Last month I was in New York City, so I decided to stop by and visit the Center for Good Housekeeping. I visited Nicole Papantoniou, director of the Kitchen Appliances Lab at Good Housekeeping, who offered to show me around.
If you’ve never visited the Good Housekeeping Institute, it’s good because – apart from having the best view of Midtown Manhattan from its location on the 29th floor of the Hearst Building – it’s a cool mix of a newsroom meets a testing lab, with appliances like air fryers, espresso makers, induction tops placed everywhere on high ice cream.
“We’re using these things the way a person would use them at home,” Nicole said on the most recent episode of the Spoon Podcast. “Being able to compare things side by side and easily understand the features of use, we get a good understanding of how the product works.”
If you grew up hearing about the Good Housekeeping Seal like I did, there’s a reason: over the past century, the publication and the institution helped pioneer the consumer product. From the time Hearst bought it in 1911 until the 1960s, it became a household name, and during the next half century, it hit 5 million in circulation in the 60s.
“In the early 1900s it was when the products came to market and the team members were like, no one really controls it,” said Nicole. “So I really try to explain to consumers what they should buy, what they can trust. And that’s the hallmark of good housekeeping.”
In a way, being at the Good Housekeeping Lab felt like stepping back in time. From a separate dedicated testing area for electronics, textiles, and other household items to a full test kitchen, it was a big departure from the current way in which most product reviews are produced in 2025, where influencers will usually try something or just see it online and give a product review.
According to Nicole, reviews are about a moving calendar that reflects consumer behavior. “We are working three months ahead of print and digital,” he said. “Think about summer… people will be looking for ice cream makers. Then think about Q4, Black Friday, the holidays.”
Some categories, such as air fryers, never sleep, while others come back and occasionally come back (stand mixers and bread makers). They also incorporate new sub-categories as products evolve.
“We’ve had our espresso makers story forever,” says Nicole. “But now there are many single espresso machines. You push your button, you get your cappuccino just like you would in the office.”
On the podcast, I asked Nicole how she ended up landing such a great gig. According to him, he attended journalism school and knew he wanted to work in magazines, but the inspiration to combine food and journalism all started with an internship.
“My first internship was at Ladies Home Journal. And I remember walking into the test kitchen and somebody was grilling pineapple and they were like candy walnuts. And I was like, how do I get that job?”
From there, he attended culinary school at night while working full-time, then moved on to brand roles. “I ended up at Cuisinart, creating products and recipes with them and helping to edit user guides, then Family Circle and then here at Good Housekeeping.”
He told me that product experience has shaped the way he evaluates products today. “When you work at a company, you work with a lot of different departments. An engineer will come up with something that’s really interesting and you have to refine it and let them know, this might not work like a real customer’s kitchen.”
I asked him if he had any advice for those who want to enter the same line of work.
“I think, honestly, getting as much experience as possible from people in the field, admitting things, getting different experiences,” she said. “At one point I was working, like, four different jobs at once… but I loved it. Treat yourself, say yes and you’ll get what you want. And don’t be afraid to walk. There’s a lot out there.”
If you want to listen to my full interview with Nicole you can click play below or find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.