New Zealanders want to be healthy in a recession

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New Zealanders want to be healthy in a recession

Bucking the trend of many other magazines, the independently-owned Healthy Food Guide has recorded big increases in circulation and readership and says affordable healthy eating appears to be sought after in a recession.

The Auckland-based magazine, which has separate editions in New Zealand and Australia, has the fastest growing circulation of all monthly titles in both countries, according to the latest just released official figures.

In New Zealand, Healthy Food Guide has achieved a 15% increase in circulation figures to 45,632 [1] and a massive 37% growth in readership to 247,000 readers [2] to the year ended December 2008. This is the best result of all weekly and monthly magazines in New Zealand during this audit period.

In Australia the same pattern is evident with a 24% increase in circulation – the fastest growing magazine in Australia.

"Interestingly, the figures show that even though there is a recession, a growing number of readers are seeking affordable healthy food making the magazine increasingly popular and remarkably resilient to the effects of the economic situation, " said the magazine's publisher Kim Mundell.

"Our readers say they value the practical advice and affordable recipes which make their food shopping and meal preparation easy and in these challenging times when jobs may be on the line, they say they want to stay well from eating good stuff but not spend too much money."

Both editions of Healthy Food Guide are owned by independent publishers Phil Ryan and Kim Mundell.  Australian Healthy Food Guide launched six months after the New Zealand edition, in November 2005, and is published by Healthy Life Media Pty Limited in Sydney.

ENDS

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