At that time, MAU was still at 60 million, ~12% higher than the reported 52 million seen at the end of 2019. In our view, Cookpad might have hit the ceiling in terms of subscription revenue potential in Japan, given that the number of domestic MAU (Monthly Active Users), which accounted for both paid and free users, has also declined since 2017.

In Q1 2020, Cookpad only had 1.9 million paying users, down about 100k from last year’s 2 million paying users. The shrinking premium user base has been driving the overall decline in subscription revenue. In its latest Q1 report, subscription revenue even saw a 0.8% decline to ~¥1.8 billion. In Q4 2019 Japan recipe service segment, in which Cookpad records all of its premium subscription revenue, only grew ~7% from Q4 2017, and ~1.2% from Q4 2018. Despite the affordable pricing, subscribers and revenue growth have been stagnant.

Cookpad allows users to register and access all recipes for free, but have premium features available only to the paid users in the domestic market.Ĭookpad charges ¥280 ($2.6) per month for its premium subscription service, which allows paid users to save up to 3,000 recipes, view calories info on recipes, and also get members-only coupons.

Even so, growth has also been relatively flat. RiskĬookpad’s premium subscription business appears to only work in Japan. Nonetheless, for now, we initiate our coverage with a neutral rating. On the other hand, we see a promising monetization potential in the online fresh grocery same-day delivery business recently launched in 2018, Cookpad Mart. Other forms of monetization, such as revenue sharing agreement and advertising, have also not been working well as revenue has declined from ~¥17 billion in 2016 to merely ~¥12 billion ($111 million) in 2019. Its best monetization model, Japan-only premium subscription service, has been growing in single-digits over the last two years. Monetization has been Cookpad’s biggest issue. Despite the ambitious global vision, we think that it will continue to see a limited upside potential overseas with its core subscription business model. Cookpad (OTCMKTS: CKPDY, TYO: 2193) is a Japanese food recipe-sharing platform with a presence in over 71 countries and services in 26 languages.

Cookpad hausa