Bon Appétit's December/January relaunch issue
To brine or not to brine? That is the question and Dawn Davis has the answer. The editor in chief of Bon Appétit, the foodie bible that originated as a liquor store giveaway 66 years ago, has infused some fresh new life into the beloved brand, which releases its December/January relaunch issue today.
Editor-in-Chief Dawn Davis
Davis took the helm at Bon Appétit two years ago amidst some challenges and changes at the publication. Her goal? To restore confidence in the brand and expand BA’s audience. And the way to do that, she says, is by thinking about her audience in a holistic way and meeting them everywhere they are. And what underlies success in every channel, Davis believes, is the production of really good, diverse and tested content.
“I came in and got the team to focus on the future,” Davis said. “All eyes are going to be on us, and our content so let’s just get back to the basics and create great content - that’s what people will talk about.”
Recipes, with a side of Equity and Culture
Just take a look at today’s issue and you’ll see a more modern BA. For starters, Creative Director, Arsh Raziuddin and Designer, Jeremy Mickel combined to create the brand’s new font (appropriately called aperitif!) and a new logo. But the changes go beyond the aesthetic. Embracing its commitment to equity, the relaunch includes a highly diverse group of illustrators and photographers that more accurately reflect the brand’s audience and expanded culture-focused content, which is now shared across multiple channels.
The relaunch includes new columns that give readers a peek into the industry and provide some useful lifestyle tips. Small Plates, Big Opinions will explore what professional chefs actually feed their own children at home (have you heard of Mejadra?). Healthyish My Way will feature different health practitioners and focus on using food as medicine. And, as BA’s audience once again leans in to gathering in person post-Covid, the brand will have a column on preparing relatively simple meals that feed a crowd.
Bon Appétit's new column, Small Plates, Big Opinions
Video
BA’s audience clearly likes to watch their content. The brand’s YouTube channel has more than six million subscribers (a recent video of a day in the life of a line cook at a hot Brooklyn restaurant already has more than one million views!) The video series On the Line, also available on the BA website, takes an inside look into restaurant kitchens and introduces the audience to the people that make the hospitality industry run. “We did a really important piece on parenting in the hospitality industry,” Davis said. “You think childcare is difficult if you work 9 to 5. What if you have a job that starts at 6 pm?”
App
Epicurious, BA’s new app, is a virtual buffet of content, aggregating more than 50,000 recipes from Gourmet, Epicurious and Bon Appétit, and will soon include recipes from BA’s sister brand, La Cocina Italiana. What’s notable about the app is the breadth and customization options, which combine to deliver recipe suggestions that best match the user’s food profile.
Podcast
Dinner SOS allows callers to present a cooking dilemma (a toddler who will only eat buttered pasta?) that BA’s food director Chris Morocco will aim to solve. The caller chooses one of two solutions and reports back with their results. “Real problems, real people and real solutions from our vast 50k+ recipe archive,” said Davis.
Experiences
BA will soon host culinary chef and sommelier-led trips abroad, the first of which will feature chef Stefano Secchi of the Michelin-starred restaurant Rezdôra, who will lead travelers through Piedmont Italy.
Restoring Confidence and Managing Growth
Davis joined BA in 2020 as the brand was rebounding from some reputation problems. She shared some tips that helped her get the brand on track, and that led to today’s relaunch.
Growth is like baking.
Davis said growing her team, and her audience, during a challenging time at the brand required patience. “When you’re baking and you’re folding in egg whites, you don’t do it all at once. You do it bit by bit,” said Davis. “So, as I’m expanding our team and bringing in new subscribers, I had to accept that it’s a gradual process.”
Effecting institutional change is like planting a flower garden.
It takes time, said Davis. “You’re putting in the seeds and enriching the soil, but it takes time for things to bloom.” The brand has made significant changes in its corporate culture and values that have taken root. Now they want the image to match. “What’s blooming now is this beautiful redesign where we’ve taken elements of BA that were already beautiful, and we’ve just made them a little more sophisticated. As we bring in new columns and new voices, we wanted the look to reflect that.”
Talent is elastic.
Modernizing the brand and welcoming more diverse voices and perspectives allowed Davis to attract a young, dynamic team who were optimistic about the future and what the brand could create. And Davis recognized that these team members had varied skills. For example, she said “My head of Conde Nast Entertainment, who works with me on video content, also wrote a story about best new restaurants.”
Meet your audience where they want to be.
BA’s audience is diverse and consumes content in very different ways. So, it was important to Davis to deliver content in ways that made it easiest for her audience to engage. And that has led to well-vetted strategies on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, a podcast, a native app, web and print.
Bon Appétit's Jammy Onion and Miso Pasta recipe, available in the December 2022 issue
Soon after starting at Bon Appétit, Davis embarked on a listening tour and, in conjunction with her employees, developed the motto “We want to be the destination for what to put on the table and what to discuss around it.” So, if you are still discussing whether or not to brine your turkey this Thanksgiving, the pros at Bon Appétit says yes - check out this recipe to learn how. Bon appétit and happy Thanksgiving to all!
