Blue Apron IPO: The Meal Delivery Service Files to Go Public

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Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. filed to go public yesterday. The meal-kit startup said that it’s grown sales to $800 million last year from under $80 million in 2014. The company has raised $193.8 million in venture capital and was valued at $2 billion in 2015.

In its S-1 filing with the SEC, Blue Apron claims it delivered more than 159 million meals to homes in 48 states. The lead underwriters include Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS), according to the filing.

Blue Apron provides customers with boxes of premeasured ingredients that it ships for meals serving either two or four people at a time. The company also has a monthly wine delivery option. The filing notes that the company plans to offer greater flexibility in its meal offerings giving customers more options on how many meals they want each week.

Meal kits are a big business today, exploding into a $1.5 billion market over the past five years, reported Progressive Grocer, citing Rockville, Md.-based Packaged Facts. Expect that market to double by 2022. Players are hoping consumers will pick on-demand home cooking over restaurant takeout and delivery.

Last month Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) joined the list of outlets selling prepared meal kits, entering a niche dominated by Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. East Coast operator Giant Food Stores sells its Fresh Meal Kits, while Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) recently started selling meal kits called Purple Carrot meal kits. Publix Super Markets Inc. (OTCMKTS:PUSH) also recently debuted its own line.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/06/blue-apron-ipo-meal-delivery-service-files-go-public/.

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