Cookbook Business

2 Cookbook Business Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

•

Updated: October 9th, 2024

Got a love for food and a knack for curating recipes? Starting a cookbook business might be your next venture.

A cookbook business involves creating, publishing, and selling collections of recipes. This isn't just about writing down a list of ingredients and steps—it's about crafting a story and an experience around food, capturing photos, and marketing your book effectively.

You'll need to research trending cuisines, test recipes, and perhaps even work with photographers and designers to make your book visually appealing. It's a blend of creativity and meticulous planning that turns a simple idea into a tangible product.

For those who dream about seeing their name on a book cover and sharing their culinary creations with the world, a cookbook business could be deeply fulfilling. It's not a quick route to success, but with dedication and a unique angle, it holds the promise of a rewarding journey.

In this list, you'll find real-world cookbook business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a cookbook business that makes money.

1. Nourishing Brands ($7.2M/year)

Jeremy Hendon, co-founder of Nourishing Brands, came up with the idea for the business after experiencing the benefits of a low carb Paleo diet. He noticed the rising popularity of the keto diet and decided to create the Keto Summit, a digital event featuring top experts. The success of the summit led to the company's shift towards cookbooks, courses, and meal plans, and they have since sold over 300,000 cookbooks in 2020 alone.

How much money it makes: $7.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 10

How We Started A $600K/Month Business Selling Keto Cookbooks And Mealplans

Nourishing Brands is a direct-to-consumer media company that generates more than $600k per month and sold over 300,000 cookbooks in 2020 through their popular health websites like KetoSummit.com by transitioning from digital events to cookbooks, evergreen courses, and paid media.

Read this case study

Read by 9,247 founders

2. Heritage Cookbook ($744K/year)

and a way to make a positive impact in the world. I spent months searching for the right tech team, reaching out to different development agencies and interviewing potential candidates. Finally, I found a team that understood my vision and had the expertise to help me relaunch and grow the business. I also took a leap of faith and borrowed $40,000 from my retirement savings to buy my sister's shares. It was a big risk, but I believed in the potential of the business and knew that I needed full control to turn it around. With the new tech team in place, we worked tirelessly to rebrand the business, improve the user experience, and implement SEO strategies to regain our rankings in Google. We also started investing in marketing initiatives, running targeted Facebook and Instagram ads, and collaborating with food bloggers and influencers to spread the word about Heritage Cookbook. The turnaround was slow at first, but gradually we started seeing an increase in traffic and sales. Our efforts paid off, and within a year, we were back on track, surpassing our previous sales records and reaching new customers worldwide. It hasn't been an easy journey, but I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished. Heritage Cookbook is now a thriving business, generating $744,000 in annual revenue and counting. I'm excited to continue growing the company, expanding our reach, and helping more people share their food stories through our custom cookbooks.

How much money it makes: $744K/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
How many people on the team: 1

I Reinvented Our Family Legacy & Built A $744K/Year Cookbook Business

Heritage Cookbook, an online website for custom cookbooks started by a mother roughly 20 years ago, now makes $744k a year and is about to undergo a relaunch after drastic improvements in design, templates, products and technology, with an aim to become the top site for recipe preservation.

Read this case study

Read by 4,379 founders