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Jet.com is the first online retailer selling Blue Apron meal kits
If you're Blue Apron and you see Amazon encroaching on your turf with its own meal kits and key online partnerships, what do you do? Make your kits more widely available, that's what. In a reflection of its retail promises from earlier in the year, Blue Apron kits are now on sale through Jet.com's City Grocery service -- the first time they've been available through an online retailer. Should you live in the New York City area (including Hoboken and Jersey City), you can order from a selection of quick-to-prepare two-serving kits that will reach your door either the same day or the next.
Blue Apron will start selling its meal kits in stores this year
Blue Apron is looking to bring its meal kits to actual stores and it's aiming to do so by the end of the year. The company, which has suffered falling subscription rates and share prices, has had to lay off hundreds of its employees as competition mounts in both the subscription realm and the brick-and-mortar domain. Companies like HelloFresh and Plated have snagged some of Blue Apron's market share and as retailers like Walmart, Amazon and regional grocery chains like Kroger begin to offer their own meal kits, customers are increasingly able to buy them without committing to a subscription like they have to with Blue Apron.
Walmart is making its own meal kits in some stores
Walmart isn't content to sell third-party meal kits in its bid to take on Amazon and Blue Apron. It's launching its own line of kits that will give you a meal for two without hunting down and preparing ingredients. The kits cost between $8 and $15, and range from one-step-and-you're-done offerings like a pot roast (above) to more flexible pre-portioned kits like steak Dijon.
Walmart sells meal kits to challenge Amazon and Blue Apron
Walmart's never-ending quest to beat Amazon has it venturing into unfamiliar territory: meal kits. The big-box retailer has started selling just shy of 30 meal kits (such as a Thai crab curry) from multiple brands. How much you'll pay varies, but it's not uncommon to pay $35 for a meal for four. There are also bundles, such as a $60 Everyday Supper pack that serves three meals for two people. The brands themselves fulfill the orders. This isn't a subscription service like Blue Apron, but it's helpful if you'd like a fanciful meal without hunting down ingredients. And importantly, Walmart will soon compete more directly with Amazon's meal kits through an app tie-in.
Blue Apron co-founder steps down as CEO
Less than a month after an earnings report indicated customers dropped six percent from last year, Blue Apron has a new CEO, as co-founder Matt Salzberg steps down from his role as president and CEO. Former CFO Brad Dickerson will now fill both of those roles and join the company's board of directors where Salzberg will remain as chairman. Blue Apron just completed its initial public offering in June, but its stock price has already dropped from $10 to around $3 and last month it laid off six percent of its employees. The five-year-old company is facing more competition from others in the space like HelloFresh and Plated, while also being squeezed by meal kits from companies like Amazon (which just bought Whole Foods) and Kroger.
Amazon's Meal Kits are already available for some customers
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Amazon had registered a trademark for a meal kit service with the slogan "We do the prep. You be the chef." And apparently those kits are already available to some AmazonFresh customers, one of whom told GeekWire that he began noticing them in his shopping searches a week or two ago.
Amazon may take on Blue Apron's prepared meal-kit service
Amazon's grocery aspirations go beyond offering a drive-through store, AmazonFresh, Pantry and its recent Whole Foods acquisition. Bezos' shopping juggernaut is looking to get into the boxed meal service a la Blue Apron, according to British publication The Times. Apparently, Amazon has registered a slogan for "We do the prep. You be the chef," and the service will offer "prepared food kits" that are "ready for assembly as a meal" according to the application.
The 11 best tech gifts for workaholics
We're not saying you want to enable them (OK, maybe we are), but you definitely know someone who works too much. They chip away at their to-do lists on weekends. They are probably even going to slip away at some point during the holidays to check work email. If that's the lifestyle they've chosen, embrace it by picking gifts that can either live at their desk, or come with them while they're trying to get work done on the road. Our list includes everything from a comfy desk chair to a wireless charging desk lamp to our favorite laptop and desktop keyboard. You might not be able to persuade them to change their rigid habits, but at least you can make them more comfortable while they toil away. For our full list of recommendations in all categories, don't forget to stop by our main Holiday Gift Guide hub.
Blue Apron's meal kit service has had worker safety problems
Popular internet companies have a tendency to devote relatively little attention to their warehouse workers, lavishing the most attention on their software engineers. It's their code that makes it all possible, right? However, internet meal kit giant Blue Apron is getting a harsh lesson in the importance of taking care of all its employees. BuzzFeed has learned that Blue Apron's Richmond, California fulfillment center has had numerous crime and safety incidents, including employee violence and OSHA violations. There have been instances of staff brandishing knives, for example, and workers suffering accidents using equipment they're not certified to use.
