EMMA

What EMMA does

EMMA is a German feminist political magazine founded in 1977 by Alice Schwarzer and published bimonthly by EMMA Frauenverlags GmbH from its headquarters in Cologne. The publication serves German-speaking readers interested in feminist perspectives on politics, society, and culture, covering topics including sexual violence, prostitution, surrogacy, abortion rights, gender identity, and Islamism. The bimonthly print magazine is sold at kiosks, bookstores, train stations, and supermarkets across Germany, complemented by a digital eMagazine edition and a free online Lesesaal archive containing all 384 issues digitized from 1977 through 2024 in collaboration with FrauenMediaTurm, Hochschulbibliothekszentrum NRW, and Fraunhofer-Institut.

The product portfolio centers on the core magazine (single print issues at €11.80, eMagazine at €8.80, trial subscriptions at €18 for three issues, annual subscriptions at €69 including a book gift) and extends into book publishing (Alice Schwarzer's autobiography and feminist essays), documentary DVDs, and merchandise sold through the emma.de/shop e-commerce storefront. Underlying technology is a standard content publishing platform with no proprietary AI/ML components; the Lesesaal archive represents the most notable technical asset, built as a collaborative digitization effort. Subscription fulfillment and customer service are managed by ZENIT Pressevertrieb GmbH as the channel partner.

The business model combines recurring subscription revenue, single-copy retail sales, e-commerce transactions, advertising through Mediadaten sold to brands targeting feminist and women-focused audiences, and ancillary book and DVD sales. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer across multiple channels: physical retail, the in-house online shop, the ZENIT-managed subscription service, and global digital distribution of the eMagazine. Alice Schwarzer functions as both publisher (Herausgeberin) and managing director (Geschäftsführerin), and her personal brand, including book tours and media appearances, materially drives subscriptions and newsstand demand. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or parent holding company.

Name

EMMA

Legal name

EMMA Frauenverlags GmbH

Website

https://emma.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

EMMA is a privately held, bimonthly German feminist political magazine founded by Alice Schwarzer in 1977, serving German-speaking readers interested in women's rights and gender equality through print, eMagazine, digital archive, and book sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO), Women’s Interest & Parenting Magazines (MPAJAEAB)

Keywords

• Feminist magazine publishing
• Political journalism print
• Women's rights media
• Digital magazine archive
• Subscription publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Köln

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Magazine Sales and Subscriptions: EMMA generates primary revenue through print magazine sales (single copies at €11.80) and subscriptions (trial 3-issue for €18, annual for €69 with book gift). Digital eMagazine versions are sold for €8.80.
2. Book Publishing: EMMA publishes books through the associated shop, including Alice Schwarzer's autobiography 'Mein Leben' (€28), 'Der kleine Unterschied' (€14), and 'Feminismus pur. 99 Worte' (€15).
3. DVD and Media Sales: The shop sells Alice Schwarzer documentary DVDs (€18) and streaming versions through Vimeo and Amazon.
4. Advertising: EMMA sells print advertising space targeting women and feminist audiences, offering media data (Mediadaten) for advertisers interested in reaching women interested in politics, education, health, and careers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EMMA is a German feminist political magazine published bimonthly since 1977 by EMMA Frauenverlags GmbH. The company sells print and digital (eMagazine) subscriptions and single issues, distributes Alice Schwarzer's books and related DVDs through its online shop, and operates the free Lesesaal digital archive containing all 384 issues from 1977-2024.

