ROSEMONT, IL (Jan. 13, 2022)—Amanda Hesser, founder and CEO of Food52, a first-of-its kind, next-generation cooking and home company built on a unique blend of content, community and commerce, will offer an in-depth look into the development and growth of the company during a Keynote session at The Inspired Home Show in Chicago.
“Food52 is a leading innovator in the cooking and overall home space. They have created a brand that aligns with the lifestyle focus of The Inspired Home Show. We are delighted to have Amanda tell her story of how she grew a website focused on sharing recipes, cooking techniques, tips and cooking tool recommendations with an enthusiast community into one of the fastest-growing companies in America,” said Derek Miller, IHA president and CEO. “It has been exciting to watch Food52 develop its own branded product line, launch an online store, acquire meaningful home + housewares brands and expand into categories of home décor. Food52’s journey is similar to that of The Inspired Home Show, which has evolved from a marketplace of home and housewares products to a space that connects not only buyer to seller, but also product to lifestyle and the industry to the consumer mindset.”
Hesser will talk candidly about her company’s journey with Peter Giannetti, editor-in-chief of HomePage News, in a fireside chat Sunday, March 6 at 12 p.m. CST in Room S100/Grand Ballroom at McCormick Place.
Hesser’s insights on the housewares omni-channel industry and her unique perspective on how Food52 has evolved will provide a welcome re-engagement of in-person storytelling for the industry after two years of being unable to hear directly from peers about challenges, strategies and success stories. The Inspired Home Show will be held March 5-8 at McCormick Place, the first in-person gathering of the industry’s premier marketplace since 2019.
During the chat, Hesser will reveal how the pandemic has reaffirmed Food52’s founding mission to serve its expanding community. She will share her perspectives on how the Food52 brand pioneered the convergence of new consumer media with innovative merchandising and marketing to create an untraditional, yet authentic, dynamic and influential content-driven marketplace. Founded in 2009, Food52 now reaches more than 25 million people monthly.
The session will also examine the impact of recent strategic moves by Food52, including acquisitions of Dansk cookware and tableware and Schoolhouse décor, the creation of the Home52 vertical and brick-and-mortar retail plans — and how they are among the core building blocks for the future of the company.
Prior to founding Food52, Hesser was a reporter, feature writer and food editor at The New York Times, and she also authored several award-winning books including “Cooking for Mr. Latte: A Food Lover’s Courtship, with Recipes,” “The Cook and the Gardener” and “The Essential New York Times Cookbook.” She is the co-author of three Food52 cookbooks.
The Inspired Home Show, IHA’s global home + housewares marketplace, will be held March 5-8 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Complex and feature 2,000 exhibitors and thousands of buyer attendees from around the globe. For more information about the 2022 Show and to register for a Show badge, please visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com. Information on what precautions are being taken to ensure the health and safety of the industry is available on our Covid Readiness webpage.
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The International Housewares Association is the 84-year-old voice of the housewares industry. The not-for-profit, full-service association sponsors the world’s premier exposition of products for the home, The Inspired Home Show, IHA’s Global Home + Housewares Market (TheInspiredHomeShow.com), and offers its 1,400 member companies a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy, export assistance, industry and consumer trends through the IHA Market Watch Report, executive management peer groups, a B2B community at Housewares.org, group buying discounts on business solutions services, direct-to-consumer engagement through TheInspiredHome.com and an independent news and information platform through HomePageNews.com.
