Entrepreneur: Andrew Rea
Biz: Binging With Babish and Babish Culinary Universe
Tilt: Recreating foods seen in movies and television
Scene: Website, YouTube (10.1M), Instagram (1M), Facebook (691K), X (190K) cookware, cookbook,
Snack Bites:
- Andrew Rea took his love for food and his education in film studies and turned it into a content business.
- He received his YouTube Diamond Creator Award in recognition of his 10M subscribers on The Drew Barrymore Show.
- Andrew expanded Binging With Babish into a wider vision with the Babish Culinary Universe, which includes a team and hosts with new series.
Why We Stan: Andrew didn’t prioritize his physical and mental health in his early years. But he does now, realizing he doesn’t need to produce so many videos. He now consistently posts a new video every week. He also wants to grow his video business to become a full-fledged production company for other streamers.
The Story of Andrew Rea
Before Andrew Rea graduated with a bachelor’s in film studies from Hofstra University, he had started a YouTube channel – Binging With Babish. He took the name from a favorite character, Oliver Babish, on the TV show West Wing.
He dabbled with a few videos before premiering the first video related to his content tilt – cooking the food seen in TV shows, films, and gaming episodes – in 2016. By 2023, he reached 10M subscribers and received YouTube’s Diamond Creator Award on The Drew Barrymore Show.
Andrew Rea of@BingingWBabish cooks the food seen in TV shows and films on his @YouTube channel for 10M subscribers. #Stan #CreatorEconomy Share on XIn between, he’s published a cookbook featuring recipes from his channel and launched his own cookware lines.
Scaling the business
Andrew tells Forbes that the path to success hasn’t come without challenges, investing so much time every week in creating content and running his business that his health suffered.
“I’ve made the decision to put my mental well-being and wellness first, which for the first six-some-odd years of the channel, it decidedly took a backseat,” he says in the Forbes interview. “I started to pay the prices for it. I had a really, really difficult 2022. It was not fun, and I’m glad that it’s over.”
Among his remedies? Expanding the Binging With Babish business into the Babish Culinary Universe. He produces a weekly video in this new model and publishes food series from other hosts. His new cookbook comes out in October, and he’s opening a bed and breakfast in upstate New York this year.
@BingingWBabish scaled from a solo creator to the Babish Culinary Universe with multiple series. #ContentBusiness Share on XUltimately, Andrew says, he wants the video business to become a full-fledged production company that allows for a larger, traditional television series for streamers.
Ideas and videos
Andrew says many ideas for his content come from his audience. “It’s a matter of reading comments, listening to what people want to see, and what sounds interesting from a culinary perspective,” he tells Mashed.
He runs the gamut of shows and culinary treats. One week, he does Patrick’s suitcase from Spongebob Squarepants.
And another week, he’s doing a video for the cola-braised short ribs from the popular streaming series The Bear.
About the author
Ann regularly combines words and strategy for B2B, B2C, and nonprofits, continuing to live up to her high school nickname, Editor Ann. An IABC Communicator of the Year and founder of G Force Communication, Ann coaches and trains professionals in all things content. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.