Blue Apron

The New York based Blue Apron Inc. is the largest meal kit delivery service in the United States and delivers fresh ingredients and recipes that can be cooked at home. The name Blue Apron is an homage to chefs around the world who wear blue aprons while learning to cook. Blue Apron focuses a lot on teaching customers new recipes and cooking techniques. As a result, Blue Apron’s recipes can take up to 45 minutes to prepare.

They focus a lot on the quality of their suppliers and ingredients and source directly from dedicated farmers. In summer of 2017, Blue Apron made it to the headlines with going public. Subsequently, the share price has dropped significantly as the company is facing quality and efficiency issues in their Linden warehouse.

Meal Plans

Blue Apron offers two basic meal plan options: “For two” which costs $59.99 for three meals and “Family plan” which costs $69.92 for a total of eight servings. Like most meal kit delivery services Blue Apron does not charge you for shipping. Delivery times can be scheduled via your user-account on the website in the Blue Apron app but deliveries need to be scheduled 6 days in advance. The company offers diet plans for vegetarians but no special options like paleo or gluten free diets. The nutritional value of Blue Apron meals varies from 500 to 800 calories per portion.

Packaging and recipes

Blue Apron packs each ingredient separately (including the spices), meat is vacuum sealed and ice packs are provided to keep the food cool. Blue Apron does not put ingredients for certain recipes together so that you need to your ingredients in your fridge. The packaging material is not completely recyclable. The eatables are high quality and most ingredients are locally sourced. Blue Apron works with more than 300 eco-minded farmers and food suppliers to ensure the quality and freshness of their products. The recipes are detailed, easy to follow and cover a large variety of styles like Asian, European or Mexican influences.

Customer Service

Blue Apron puts much effort in the quality and availability of their customer service, which is available via mail, contact form or phone and is quite responsive. The service can be cancelled at any time but this is not as easy as advertised and takes several steps. There is no minimum duration for a Blue Apron subscription and you can skip deliveries if you are not at home. Changes to the dietary selections or deliveries can be done via Blue Aprons website or mobile app.