Last month I was in New York City, so I decided to drop and visit the Good Housekeeping Institute. I went to visit Nicole Papantoniou, the director of the Kitchen Appliances Lab at Good Housekeeping, who had promised to give me a tour of the place.
If you haven’t visited Good Housekeeping Institute, it’s great because – aside from having one of the best possible views of Midtown Manhattan perched from its location on the 29th floor of the Hearst Building – it’s a cool hybrid of a newsroom meets testing lab, with appliances like air fryers, espresso makers, induction tops and ice cream makers piled high on surfaces everywhere.
“We’re using these items basically the way someone would use them in their home,” Nicole told me on the most recent episode of The Spoon Podcast. “Being able to compare things side by side and then understand the ease of use features, we really get a good understanding of how the product works.”
If you grew up hearing about the Good Housekeeping Seal like me, there’s a reason: for the past century, the publication and the institute helped pioneer consumer product testing. From the time Hearst bought in 1911 until the 1960s, it became a household name, and over the next half century, hitting 5 million in circulation by the 60s.
“In the early 1900s is basically when products were coming to the market and the team members were like, there’s no one really regulating it,” said Nicole. “So really trying to explain to consumers what they should be buying, what they can trust. And that’s what the good housekeeping seal is.”
In a way, being in the Good Housekeeping Lab felt like going back in time. From the different dedicated testing area for appliances, fabrics, and other household items to a full-fledged test kitchen, it was such a big departure from the current way in which most products reviews get generated in 2025, where influencers often will try something out or just see it online and give a review of the product.
According to Nicole, the reviews are around a seasonal rolling calendar which mirrors consumer behavior. “We work three months in advance on print and digital,” she said. “Think of summer… people are going to be searching for ice cream makers. And then think of also Q4, Black Friday, the holidays.”
Some categories, like air fryers, never sleep, while others resurge and periodically come back (stand mixers and bread makers). They also spin up new sub-categories as products evolve.
“We had our espresso maker story forever,” said Nicole. “But now there’s a lot of all-in-one espresso machines. You press your button, you get your cappuccino like you would in a office.”
On the podcast, I asked Nicole how she ended up with such a cool gig. According to her, she had gone to journalism school and knew she wanted to work in magazines, but the inspiration to fuse food and journalism all started with an internship.
“My first internship was at Ladies Home Journal. And I remember going into the test kitchen and someone was grilling pineapple and like candying walnuts. And I was like, how do I get that job?”
From there, she went to culinary school at night while working full time, then moved into brand-side roles. “I ended up at Cuisinart, developing products with them and recipes and helping edit user guides, and then ended up Family Circl and then here at Good Housekeeping.”
She told me that brand experience shaped how she evaluates products today. “When you’re working at a brand, you’re working with so many different departments. An engineer will come up with something really exciting and then you kind of have to hone it in and let them know like, this might not work in like a real consumer’s kitchen.”
I asked her if she had any advice for those looking to get into a similar line of work.
“I think, honestly, getting as much experience as you can with people who are in the field, saying yes to things, taking on different experiences,” she said. “At one point I was working for, like, four different jobs at once… but I loved it. Be nice, and say yes and then you’ll find what you’re looking for. Also don’t be afraid to walk away. There’s a lot out there.”
If you want to listen to my full conversation wtih Nicole you can click play below or find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
