Drew Barrymore and Shae Hong work within a union of trust and taste

Drew Barrymore joined the final keynote presentation at NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show, taking the stage with Made by Gather CEO Shae Hong to discuss their partnership in Beautiful by Drew, their brand of kitchen and house goods that is carried exclusively by Walmart. The conversation was moderated by Martine Reardon, NRF chief marketing officer and executive vice president for content and retail strategy.

With a host of associated endeavors already — actor, producer, writer, talk show host — Barrymore moved into a new direction by co-founding a home goods line of products. The impetus was something many could relate to: Her children.

“When I had my kids, I didn’t want to play other characters,” she said. “I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do with my life.”

After some experimentation, Barrymore settled on a project — Beautiful by Drew; a business partner — Hong; and an exclusive retail outlet — Walmart. The product line is carefully balanced between too expensive and too ordinary — at what Hong calls the “accessible premium” level.

“I’m [so] cognizant of the way people live, with their paychecks and their decision-making and their prioritization of what it takes to live in this world, that I cannot ever make something that’s high priced,” Barrymore said.

“But I’m so obsessed with what’s beautiful out there that I want to make that. It’s about figuring out that balance. Ultimately, the person who benefits the most at the end of the day is the consumer, but it has to be smart business because nobody’s here to do favors. It’s business.”

Keeping it personal

A major part of keeping that balance was and is Barrymore’s partnership with Hong, a wellness-obsessed cook who came to attention some 20 years ago when he founded Made by Gather, a portfolio of kitchenware brands based on design, accessibility and innovation.

“I was just a kid then,” Hong said. “I always loved design, I always loved product. I was looking at the kitchen world, and it all looked the same. All the toasters look the same, all the coffeemakers look the same. And when you’re young and fearless and you’re not scared to fail, you just try. So, I tried and kept designing products and over the years built a really nice business, but hadn’t done anything really transformational.”

Then he met Barrymore, who was moving into the post-becoming-a-parent part of her life and experimenting with various ways to use her creativity and energy. The two quickly realized that each was exactly what the other needed. Barrymore was looking for someone who understood the manufacturing and marketing of the designs she was coming up with, and Hong needed someone with unique kitchenware designs.

Somebody to trust

Out of these interlocking needs was forged an intense partnership, the basis of which is the “instant trust and vibe” the two felt when they met, Hong said. “She has tons of ideas, she’s very creative and she’s very clear on her ideas.” That helped develop a trust with each other that transcended doubts about, say, product color.

“We launched with sage green. In the history of home and kitchen, sage has never been a runaway hit color. But Drew felt really strongly about that color,” Hong said. “And all my instincts were, ‘It’s not going to sell. It’s not going to sell.’ But I said, ‘OK, Drew, I’m all in. Let’s do it. I’m going to believe in your vision and your instinct.’ And we sold out in 72 hours.”

The Beautiful line is carried exclusively by Walmart, called “the best retail partners” by Barrymore, “due to accessibility, volume, everything. We went in there, going to them first, because we felt a goal-oriented loyalty to see what we could do with them.”

What the world needs

Barrymore and Hong put their theory about what would sell to a significant test when they brought out a limited-edition drop, the Drew Chair by Beautiful. “Some drops work, some don’t, but this one did,” Barrymore said. “I think it was very helpful in our partnership to gain that trust, that we could do these kinds of sellouts. Because we’ve all been there, where we’ve got all this merchandise and it’s not moving.”

There were reasons the Drew Chair might have met the same fate. It was an oversized cream-colored swivel piece with a rotating metal base and a lot of pillows. It was bigger than a lot of people have room for. And while it was true to the Barrymore awareness of people minding their bank accounts, it was not cheap. (It sells in the $250-$300 range.) 

“We could not keep it in stock,” Barrymore said, who attributed a lot of the success of the Drew Chair to the intention behind it. “I feel like the whole world needs a hug right now,” she said. “I feel like we need to be enveloped and we need a safe space. And the chair was that to me.”