• by Sara Guaglione , September 30, 2019

The Chernin Group has acquired Food52, buying up a majority stake in the cookware and recipe digital start-up company for $83 million.

Food52’s business is built primarily on ecommerce. The company sells its own line of products and provides affiliate links to shop its recipes and content through online retailers.

Its “Five Two” product line is more popular and profitable than its affiliate sales on Amazon, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Though Food52 says it generated about $30 million in revenue last year, it is not profitable. Food52 plans to use the investment to expand its team and open a brick-and-mortar store to sell its products.

The company was cofounded by former New York Times food journalists Merrill Stubbs and Amanda Hesser. They will remain part of the company.

The Chernin Group is the media investment and production company formed by former News Corp. COO Peter Chernin. He told WSJ he is drawn to "diversified business models" when it comes to digital media companies.

Chernin has invested in a number of digital businesses and owns a majority stake in Barstool Sports.