New magazine targets Syracuse-area interest in wellness

ONONDAGA  —  The publisher of THRiVEcny says the Central New York market is primed for the free monthly health and wellness magazine that hit shelves at the turn of the year.

“Syracuse is really at the forefront of the trend with integrative medicine in the community,” says Sue Wallace, publisher of THRiVEcny. “A couple of area hospitals are starting to incorporate integrative medicine into the care and recovery of their patients. It was just so exciting thinking Syracuse is ahead of the trend.”

Integrative medicine blends traditional medical techniques with other forms of caring for the mind, body, and spirit — from chiropractics to the Japanese technique called Reiki. THRiVEcny is trying to capitalize on the field’s growing popularity with its pages focused on health and wellness.

“What we hope to present with this magazine is that we all need to take responsibility for our own wellness, rather than just depending on our doctor to be well,” Wallace says. “People are looking for more opportunities to help with their health and wellness.”

The magazine’s premier issue hit newsstands Dec. 28. It is currently distributed at over 60 pick-up points in Onondaga County as well as Cazenovia and Oneida. Pick-up points include grocery stores, hospitals, medical centers, medical offices, fitness centers, and advertisers’ businesses.

Virginia–based Dominion Distribution coordinates distribution at retail locations, and Wallace intends to add more pick-up points in the coming months. Runs of 12,000 magazines are set to be distributed every month. The first issue had 36 pages, and Wallace hopes subsequent issues will be thicker.

THRiVEcny aims to grow a “pass-on” readership, according to Wallace, who worked in sales, development, and management before helping to found the magazine. She says her research shows that every copy of the magazine could have two readers. Some magazines will be passed from friend to friend, and others will be read by multiple people in doctors’ offices, she continues.

“Being a free publication, people are picking it up because they want to read it,” Wallace says. “Putting them in places like doctors’ offices where people are sitting there and they have time to read through, the readership would be more than the circulation number.”

Wallace and THRiVEcny co-founder Lisa Cavallaro — a master certified coach, certified weight-loss coach, Reiki master, and founder of Blue Rose Coaching who also serves as the magazine’s editor — are currently the magazine’s only two employees.

The publication also includes the work of contributing writers, probably numbering about nine per edition, according to Cavallaro. The owners would like to add more employees as growth dictates.

The magazine generates revenue entirely through advertising sales, Wallace says. She and Cavallaro are not sharing revenue totals or projections at this time.

They currently run the publication from their homes. Dual Printing Inc. of Cheektowaga, near Buffalo, prints the publication.

“I see many people running businesses from their homes with people working remotely, and it works,” Cavallaro says. “As a coach, I’ve been working from my home for years.”

Issues of THRiVEcny will contain a range of articles. For example, the premiere issue had articles on integrative medicine and the Dalai Lama, who visited Syracuse in October. Every edition is also slated to contain monthly features aligned around themes including “eat,” “move,” “connect,” “spin,” “thank,” “breathe,” and “prosper.”

“Each month we have articles that fit in for each one of those monthly features, as well as some others,” Cavallaro says. “The whole idea for this magazine is that we want to keep it simple, very easy to read.”

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com