Meal-Kit Customers Dine And Dash

Companies like Blue Apron, Plated, and HelloFresh like to pitch their services as a solution for busy consumers who want an easier way to plan their meals, but a new spending analysis shows that the vast majority of customers don’t stick with these services over the long term.

The research firm 1010data analyzed consumer-spending data that represents millions of consumers, revealing a significant retention problem for the major meal-kit delivery services—which ship recipes with pre-portioned ingredients to customers on a weekly basis. After the second week, only about 50% of customers stick with Blue Apron, 1010data found. Six months into their subscriptions, only about 10% remain. The firm found a similar pattern for HelloFresh and Plated.

The findings are a contrast to what the companies themselves say about their own customer loyalty.

"Our customers who stick with us adapt Blue Apron to their lifestyles. They order week after week after week, and it becomes the way they cook dinner for their families," Blue Apron CEO Matt Salzberg told Fast Company earlier this month.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Fast Company