' is that 'the subscription business in general is keeping me away from this.''īut will people want to get speedy delivery of meals that they will then have to spend upwards of a half hour preparing? It will also be tricky to overcome the added costs and complexities that come with this new layer of delivery, and to battle restaurants and grocers for online shoppers. 'A big friction point for a lot of customers is the subscription business itself,” Dickerson said during Canaccord Genuity 38th Annual Growth Conference in Boston. According to Dickerson, an on-demand option could unlock a large segment of consumers. Companies like GrubHub and Uber Eats have lifted restaurant sales in recent years and could do the same for meal kit companies that typically require customers to order several days in advance. On-demand delivery could resonate with consumers used to ordering restaurant fare to their door. The idea is to reach people who might be turned off by traditional meal kits and to do a better job of targeting those customers who would enjoy the company’s offerings, but just haven’t yet been persuaded. As a result, its customer count has steadily declined over the course of this year.īut the company says it has steadied the ship and is now ready to focus on customer growth. Blue Apron has had to pull back on its marketing spend following a few costly operational blunders - most notably the failure to bring a new automated facility online.

Aprons meal kits