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.
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 omnichannel 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.
