Blue Apron has just announced the launch of a new e-commerce store, which will go live next week, to round out the service’s grocery and recipe delivery service. The company has also announced that it has doubled sales since early May, with 1 million meals sold each month.
“We think that the Blue Apron Market will be an important part of the business for us,” said CEO Matt Salzberg. “It’s not an add-on. It’s a major initiative, and we don’t see it as a separate business but as an integrated part of the cooking experience. It really rounds out our core product.”
Blue Apron is a company that puts together various meals each week, and sends the perfect portions of each ingredient to users for their own cooking and learning pleasure. It’s a growing business, with Blue Apron having raised more than $58 million across three rounds, at a valuation north of $450 million as of April. Investors include First Round, Bessemer Ventures, Stripes Group, and Box Group, among others.
At that time, based on metrics that Blue Apron provided (500k meals/month), the company was estimated to have a $60 million run rate. However, Blue Apron is still growing rapidly, and today announced that it has surpassed 1 million meals/month. At $10/meal, that puts Blue Apron’s yearly revenue run rate at $120 million.
To meet demand, Blue Apron has opened its largest-to-date fulfillment center in Jersey City, NJ, which is ten times bigger than Blue Apron’s next-largest fulfillment center.
With the launch of the e-commerce store, Blue Apron adds in yet another opportunity for revenue.
“The only thing we currently sell on the website, that isn’t food, is our seasonal cookbook,” said Salzberg. “People love them, and what we’ve learned is that Blue Apron is integrated into our customers daily lives as a brand they engage with and trust, and they want to buy things from us.”
The Blue Apron Market will offer a curated experience, selling mostly kitchen tools, accessories, etc. This way, Blue Apron loyalists can cook with the exact tools that Blue Apron chefs use in the test kitchens, such as a great non-stick pan or the ultimate chef’s knife. Blue Apron is even working with partners to develop exclusive tools and products, like a new knife the company developed with Korin, which will be available at launch.
These products will be browsable on the Blue Apron website, and will also be featured or recommended in various recipes across the website in which they’ll be useful.
Products purchased from the Blue Apron Market that exceed $75 will get free shipping.