Gourmet Magazine Returns as an iPad App

Times is tough in the print industry; to thrive, one must adapt. And no one knows that better than giant publishing conglomerate Conde Nast, who announced recently the reintroduction of one of its most celebrated titles, Gourmet Magazine, as an iPad app.

Gourmet Live (the magazine’s app name) will be highly interactive in format, reports CBS. “Producers” instead of writer/editor teams will upload and update material and social networking will be encouraged via Facebook and Twitter connections.

Mag apps aren’t necessarily untested. Several glossies have made the big mobile move, and with relative success (Time, Wired). But this might be the publishing world’s first attempt to resurrect a completely defunct brand by taking it digital.

Gourmet was the oldest food publication in the world (with nearly one million foodie subscribers) when Conde Nast decided to stop printing it last fall. The corporation banked instead on Bon Appetit, a magazine geared less toward a niche crowd and more toward the broad spectrum of everyday-chefs.

The Gourmet Live app won’t be available until sometime in late 2010, when iTunes will offer it as a free download. Until then, Conde Nast has released a product demo video. Check it out below: