Good Housekeeping

What Good Housekeeping does

Good Housekeeping is a 140-year-old American consumer media brand operating as a property of Hearst Magazine Media, Inc., a subsidiary of privately held Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1885, the company centers its operations on the Good Housekeeping Institute, an independent product testing division that operates six specialized laboratories covering Textiles, Beauty, Home Care & Cleaning, Kitchen Appliances, Nutrition & Fitness, and related categories. The Institute conducts standardized product evaluations using scientific methodologies, consumer testers (often numbering in the hundreds to thousands per program), and lab equipment to produce editorial reviews and award selections across categories including snacks, beauty, bedding, cleaning, kitchen, home renovation, parenting, travel, toys, bath, and family vehicles.

The company's flagship commercial asset is the Good Housekeeping Seal, a consumer product certification mark introduced in the early 1900s that has become one of the most recognized product endorsement emblems in the United States. The Seal carries an embedded two-year limited warranty where Good Housekeeping will replace or refund up to $2,000 if a certified product is found defective. Brands across consumer categories—including Avocado (mattresses), Bedsure (bedding), Simonton (windows), Breescape (cooling bedding), KitchenAid (cookware), and OLAY (skincare)—actively pursue Seal certification, creating a B2B licensing revenue stream alongside the consumer-facing media business.

Good Housekeeping monetizes through multiple streams: print magazine distribution via newsstands and subscriptions, digital advertising and affiliate commerce partnerships with major retailers (Amazon, Target, Walmart), the GH+ subscription membership at $24.99 per year offering exclusive content and recipes, and licensing fees from the Seal certification program. The company serves a primary audience of women aged 25-54 interested in home, health, beauty, food, family, and lifestyle content, distributing across goodhousekeeping.com, social media platforms exceeding 10 million combined followers, email newsletters, and physical retail. Good Housekeeping operates primarily in the United States and United Kingdom markets as part of the broader Hearst media portfolio.

Name

Good Housekeeping

Legal name

Hearst Magazine Media, Inc.

Website

https://goodhousekeeping.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1885

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Good Housekeeping is a 140-year-old consumer media brand and product testing authority operating the Good Housekeeping Institute's specialized labs and issuing the iconic Seal certification with two-year warranty. It serves women aged 25-54 with trusted reviews, recipes, and lifestyle content across digital, print, and social channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Good Housekeeping is a consumer media brand that publishes lifestyle editorial content across home, food, health, beauty, family, travel, and entertainment categories through its website, magazine, and digital channels. The brand operates the Good Housekeeping Institute, which independently tests consumer products across specialized laboratories, and grants the iconic Good Housekeeping Seal — a product certification mark backed by a two-year limited warranty of up to $2,000.

Product overview

Good Housekeeping is a consumer media brand centered around the Good Housekeeping Institute, which has been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. The company's flagship offerings include the iconic Good Housekeeping Seal—a certification program backed by a two-year warranty—alongside its award programs spanning Snack Awards, Beauty Awards, Bedding Awards, Cleaning Awards, Kitchen Awards, Home Renovation Awards, Parenting Awards, Travel Awards, Toy Awards, Bath Awards, Beauty Innovation Awards, and Family Car Awards. The Good Housekeeping magazine provides content across home, food, health, beauty, family, travel, and entertainment categories. The company also offers a GH+ Membership subscription providing exclusive content and perks. The Institute operates multiple specialized labs including Kitchen Appliances, Home Care & Cleaning, Textiles, Beauty, Nutrition & Fitness, and Health, testing thousands of products annually across categories from appliances to toys.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Good Housekeeping Magazine The flagship print and digital publication providing trusted home advice, product reviews, and recipes for consumers interested in home, food, health, beauty, family, travel, and entertainment.
• Good Housekeeping Institute The scientific testing division that independently researches and tests consumer products across labs for Kitchen Appliances, Home Care & Cleaning, Textiles, Paper & Apparel, Beauty, Nutrition & Fitness, Health, and Home Improvement & Outdoor.
• Good Housekeeping Seal The iconic consumer emblem and product certification program recognized for over a century. Products bearing the seal include an additional two-year limited warranty where Good Housekeeping will replace or refund up to $2,000 if a product is found defective.
• GH+ All Access Membership

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Real Simple: Real Simple is a lifestyle media brand providing home, food, and organizing content with tested product recommendations. It is a direct peer to Good Housekeeping in editorial focus and audience, operating a similar recipe-driven, tips-driven, product-recommendation content model.
• Consumer Reports: Consumer Reports is the longest-standing independent product testing organization in the U.S., operating dedicated testing labs across appliances, electronics, and home categories. It is a direct peer to the Good Housekeeping Institute, with comparable lab-driven authority and subscription/membership revenue model.
• Wirecutter (The New York Times): Wirecutter is The New York Times's product review vertical that conducts hands-on testing and publishes best-of guides across home, kitchen, and lifestyle categories. It is the most direct competitor to Good Housekeeping's product review and recommendation business, monetizing via affiliate commerce and subscriptions.
• Martha Stewart Living: Martha Stewart Living is a lifestyle media brand spanning home, cooking, crafts, and entertaining content with affiliated product lines and endorsements. It is a direct peer to Good Housekeeping in the women-focused home and lifestyle content category with similar audience demographic and editorial authority positioning.
• Better Homes & Gardens: Better Homes & Gardens is a Hearst competitor lifestyle media brand covering home, food, gardening, and lifestyle. It is a direct peer to Good Housekeeping in editorial coverage, testing authority, and audience demographic (women interested in home content).
• This Old House: This Old House is a media brand focused on home improvement, renovation, and DIY with product reviews and endorsements. It is a direct peer to Good Housekeeping's Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab in editorial scope and tested-product endorsement model.

Emerging players

• Reviewed (USA Today): Reviewed is USA Today's product review vertical covering appliances, home, tech, and lifestyle with lab-based testing methodology. It is an emerging player peer to Good Housekeeping Institute, with comparable lab-driven authority but operating under a larger news media parent (Gannett) rather than as a standalone lifestyle brand.
• Apartment Therapy: Apartment Therapy is a digital-native home and lifestyle media brand covering home tours, design, organizing, and product recommendations. It is an emerging player peer to Good Housekeeping, focusing on home content but with a digital-first distribution model that competes for the same audience.

Broad incumbents

• CNET: CNET is a broad technology and home product review media platform with hands-on testing and affiliate commerce. It is a broad incumbent peer to Good Housekeeping in the product review category, particularly for electronics and appliances, with similar affiliate-driven revenue model.
• HGTV: HGTV is a broad home and lifestyle media brand spanning TV, digital, and licensing, owned by Discovery/Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a broad incumbent peer to Good Housekeeping in home and lifestyle content, with overlapping audience and editorial scope but operating across video, digital, and TV rather than print/magazine.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/goodhousemag
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/GoodHousekeeping?sub_confirmation=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/goodhousekeeping
• Instagraminstagram.com/goodhousekeeping
• TikToktiktok.com/@goodhousekeepingofficial?lang=en
• Pinterestpinterest.com/goodhousemag/?auto_follow=1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Good Housekeeping