BDG bets big on parenting content

BDG, formerly Bustle, is leaning into parenting content as a bigger share of its business, its chief content officer Emma Rosenblum told Axios.

Why it matters: The company expects revenue from its parenting content to account for more than one-quarter of its business in 2022.

Driving the news: Bustle is relaunching Scary Mommy, the popular parenting site it acquired as a part of its deal to buy Some Spider Studios for $150 million in 2021.

• In the coming months, BDG plans to double down on Scary Mommy, as well as its other parenting brands like Romper, Fatherly, and The Dad, by launching events for parents and possibly acquiring more brands in the space to expand into newsletter and video products.
• It's migrating "Scary Mommy," and eventually all of its parenting brands, into its CMS and tech stack to integrate them more with its products and commerce tools.

By the numbers: The company projects its parenting portfolio will grow by more than 50% in 2022.

• Overall, roughly one-third of BDG's content staff now works across its parenting vertical, Rosenblum said.

The big picture: BDG now has more than 600 employees and brought in $130 million in revenue last year, up 40% from 2020.

What to watch: BDG was eyeing an IPO via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) but has paused those plans as the SPAC market has cooled.

• "BDG's long-term goal is to operate as a public company. As the market continues to shift, we have temporarily paused those efforts and will resume once the time is right," BDG founder and CEO Bryan Goldberg said.