Product overview

EMMA is a German feminist political magazine founded by Alice Schwarzer in 1977, published bimonthly. The company offers a unified product portfolio centered on the EMMA Magazine (print and eMagazine), supplemented by the EMMA Lesesaal digital archive of all issues from 1977-2024, an e-commerce shop for books and merchandise, and subscription services. The magazine covers feminist topics including women's rights, prostitution, gender identity, violence against women, and political commentary.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EMMA Magazine (print) Bimonthly German feminist political magazine covering women's rights, gender equality, sexuality, prostitution, surrogacy, abortion, and social justice, targeted at women interested in feminist perspectives.
• EMMA eMagazine Digital version of EMMA magazine available for purchase (€8.80 per issue), including iPad/web editions, providing the same editorial content in electronic format.
• EMMA Lesesaal Digital Archive Free publicly accessible digital archive containing all EMMA magazine issues from 1977-2024, a historical record of German feminist journalism preserved in partnership with FrauenMediaTurm and Fraunhofer-Institut.
• EMMA Subscription Subscription service offering regular delivery of EMMA magazine, with a trial subscription of 3 issues for €18 and an annual subscription for €69 including a book gift, cancellable at any time.
• EMMA Shop (Books, DVDs, Merchandise) E-commerce storefront selling Alice Schwarzer's published books, documentary DVDs (including Vimeo/Amazon streaming versions), magazine back issues, and related merchandise to consumers.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FrauenMediaTurmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMMA collaborates with the FrauenMediaTurm (FMT), an information center for the history of emancipation, to provide the free digital Lesesaal archive containing all 384 issues from 1977-2024. This is a core partnership for the preservation and accessibility of feminist journalism history.
• Hochschulbibliothekszentrum NRWminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the EMMA Lesesaal digital archive project, contributing technical infrastructure for the digitization and online access to historical EMMA issues.
• ZENIT Pressevertrieb GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEMMA's subscription service provider handling subscription management, delivery, and customer service for magazine subscribers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Brigitte: Brigitte is Germany's leading mainstream women's interest magazine, published by Gruner + Jahr. It targets a similar female German readership with a focus on politics, careers, lifestyle, and gender issues, making it the closest mass-market competitor to EMMA's audience.
• Madame Magazin: Madame is a German feminist magazine (originally founded 1955 as a re-launch) covering politics, culture, and feminism from a female perspective. It is a direct competitor to EMMA in the German feminist magazine category with overlapping reader demographics.
• Edition F: Edition F is a digital-first German feminist media brand focused on women in business, politics, and society. It overlaps directly with EMMA's feminist journalism positioning and competes for the same digitally-engaged, politically-active female audience in Germany.
• Freundin: Freundin is a long-established German women's magazine covering lifestyle, relationships, and women's issues. It competes with EMMA for the same German female readership, particularly on topics like feminism, relationships, and social issues.
• taz (die tageszeitung): taz is a left-leaning independent German daily newspaper with strong feminist and progressive political coverage. Like EMMA, it operates as an opinion-driven independent publication serving politically-engaged German readers, though on a broader left-political spectrum.
• The European: The European is a German opinion magazine founded by Alexander Marguier covering politics and society from a liberal-conservative perspective. Comparable to EMMA as a smaller, founder-led, opinion-driven German political magazine targeting engaged readers.
• Cicero Magazine: Cicero is a German opinion and political magazine covering politics, culture, and society with strong editorial commentary. Like EMMA, it is a smaller, independent political magazine with a strong founder-editor voice and opinion-driven content targeting engaged German readers.

Broad incumbents

• Cosmopolitan Germany: Cosmopolitan Germany is a Hearst-published women's interest magazine covering careers, sex, relationships, and politics. It targets a younger, more mainstream female readership than EMMA but competes for the same advertising and subscription pool in the German women's media market.
• Der Spiegel: Der Spiegel is Germany's largest news magazine with significant political coverage including feminist and gender topics. While broader in scope, it competes for political journalism readers and advertising spend, and its editorial position can shape the mainstream feminist discourse EMMA challenges.

Regional players

• Diva Magazine: Diva is a UK-based lesbian and feminist magazine. While not directly competing in Germany, it occupies the same niche of independent feminist publishing with a similar editorial focus on women's rights and gender politics, serving as a comparable model for the niche feminist magazine category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/emma.online
• Xtwitter.com/EMMA Magazin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emmamagazin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EMMA