The subscription model for Internet services is increasingly popular. And after music, videos and newspapers, now it's the turn of gastronomy. According to what reported by Les Echos, the Webedia group, controlled by Fimalac - which also bought the French recipe site 750 Grammes), has announced the launch, together with the Alain Ducasse group, of the "University of Taste", a website that aims to become the Wikipedia of gastronomy.
Starting in May, the platform will offer recipes from great chefs and ordinary people, product information and advice on producers and establishments. The economic model is mixed: most of the resources will be free. But to access the contents produced by the 50 great chefs of the Ducasse group (recipes and videos), you will have to pay a monthly subscription of around 5 euros.
The goal is to reach 15-20 thousand subscriptions by the end of the year, for a turnover of around 1 million euros, which will be shared between Webedia and the chefs. All with a minimal investment: Webedia will use its own teams to develop the site and a dozen people will work exclusively on the new project. The site will host advertisements for kitchen products, also in the form of fixed or video sections.
“Advertising should not account for more than a quarter of our revenue. For us, premium content comes first,” explained Cédric Siré, CEO of Webedia. The idea is to self-finance the University of Taste's next developments, starting with international expansion: in 2014, the site will be translated and adapted to the Anglo-Saxon, Spanish, Japanese and Brazilian markets.
