BuzzFeed,

‘WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS’

The idea is to turn the usual advertiser relationship on its head, Mr. Kaufman said in an interview.

“Companies make a thing, then tell media companies, ‘Please tell the world about this,’” he said. “It should work in a more collaborative fashion. We should say, ‘Here’s what we think the world needs. Can you make this?’ And go back and forth.”

Typically, brands pay BuzzFeed to help develop a product and then agree to spend money advertising on its site. BuzzFeed may also take a cut of the sales.

For Maybelline, BuzzFeed came up with the “Fundle,” or a bundle of items for the beach, including a towel, lip balm and mascara. For Taste Beauty, BuzzFeed created “Glamspin,” which serves as both lip gloss and a fidget-spinner toy.

In high school, Mr. Kaufman started an Apple accessory company called Mophie that was best known for the Mophie Juice Pack, which doubles as an iPhone case and battery. He sold the company in 2007 and spent the next decade launching various start-ups, including one that sold emoji-themed pool floats and another made scented “homesick candles” that smelled like the states people were from. (A candle for someone who just moved from Georgia smells like peaches, for example.) similar businesses that take a cut of the sales when people buy a product in a review. BuzzFeed also licenses its Tasty and Goodful brands for home and kitchen appliances sold at Walmart and Macy’s.

On most days, Mr. Kaufman can be found inside a Manhattan store a few blocks from BuzzFeed’s offices. The storefront has no signs and the windows are covered with brown paper to ensure maximum secrecy. Inside, there are 3-D printers for making prototypes of pots and pans, electric saws, and merchandise like the “Dad Bod Bag” — a fanny pack resembling a man’s belly. This is BuzzFeed’s Product Lab, where it tests many of its ideas. Avenue that will be filled with toys, clothing and accessories. It’ll be the first of a nationwide chain of stores that will change their theme every few months.

The first store will initially have a summer-camp theme, with columns disguised as trees and employees dressed as camp counselors. Mr. Kaufman will run the store separately from his job at BuzzFeed, which is one of its investors.

To Mr. Kaufman, the line separating media companies and brick-and-mortar stores is being washed away, with little difference between foot traffic and web traffic.

“Retailers are trying to be media companies and media companies are trying to be retailers,” Mr. Kaufman says. “Everyone is playing, but I don’t think anyone is playing as aggressively as we are.” —