Blue Apron Tries To Save Itself With Cheaper, Stripped-Down Meal Kits | Eater
"Once a darling of the meal-kit boom that went public in mid-2017 and saw its stock collapse to roughly a tenth of its IPO price by late 2018, this meal-kit business has tried multiple pivots to arrest declining demand. Its latest product, dubbed “Knick Knacks,” are $7.99 pared-down kits that require customers to supply their own protein and produce and include pre-portioned spices, sauces, grains and dairy in four current varieties (e.g., Mexican-Spiced Chicken Quinoa Bowl, Creamy Shrimp Gnocchi) available for delivery in the NYC area. Other experiments have included selling discounted kits through a warehouse-club partnership (a short-lived rollout pulled in November 2018), a limited-time celebrity recipe collaboration, an on-demand same/next-day kit offering without subscription, and a tie-up with a weight-loss brand to create diet-friendly subscription meals (with a small acquisition fee paid for converted members). Observers remain skeptical that these moves will revive appetite for bulky, pre-portioned meal deliveries." - Whitney Filloon
