Rodale to Launch Organic Style

Posted on April 11, 2001

Rodale Inc., a publisher of information on healthy, active lifestyles, announced the launch of Organic Style, which includes a magazine, a website, and a series of books. Steve Murphy, President and COO of Rodale, made the announcement.

``Rodale continues to be in a growth mode, and Organic Style is another example of our goal to reach large new audiences,'' said Murphy. ``Organic Style fills a void in a growing marketplace, and it targets a growing segment of the population. We will continue to expand through new product development.''

Organic Style magazine, conceived by the company's Vice Chairman Maria Rodale, will be on newsstands nationwide on August 20 with its September/October 2001 issue. The magazine will carry a cover price of $3.50, and it has a guaranteed circulation of 400,000. A website will launch in July, and the first series of books will be published in the summer of 2001.

``For a new generation of women, the word organic means much more than it has in the past,'' said Rodale. ``It's about being connected to who you really are - and expressing that self-awareness through what you wear, what you put on your skin, how you keep your home and garden, where you travel, and, of course, what you eat. It's about the art of living in balance. The natural products market is $80 billion dollars strong, and sales of organic foods have grown 20 percent each year since 1990. This launch continues our company's 70-year commitment to being the leader in the organic movement.''

Organic Style's debut issue includes a broad range of editorial features, all stemming from its core areas of focus: beauty, fashion, cuisine, home, garden, and travel. Graphically, these features are all designed to convey the magazine's sense of ``the art of living in balance.''

Maria Rodale and Nancy Small, senior vice president and managing director of Rodale's Organic Living Division, have selected the talent to chart the course for Organic Style magazine. Veteran women's service journalist Carol Brietzke Brooks serves as editor. Prior to joining Organic Style, Brooks covered lifestyle, beauty, and health as deputy editor of Glamour. Chris Gangi, who in 1990 won the American Society of Magazine Editors National Magazine Award in the design category, is executive creative director of Rodale's Organic Living Division. Bernadette Haley, a Reader's Digest veteran, serves as Organic Style's publisher.