Amazon Might Be Getting Into Meal Kits, and That’s Bad News for Blue Apron

Amazon is proving to be a major thorn in Blue Apron’s side. The e-commerce goliath has filed a trademark application indicating it’s about to dive into the meal kit business — and Blue Apron’s stock price has taken a tumble in response, MSNBC reports.

The UK’s Times reported over the weekend that Amazon has registered a U.S. trademark for “prepared food kits” bearing the slogan “We do the prep. You be the chef.”

While this will signal Amazon’s first attempt at its own line of meal kits, it’s been selling meal kits from third-party companies via its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service since last fall: Produced by food giant Tyson, the “Tyson Tastemakers” kits feature dishes like pork belly pad Thai and clock in at $10 per serving. Amazon Fresh customers can also order meal kits from the Martha Stewart-Marley Spoon collaboration.

Blue Apron, which just went public a few weeks ago, saw its stock price fall more than 10 percent this morning following news of Amazon’s upcoming venture; as of 12:05 p.m. EST it was trading at $6.56, a new all-time low. (Last week an analyst speculated that the stock could eventually fall as low as $2.) Meanwhile, Amazon’s stock is up 7 percent so far today.

The meal kit company’s IPO price came in about a third lower than originally projected when it made its New York Stock Exchange debut in late June — something that was largely attributed to the news that Amazon is buying Whole Foods, a blockbuster deal that could create a potentially game-changing food delivery giant.

If Amazon can conquer the meal kits sphere by undercutting Blue Apron on price or simply taking advantage of its already-massive customer base, it could prove catastrophic for the meal kit pioneer, which has yet to become profitable.

• Amazon Ready to Cash In on Boom in Meal Kits [The Times]
• Amazon Files Meal Kits Trademark, Treading on Blue Apron’s Turf [MSNBC]
• Blue Apron Hits All-Time Low as Amazon Suggests Its Getting Into Meal Kits [MSNBC]