Ten Years of Twenty Two Media: Doing it Differently

“It has been an amazing few months,” Faist said. “I just don't think I’ve stopped to acknowledge half of it.”

Faist is the founder of Twenty Two Media, the Toronto-based company behind Foodism (external link)  and Escapism (external link) , two free, ad-funded lifestyle publications that focus on food and travel.

The idea for the two publications began in 2012, while Faist was living in London and working at a luxury lifestyle publishing house. Taking inspiration from London’s popular freemium model, she noticed a gap in Toronto’s media scene.

“The freemium kind of print model, free content, ad-funded was really, really huge there,” she said. “But the whole time I was kind of watching it being like, wow, there's nothing like this back in Toronto where I'm from.”

So, she packed her bags, moved back to Toronto, and launched Foodism in 2015 with Escapism following a few years later.

“I think that’s how the best businesses start. You find that gap, and you’re able to provide a solution to that problem,” she said.

Since then, Foodism and Escapism have remained free for readers. Faist’s decision to do so is part strategy and part personal value. 

“There was a part of me that was like, let's be a disruptor and let's change people's perception of free media. But then the other reason is, I just think that good content should be free, and if you can find a way to make it free for the end user, do it,” she said.

She added that despite the content being free, the high-quality work remains.

“Free got us in the door…But I do think the quality of our content has kept people around. When they remember it's free, it's kind of like, ‘Wow, this is awesome,’” Faist explained.

Another gap Faist noticed was how food and travel were being approached. While these topics are widely popular, few publications were covering them in the way she envisioned.

Rather than being the expert, Faist’s publication aims to be approachable.

“Our ethos has been to speak like your friend recommending somewhere, like nudging them with your elbow and going, ‘Hey, have you heard of this?’” she said.

Another equally important factor is recognizing the value of the people and history behind Toronto’s food scene. Faist explained that their content not only informs readers about the expanding food scene but also fosters a deeper appreciation for the roots and culture that support it.

“It's been really important for us to dig deep and tell the stories that not everyone else is,” she said. “There wasn't anyone doing what we were doing and speaking to the type of people we wanted to.”

That same awareness of identifying what was missing shapes the advice Faist offers to students looking to start their own ventures. 

“You've got to be bringing something different to the table because there's so much out there,” she said. 

“Finding your hook and finding your angle is really important and then stick[ing] to it. Do something a little bit different. Finding a lane, looking out there and seeing, is there an area that’s untapped? Can I focus on a certain part of the culture, or can my style be a little bit different and really hone in on that?”