Culinary Media Group Acquires Food52
Culinary Media Group, a subsidiary of Marquee Brands, announced the acquisition of assets from Food52, Inc. The deal unites the popular food media brand with America's Test Kitchen, which is also owned by the group, creating a major player in the culinary media landscape.
- The acquisition followed Food52, Inc.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on December 29, 2025, which was forced after its lender, Avidbank, froze the company's cash accounts. - America's Test Kitchen served as the initial "stalking horse" bidder in the bankruptcy auction. The final winning bid for the Food52 media brand was $9.9 million. - Food52's other assets were sold to separate bidders; home goods brand Schoolhouse was purchased by a division of Hudson Valley Lighting Group for $2.2 million, and tabletop brand Dansk was sold to Form Portfolios for $250,000. - This sale price represents a significant decrease from Food52's valuation of approximately $300 million in 2021, following an investment round led by TCG Capital Management. - Private equity firm TCG Capital Management had been the majority owner of Food52 since 2019, investing a reported total of $163 million to expand the company, including the 2021 acquisitions of Schoolhouse and Dansk. - Prior to the bankruptcy, Food52 underwent multiple rounds of layoffs, including a significant workforce reduction in March 2025, as it faced financial difficulties. - The new CEO of Food52 at the time of the sale was Erika Ayers Badan, formerly the CEO of Barstool Sports, who had been brought on following the departure of co-founder Amanda Hesser and a short tenure by former West Elm president Alex Bellos. - America's Test Kitchen is part of Marquee Brands' Home & Culinary portfolio, which also includes Sur La Table, Martha Stewart, and Emeril Lagasse. Marquee's business model focuses on acquiring brands and licensing their names to partners for product manufacturing and distribution.
