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The co-founder and executive chair of Food52, Amanda Hesser, is stepping away from the influential food media publisher she started alongside Merrill Stubbs 16 years ago, according to a note Hesser published to the website.
“We planned to build a company that served all the needs of people who loved cooking and home,” Hesser wrote. “There would be high-quality recipes, home content, and an assortment of products handpicked by us.”
Stubbs stepped away from Food52 in November 2020, leaving Hesser as the sole remaining founder involved in the business on a daily basis. She worked closely with company leadership as it navigated a period of immense transformation during the pandemic, which saw readership and revenue spike among housebound consumers.
Between 2019 and 2021, its revenue nearly tripled, ballooning from $32 million to $80 million. It also secured more than $160 million in investment from private equity firm The Chernin Group, which the publisher used to finance its rapid expansion.
But when the economy turned in 2022, Food52 found itself overexposed. It has spent the following years conducting a steady drumbeat of layoffs, cycling through executive leadership, and grasping for a strategic vision that would satisfy its fans, staff, and investors. In 2024, the brand took in around $28 million in revenue.
As part of this process, Food52 brought on the former chief executive of Barstool Sports, Erika Badan, in April 2024. Badan turned Barstool into a commercial success and exemplified the TCG investing thesis of “content to commerce,” in which media brands attract audiences and funnel them toward transactions.
Despite the ambitious maneuver, Food52 has continued to flail. In March, it cut 40% of its workforce, whittling its headcount from 140 to 90, and initiated the process of shuttering the Portland, Ore. factory in which its subsidiary brand, Schoolhouse, manufactures many of its products.
While the company she started has struggled, Hesser has increasingly focused her energy on a new venture, a Substack newsletter called Homeward. Since its launch in March, the fledgling publication has already racked up more than 705,000 subscribers, according to the website.
“We’re thrilled to support Amanda as she steps into a new chapter focused on Homeward,” Badan told ADWEEK. “Her vision has always guided Food52, and this newsletter is a beautiful extension of that—a more personal space where she can connect with our community in fresh and inspiring ways.”
The newsletter represents a return to roots for Hesser, who has long served as the defining tastemaker responsible for the vision of Food52.
The commercial struggles that have plagued the company in recent years have complicated its legacy, but they have not diminished her individual reputation as a pioneer and trendsetter in the space.
