And reliance on expensive digital marketing tactics can come back to bite when 70% of acquired customers only yielded. And the unproven business model turned some potential stockholders skittish when Amazon made a $13.7 billion investment in the grocery category with the purchase of Whole Foods, which took place right before Blue Apron’s IPO.īlue Apron’s rise and fall has become a cautionary tale to other billion-dollar-valued consumer startup unicorns: Profitability may not matter to venture capitalists, but a lack of it can sink a business that’s beholden to stockholders scrutinizing quarter-by-quarter performance. What had apparently been working in Blue Apron’s favor - $200 million in venture capital and first-mover advantage - ultimately worked against it, as it became evident that going public was a strategic move not for the business itself, but for its investors who were looking for a payout. In the first quarter of 2019, its subscriber count had fallen to little more than half of what it had been at the same time in 2017: 550,000, compared to 1 million.

At the end of May, it moved to pursue plans for a reverse stock split, hoping to salvage its standing on the stock market after share prices fell below $1 at the end of 2018.

In two years, Blue Apron has only lost more footing as a consumer startup success story: The company has cycled through two CEOs, most recently hiring Linda Kozlowski as its third in the post in April. After raising $200 million in venture capital, Blue Apron was valued at $3 billion before it hit the stock market.

When it went public in 2017, Blue Apron’s share prices were cut to $10 a piece, below the estimated $17, which landed the company a $1.9 billion valuation. Today, Blue Apron is more a cautionary tale than a next-generation retail success story. The pitch: Save time, mental energy and effort, while still cooking for yourself at home. Launched in 2012, it inspired a crowd of competitors, including HelloFresh, Purple Carrot, Plated, Freshly, Home Chef and Green Chef, all of which deliver recipes and pre-measured ingredients to customers’ doors. The meal-in-a-box subscription company broke new ground for the way people shopped for groceries. Linda Kozlowski is heading up Blue Apron, which is a shell of what it used to be.

Linda kozlowski blue apron