Blue Apron stock has lost nearly 80 percent of its value since going public.
And Inc. reporter Zoe Henry told Cheddar that, if the meal-kit company wants to compete in an increasingly crowded space, it has to funnel more money into its marketing strategy and serve more niche audiences.
“Maybe they need to be offering different types of meals. Maybe vegan, maybe vegetarian, or sourced-locally,” she said Friday. “They need to do a little bit more of what the Sun Baskets of the world are doing.”
Shares of Blue Apron rebounded slightly Friday, after news Weight Watchers is entering the space sent them plunging more than 16 percent a day earlier.
And that’s just the latest blow. If the myriad of pure-play companies in field -- from Sun Basket to HelloFresh to Purple Carrot -- weren’t enough, earlier in the week even Walmart announced plans to offer meal-prep kits.
Competition from lower-priced rivals like that could be a real problem for the company.
“New York and San Francisco yuppies could only take you so far, so we’re going to need to expand beyond the upper middle class millennial market,” she said. “Try telling a mom of four in Barlow, Ohio, that she needs to spend however much a month on Blue Apron, when she could just run to Walgreens or the dollar store and buy cheaper products for dinner that night.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/blue-apron-stock-hits-record-low-with-weight-watchers-announcement).
Retailers face tariffs and cost challenges this holiday season. Wells Fargo's Lauren Murphy shares insights on pricing, promotions, and shopping trends.
Dateability, founded by sisters Jacqueline and Alexa Child, is the only dating app for disabled and chronically ill communities, fostering love without limits.
Some small grocery stores and neighborhood convenience stores are eager for the U.S. government shutdown to end and for their customers to start receiving federal food aid again. Late last month, the Trump administration froze funding for the SNAP benefits that about 42 million Americans use to buy groceries. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says about 74% of the assistance was spent last year at superstores like Walmart and supermarkets like Kroger. Around 14% went to smaller stores that are more accessible to SNAP beneficiaries. A former director of the United Nations World Food Program says SNAP is not only a social safety net for families but a local economic engine that supports neighborhood businesses.
Andy Baehr, Head of Product at CoinDesk Indices, breaks down crypto’s Black Friday crash, Bitcoin dipping under $100K, and what’s driving the market rout.
Billionaire Warren Buffett warned shareholders Monday that many companies will fare better than his Berkshire Hathaway in the decades ahead as Father Time catches up
Chris Marquette of POLITICO breaks down how the FAA is cutting flights and facing a critical shortage of air‑traffic controllers amid the government shutdown.
