Blue Apron, a pioneer in subscription meal kit services, continues to expand opportunities for customers to purchase items without a subscription on its Blue Apron Market website.
The moves come as meal-kit companies continue to vie for share in a challenging environment where many consumers have returned to their pre-pandemic routines and face inflationary price pressures across a broad range of goods and services.
Blue Apron said that its new, seasonal meal kits would become a series of offerings in the Blue Apron Market. The first meal kit in the series, the Summer Lobster Box, is available on the Market website in the four-servings size for $129.98, with free shipping.
“We look at our ecommerce platform as a complement to our subscription model,” said Josh Friedman, chief product officer, Blue Apron.
The new, limited-time seasonal meal kits “were designed to help customers celebrate special moments, seasons or events,” he said, and include “best of season” ingredients. The Summer Lobster Box kit includes the ingredients to make four lobster rolls with lemon and chives, creamy potato salad with capers and pickled peppers, corn on the cob with garlic and herb butter, and a green salad with feta, tomatoes, and radishes.
The Blue Apron Market also offers a curated selection of other meal kits without a subscription, along with wine, cookware, utensils, and pantry items that have been tested and recommended by Blue Apron’s culinary team. The curated meal kits include recipes in the Wellness, Family Favorites, Premium, and Heat & Eat categories.
“In addition, we continue to iterate on our à la carte wine selection, and have most recently launched premium sparkling wine on the Market as well,” said Friedman.
The company added three new, unique varietals of sparkling wines on the Market, all produced in California: Blue Barrel Brut, Blue Barrel Brut Reserve, and Blue Barrel Brut Reserve Rosé. They are priced from $19.99 to $24.99 per bottle, and are available in three-packs or six-packs as well.
Blue Apron also said it is launching several picnic items to its “Add-on” menu this summer, including a charcuterie board with prosciutto, baguette and assorted cheeses; a chocolate coconut custard with toasted coconut flakes; prosciutto focaccia sandwiches with mozzarella and pesto mayo; orecchiette pasta salad with mint and walnuts; a crudité board with creamy feta dip, and a prosciutto, spinach and mozzarella wrap with Calabrian-fig mayo.
Blue Apron’s moves come as the leading players in the meal kit industry continue to experiment with tweaks to their business models and offerings, as they contend with inflation and changes in consumer behavior in the wake of the pandemic.
HelloFresh, for example, on Wednesday reduced its sales and earnings outlook for the year, citing rising prices, consumer uncertainty about the economy, and the war in Ukraine. The Germany-based company, which has distribution throughout the U.S., has been actively promoting its subscription service with a series of marketing promotions, including a tie-in with the new Minions movie, and sponsorship of a new live competitive cooking series on Twitch called Unleash the Feast.
Meanwhile, Purple Carrot, a plant-based meal kit provider, announced last month that it had launched a new “Celebrations Box,” which includes recipes and ingredients to make an appetizer, entrée, and dessert — the company’s first three-course meal offering.
The limited-edition boxes for this summer include BBQ Oyster Mushroom Burgers, Harissa Tofu Steaks, and Grilled Plums with Coconut Cardamom Cream and Pistachios.
“We felt it was really important to not only creaRelated:te an experience that feels special for any occasion but also one that celebrates the seasons,” said Andrea Nordby, head of culinary at Purple Carrot, in a statement. “You'll find peak summer produce like tomatoes, peaches, and corn on the cob and recipes that take plant-based eating over the top.”
Related: Blue Apron Available With Amazon Alexa; Blue Apron Sets Sustainable Packaging Goals.