• by Sara Guaglione , April 22, 2020

Food52has hired its first Chief Commercial Officer, former Walmart ecommerce executive Claire Chambers.

At the cooking and home brand, Chambers will oversee commercial operations, managing commerce, direct-to-consumer brand Five Two, retail, digital marketing, advertising, partnerships and customer care.

Chambers was most recently vice president and general manager of home at Walmart eCommerce. 

She is also the founder of lingerie company Journelle, which was sold to Triumph International in 2012. 

"With the tremendous growth we've seen, we knew it was time to bring in a world-class leader who can support us as we set the bar for content and commerce in this next decade," stated Food52 cofounder-CEO Amanda Hesser.

The company is investing in talent to scale its commerce business, which accounts for 75% of its total revenue, grow its Five Two product line and move into more categories, such as home.

Food52 also plans to expand its current audience of 24 million “exponentially with strategic partnerships, content distribution, licensing and offline retail,” according to the company.

"We're making decisions to ensure the business remains on solid footing throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and we're still investing in key areas and committed to growth," stated Food52 cofounder-president Merrill Stubbs.

With more people at home cooking and organizing due to lockdowns brought on by the spread of COVID-19, Food52 has seen “significant spikes” in traffic, sales and engagement across all channels in the last month, according to the company.

The brand has created a resource page for its readers, to share recipes, videos and other inspirational content amid the pandemic.

Food52 also launched several new product collaborations with partners, a new, social-first video series called "At Home With Us" and a text helpline staffed by editors 24/7.