Eight years after he started recreating TV and film foodstuffs on YouTube, Andrew Rea is hitting a high point — literally. A THC-infused sugar is one of several new products Rea is cooking up in the Babish Culinary Universe.
Rea’s YouTube operation, previously known as Binging with Babish, has become a go-to source for foodies who want to explore the cuisine of their favorite pop culture franchises. The primary BCU channel has reached 10 million subscribers, opening up fresh opportunities for Rea and co-hosts like Alvin Zhou.
A cookbook is the most obvious of those opportunities, but Rea has already been there and done that. For his latest brand expansions, Rea is embracing the unconventional approach that has been a hallmark of his YouTube channel since the beginning. His “Baked with Babish” sugar (get it?) is launching through cannabis company Old Pal. Visitors to dispensaries in New York and Arizona will be the first customers to get their hands on Baked with Babish, though an expansion to California shops is on the horizon as well.
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Given the recent wave of creator-led consumables brands, Rea’s presence in that area is a natural fit. His plan to create a vacation rental with a fully-stocked kitchen — called “Bed and Babish” — is far less expected.
Babish said that he was inspired to take control of a rental property after dealing with poorly outfitted kitchens in Airbnbs. “Usually there’s one knife that is duller than a butter knife, and one non-stick pot. Even if it’s a beautiful kitchen, it’s completely under-equipped,” Rea told Kaya Yurieff of The Information at VidCon. “I wanted to make something for people who want to cook while they’re on vacation. If you go to a little cabin in the woods, that’s what you want to do.”
If that idea is not far enough outside the box for you, Rea also has a pending film script in the works. He described the plot as a “pretty out there” story that doesn’t focus primarily on food.
These ventures will not interrupt the BCU’s regular upload schedule, which includes multiple videos per week hosted by Rea and Zhou. The man called Babish recently took on an iconic TV dish when he offered up his recreation of the Italian beef sandwiches served at the titular establishment in FX’s The Bear.
