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Blue Apron teams up with Jet.com

Meal kit provider extends retail distribution into e-tail channel

Russell Redman

October 29, 2018

3 Min Read
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Blue Apron has begun selling meal kits through Walmart’s Jet.com, marking the first e-tailer to offer its meal solutions.

Blue Apron Holdings Inc. said Monday that millions of households across New York City and in Hoboken and Jersey City, N.J., can now order from a selection of four Blue Apron meal kits on Jet and receive them via same-day or next-day delivery through Jet’s City Grocery service.

The companies said Blue Apron will be a priority partner in Jet’s City Grocery offering. That will give the New York-based meal kit provider a dedicated branded experience on the e-commerce site, including a rotating selection of recipes catering specifically to Jet customers.

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Each meal kit serves two people, and the meals take 20 to 30 minutes to prepare. Blue Apron’s first recipes sold through Jet include seared steak and peperonata with fregola sarda pasta and grana padano cheese (28 oz.) for $22.99, dukkah-spiced beef and couscous with tahini-dressed broccoli (41 oz.) for $20.99; togarashi popcorn chicken with sweet chili slaw and jasmine rice (32 oz.) for $18.99; and Italian farro bowl with roasted vegetables and mozzarella (32 oz.) for $16.99.

“Teaming up with Jet enables us to dynamically serve the lifestyle of metropolitan consumers, who will now be able to conveniently fill up their online shopping carts with high-quality Blue Apron meals that can be cooked in 30 minutes or less while shopping for other everyday needs,” Blue Apron CEO Brad Dickerson said in a statement. “This exciting launch is another step forward in our channel expansion strategy and reflects the strength of the capabilities we are developing to readily support a variety of opportunities to broaden our access to consumers.”

Blue Apron made its retail store debut this past spring at 15 Costco Wholesale stores in the Pacific Northwest and the San Francisco Bay area. The pilot included an exclusive selection of four-serving meal kits priced at $24.99, with recipes rotated every three to four weeks. At the time, Dickerson said Blue Apron would pursue more partnerships and experiment with different offerings and price points to broaden its market base, adding that the company had “only scratched the surface of how the Blue Apron Meal experience can engage with consumers.”

In May, Blue Apron kicked off a series of pop-up events in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Dallas and Minneapolis. And earlier this month, the company began offering an array of two- and four-serving meal kits for on-demand delivery in New York City through pilots with the Grubhub and Seamless online and mobile platforms.

For Hoboken-based Jet, the addition of Blue Apron meals brings another high-profile offering to its City Grocery service launched in September.

“We are thrilled to be the first e-commerce retailer to offer the Blue Apron on-demand kits as part of the newly launched Jet City Grocery experience,” Jet President Simon Belsham said Monday. “The Blue Apron on-demand kits give our urban customers a convenient and enjoyable way to prepare home-cooked meals for their family. A crucial part of Jet’s strategy is to provide valuable services that seamlessly integrate into people’s daily lives, and Blue Apron is a great example of this.”

Tailored to New York City residents, City Grocery enables customers to order groceries, daily staples and other merchandise via Jet.com and receive them the same or next day in scheduled three-hour delivery windows. The product mix also caters to New Yorkers with brands such as Bedford Cheese Shop, Pat LaFrieda meats, Orwashers Bakery, Big Gay Ice Cream and Just Bagels. Next on tap for the service are craft, ultra-craft, domestic and premium imported beer, Jet said when announcing the program.

In July, Jet confirmed plans to open an e-commerce fulfillment center in the borough of the Bronx this fall. The e-tailer said the facility will process orders for the City Grocery service.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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