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Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

markets.businessinsider.com

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Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#161

Post by capevace »

I once worked for their biggest competitor - HelloFresh - as a door-to-door salesperson and I have to say... the way we were told to pitch to potential customers was terrible. We were told to sign up the customer and then then opt-out of delivery for a period of 5 weeks so the customer forgets that they’re still subscribed. The salespeople - mostly ~20 year olds - were also heavily exploited and the wages and commissions not paid. I’m lucky I got out quick because otherwise they pressure you to stay because most of your colleagues become your friends and they then peer pressure you...

I’ll assume it’s quite similar to BlueApron... but I don’t know for sure...

Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#162

Post by internobody »

taude wrote: post #153
goldcd wrote: post #140

Always seemed a strange business model. Appealing to people who "want to cook", but doing so by turning yourself into a production-line assembler. Like saying your want to learn carpentry, by buying some Ikea flat-pack. What confused me (and makes me think I've overlooked something) is why nothing more interesting has come along from the supermarkets. In the UK at least, they're all online and deliver - but they all…

I've seen meal kits in stores here in the Boston area, Wegman's I think.

Mariano's in Chicagoland also sell meal kits now, as do the Amazon Go stores, one of which is conveniently next to a major train station.

Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#163

Post by SIOADFNGIONIO »

goldcd wrote: post #140

Always seemed a strange business model. Appealing to people who "want to cook", but doing so by turning yourself into a production-line assembler. Like saying your want to learn carpentry, by buying some Ikea flat-pack. What confused me (and makes me think I've overlooked something) is why nothing more interesting has come along from the supermarkets. In the UK at least, they're all online and deliver - but they all…

>"are you going to eat all that chicken?" For £5 extra would you like to add some bacon, creme-fraiche, tarragon, frozen-pastry & peas to enable you to make a lovely pie on Monday? Or asks "what's in your fridge" - here are some recipes and prices for things to use it up?

The fact that Blue Apron doesn't really do that is why I cancelled my subscription. I hated the way they would send all these tiny single-use things. Too much plastic and too much food waste.

Rather than sending me kits, I would prefer if they would essentially do my shopping for me. Planning meals and ensuring I have the right ingredients on hand is annoying and I would love some help with it. But I don't need all the ingredients in one box.

Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#164

Post by behringer »

ghaff wrote: post #117
behringer wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's really weird to me is that you can go to the store and get food that's basically ready to serve after you warm it up. You could eat steaks, fish sticks, brats, chicken, pork, chicken nuggets, fries, a huge variety of vegetables ready to be steamed from the frozen section. You could eat that every day and pay a quarter of what it costs for this stuff to be hand picked for you. You don't even need to season any…

Most of the prepared food in the grocery store that you just need to heat up isn't very appealing to me for the most part. Fish sticks and chicken nuggets, blech. However, there are a lot of things like salmon, brats (as you say), etc. that mostly do just need a quick saute or bake. And vegetables can be very quick and simple as well. However, some people do like the idea of more complex meals and some of those peopl…

Don't tell me blue apron doesn't have fish sticks ;)

I usually use fish sticks or other frozen fish for making fish sandwiches. 10 mins of cook time vs 60+ for fresh breaded baked fish. But to each their own!

Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#165

Post by DanFeldman »

goldcd wrote: post #140

Always seemed a strange business model. Appealing to people who "want to cook", but doing so by turning yourself into a production-line assembler. Like saying your want to learn carpentry, by buying some Ikea flat-pack. What confused me (and makes me think I've overlooked something) is why nothing more interesting has come along from the supermarkets. In the UK at least, they're all online and deliver - but they all…

You make a good point that Blue Apron only teaches you how to assemble ingredients, but not to shop for them. They are two separate skills. But most people who don't know how to cook are bad at both, and Blue Apron gets rid of one of the highest friction parts and lets people dive right into the actual cooking part of, well, cooking.

Getting people unafraid of assembling ingredients and heating food and cleaning after is a good first step. If you didn't grow up cooking and shopping and cleaning, there's a lot to mentally unpack before you make a meal. If you have no basis for how to plan anything ("Would you like to add extra meat for $5") extra options quickly get confusing.

Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#166

Post by TheDong »

reaperducer wrote: post #152
goldcd wrote: post #140

Always seemed a strange business model. Appealing to people who "want to cook", but doing so by turning yourself into a production-line assembler. Like saying your want to learn carpentry, by buying some Ikea flat-pack. What confused me (and makes me think I've overlooked something) is why nothing more interesting has come along from the supermarkets. In the UK at least, they're all online and deliver - but they all…

There are a number of apps and web sites that do what you ask. My favorite one (from the old iPhone days, now discontinued) would let you input the ingredients you have on hand, and it would suggest what you can make with them. They seem to come and go. I think the problem for a supermarket to adopt something like this is that you can use it to make a list using one market's superior app, then do your actual shopping…

> you can use it to make a list using one market's superior app, then do your actual shopping at another market

This critique makes no sense to me. Should amazon not recommend items online because you might purchase them from alibaba or walmart instead?

Whichever markets choose to make such a system would surely do so with the assumption that they are the best choice, and they will recommend their items. I doubt many consumers would go through the friction of comparison-shopping a whole list to find other things that are suitable substitutes.

Your comment to me seems akin to the silly statement "shoe stores should not display their wares in the window because consumers then might go buy them at other shoe shops for cheaper"

Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#167

Post by jdmichal »

jerkstate wrote: post #130
ummonk wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh what? I can eat out at a restaurant for like $15 with tax and tip, and the packed food usually lasts me an additional meal. I avoid pricey restaurants though.

Implying that $10 and $15 are approximately the same is telling. I'm talking about 6 to 40 person-meals per week for a family. (FWIW $10 per person-meal from blue apron is at the high end of home cooking, unless you are cooking high end ingredients like fancy fish or steak or including wine)

Especially when you start really planning meals around whatever is on sale that week and carrying ingredients from one meal to another, $10 per person per meal is definitely a lot. Also, pantry items where that $10 can get you a 5# bag of rice that lasts for many meals.

One of my favorite personal discoveries is to buy the whole broccoli, use the florets as a vegetable side, and the stems in a soup. The sturdier stems hold up better with the same flavor.

Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#168

Post by chrisseaton »

behringer wrote: post #70
chrisseaton wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want two meals why not get two meals instead of expecting one meal to provide two - doesn’t seem like a reasonable expectation to me.

Because when you're paying $10 for one meal you kind of hope it goes a little further. To put this in perspective, if I go to the store and buy a 10 dollar meal, I'll be eating: porter house, slathered in butter and olive oil, asparagus fried in the juices, with a baked potato. I'll have also a side of chilean grapes and a slice of cheese cake for desert. 10 dollars is a crazy amount for a dinner. (Ok that might cost…

When I spend a lot on food I don’t hope there’ll be a ton of it - I hope it’s high quality. I think BlueApron aims at higher quality rather than massive portions designed to be too much.

Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#169

Post by Rychard »

conanbatt wrote: post #136
ummonk wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh what? I can eat out at a restaurant for like $15 with tax and tip, and the packed food usually lasts me an additional meal. I avoid pricey restaurants though.

What do you eat at a restaurant that costs that much?

I'm unaware of any common restaurant (i.e. not fast food) where you can get a full meal for much below $10. Factor in the additional cost of a non-water beverage (soda or beer, for instance) as well as a tip, and it's likely you're spending $15 or more.

This article from BusinessInsider (2015) indicates that the average cost per meal at common "chain restaurants" starts at $12.17. Over half of the restaurants on the list have average meal prices in excess of $15. [1]

[1]: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-it-costs-to-eat-at-...

Re: Blue Apron becomes a penny stock, trading under $1 for the first time

#170

Post by Spooky23 »

Honestly, it's just a lame business model.

It's sort of like when you see the college kid who doesn't know how to do laundry. It's amusing, but even the most inept and lazy individual doesn't need alot of time to learn how to fold pants. In the food space, if you have the money to have pre-packaged groceries fedexed to your home to save time... why wouldn't you just get takeout?

My wife did a personal chef business with a friend when she got out of school. They would cook meals for dentists and doctors and deliver it. The most insane customers even had clean silverware and plates delivered, and one asked paid a 5x markup for them to go to Williams Sonoma and buy a fully outfitted fancy Thanksgiving dinner, with place settings and all. (ie. "Make it look like the catalog, please")

Blue Apron appeals to some middle ground of harried people, but the customer isn't rich enough to pay a wacky markup for burgers and isn't getting enough done to save a ton of time!

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