Exclusive: People Inc. buys Austin food festival Hot Luck
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Courtesy of People Inc.
People Inc., one of America's largest publishers, has acquired Hot Luck, an Austin-based food and music festival co-founded by famed pitmaster Aaron Franklin, People Inc.'s executive vice president of food and home content Eric Handelsman told Axios.
Why it matters: The deal is part of People Inc.'s broader push to bring live experiences to its portfolio of lifestyle brands to create deeper ties with consumers and new opportunities for advertisers.
- It also gives People Inc. access to a younger live audience within its food vertical. Its biggest food-related events, the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and Charleston, caters to a slightly older, more exclusive audience.
Details: Founded in 2017 by Franklin, James Moody and Mike Thelin, Hot Luck has grown to become one of the country's most popular barbecue events.
- The event drew more than 10,000 attendees in 2025 and showcases Austin's culture, featuring indie music and live-fire cooking.
- Handelsman says the festival shares "chef-driven DNA" with People Inc.'s existing food events, but brings a younger, more relaxed vibe that is less focused on high-end luxury.
How it works: As part of the deal, People Inc. will acquire the festival, including its guest lists and infrastructure, alongside the Hot Luck brand.
- Owning the brand will allow People Inc. to expand Hot Luck into content, including video, social media and newsletters.
- The festival's founders will remain involved to help run the event. The few employees associated with Hot Luck will move over to People Inc.
- In a note to employees announcing the deal, Handelsman said the company sees potential to bring the event to new markets.
Zoom out: People Inc., formerly Dotdash Meredith, has been expanding its events business across its portfolio of lifestyle brands.
- Its flagship Food & Wine Classic in Aspen has been running for more than four decades. The company expanded it to Charleston in 2024.
- Last year, its beauty and fashion brand Byrdie launched its own Byrdie's House Party in New York City. It plans to expand Travel + Leisure's World's Best Summit to London this year.
- Other franchises, such as Southern Living, InStyle and Better Homes & Gardens, also have their own events.
Between the lines: Food events are especially attractive because they appeal to a broad set of sponsors, including banks, credit card companies, airlines and dining brands.
- "Everyone wants to try something they can't try anywhere else," Handelsman says.
The big picture: People Inc. has moved aggressively to build direct relationships with consumers to offset any traffic declines from changes to online search traffic from chatbots.
- "The more ways we have to connect one-to-one with the consumers and the people who love our brands, that's the moat we can build in the world that we live in now," Handelsman says. "AI can't replace that."
