 in new revenue, less costs. Plus, they’ve partnered with sponsors and other brands, so they are likely to get additional revenue from those partnerships and product sales. With their headliners and unique content, they are creating a want that people didn’t even know they had. On the heels of the new relationship between Dotdash and Meredith, this is a first – and easy – win.
