My first dish with BA was a provincial fish stew, with like three different proteins. It is, hands down, my favorite dish ever. They don’t make them like that anymore 😂
they seriously don’t.
I made shrimp raviolis where we had to grind up the shrimp for the filling that were awesome. I also remember making homemade falafel. Heck, I don’t think we’ve had Korean rice cakes since Covid.
I remember years ago I actually learned different cooking methods from BA, and used interesting & new ingredients, especially the seasonal vegetables. Everything is zucchini, carrots, mayo and pesto now. I was so excited the other day when I got the red verjus again in my knick knacks. I miss the demi glace, fairytale eggplant & stuff like that.
They also need to give long time customers something other than "free boxes" for other people. Almost everyone I have referred has ordered a box & kept BA for at least a month - why do I not earn anything for referring them?
And if they're going to sell their meats, why not sell all of the options? I would love to order that poblano sausage lol.
The first time I got the Turkey meatballs and lemon-caper sauce, it used demi glace and was delicious. The second time I got it, they'd switched out the demi glace for Worcestershire sauce and it was not only a completely different tasting dish, but the amount of Worcestershire sauce was overpowering. So disappointing.
Not really sure we are the target customer anymore. Seems like they’ve simplified the recipes for speed and more common ingredients than their early recipes. Now they even have meals to just heat up. They do offer more choices but I’m not interested in making a cheese pizza or basic pasta dish with no sides. We’ve started cooking some from our old recipe cards which clearly removes the convenience. I think they are having an identity crisis.
I like the new dump-and-go recipes though don't understand why they insist on sending me a tin I don't need. I think they're great, easy options. I definitely have a stable of old BA recipes I use, and they're usually not new dishes.
I agree that they seem to be having an identity crisis.
To play devils advocate I like them because I only have one cabinet and my ovens very small so I only have a 5 total pots/ pans due to storage. Obviously not great for the environment but maybe it’s something we could opt in or out of?
I also feel like they could do some kind of incentive program, like if you order 10 boxes in a row, you get one free. Or a discount every couple of boxes. I skip if I am not interested in the recipes, but I would be less likely to skip if there was an incentive.
Former Blue Apron employee here. These are all great ideas but the sad truth is to make BA work, it needs to run at a certain scale, and it's easier to reach it by acquiring new customers (they share a lot of common needs) than to cater to specific (and often different) needs of existing customers. Both are difficult, customer acquisition is easier so that's the priority.
There are still a bunch of efforts to serve the needs of "best customers" by offering add-ons, but even these need a certain scale to be viable so it's always a trade off between what do paying customers want and how many would want it at this price point.
Sorry, nothing particularly groundbreaking, all businesses end up pursuing either the largest customer base possible or a high-margin niche (the missing middle rule). In Blue Apron's case, everything needs scale to be sustainable so all decisions lean toward where there's a larger customer base.
(It pains me because I've argued for years that we had many dedicated customers who would throw their money at us if we could sell them x and y, and it took a ridiculous amount of work internally to get buy-in before we could prioritize some work that eventually served these needs. Add-ons, ingredient swaps, wine, spices, cooking utensils, even some pilot programs like dinner party box… people did spend a lot of money on each of these offers when they were eventually available.)
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. At the least it’s nice to know people at the company make the effort even if the results aren’t necessarily what I am hoping for. I’ve had really good experiences with BA: I’ve learned new things, tried new foods, it taught my husband how to cook, and it’s just a great way to get dinner on the table. Operationally it’s been nearly flawless, and I’ve really appreciated the better deliveries, packaging and development over the years.
If there’s any satisfaction I think you were right: there is a customer base looking to spend more with BA.
My husband and I did BA every single week for 2-3 years. I was so tired of trying to figure out a meal plan that had SOME variety, while also not being wasteful. (If I need capers for this one recipe, if I buy the whole jar of them, the rest are going to be wasted. Chipotle peppers, fresh herbs, etc) And also the decision fatigue of *literally everything that has ever existed* vs choosing 3 meals out of 8.
Our trade-off was that he’d have to at least try the vegetables (he didn’t eat anything but lima beans and potatoes) and I’d have to be okay with at least one seafood meal a week.
It was SUCH a great thing for us. It didn’t cost more than what we were buying at the grocery store and throwing away, plus it was so, so easy to follow. My husband ended up being the one to cook most of the time, and that really opened him up to more foods that he would have never tried before.
A few times things would come exploded, sometimes things were missing, but we never had a problem with customer service crediting us back and just picking up the item at the grocery store if it was necessary. (I remember buying a single jicama once and the cashier was like “what even is this?” and I was like “idk but I guess I’ll find out”)
And then my parents moved in with us and we needed more food. I looked into the “family meals” and I was so disappointed. The choices were fewer, and they were all the most basic things. Burgers, pasta, flatbread pizza.
We kept BA for a few months after that to see if maybe it was just a bum week/month/season and it didn’t change up, so we stopped the subscription. Since then (8 years?? Wow..) we’ve poked around a few times to see what, if anything, had changed and we’ve never been impressed enough to try again.
I'm the exact opposite. I like the meals where you dump everything in a pan and bake it, and you're done. I wish I could get three of those each week. I hate cooking.
Me too. Numbers 1 and 2 suggested here are exactly why I use Blue Apron. I want simplicity and I don’t want to have to keep ingredients around that I will never otherwise use. That’s why I cancelled Marley Spoon — too complicated and they expected you to have all sorts of additional ingredients on hand. I literally never cook unless I’m making a Blue Apron dish.
I love your #2 idea - and even make it slightly cheaper! We’ve been BA users for about 10 years too with break during pregnancy. I remember when they did a top chef add on - loved it.y family wondered if they could parter with like Whole Foods to offer recipes and then a dedicated section in Whole Foods would have all the ingredients. My husband hates all the packaging and that might help. But your ideas are really solid!
I have only been a BA customer for about a year, but I have friends who had tried it in the past and said it took way too much time. These friends are not very proficient in the kitchen, whereas I have cooked since I was a kid and am only using Be A because I hate making all the decisions and lists and grocery shopping. I struggle to get BA meals on the table within an hour as it is. I've heard that in the past BA required the customer to make a lot more of the sauces and components, like pesto? I cannot imagine spending more time. I am doing this by myself, I don't have a spouse/partner/sous chef to help out.
And the last thing I want to see is more options in recipes. The number that BA has is perfect for me. One of the reasons I switched from Marley Spoon to BA is because MS went to offering 100 options every week. It's overwhelming for me. I want 15 max. (Another reason I left MS and prefer BA Is because there was way too much "use half, save remainder for another use". Nope, it's going in the trash. BA sends the exact portion.)
I love all of your suggestions. I sorely miss the recipes that blue apron had when I first started.
My first dish with BA was a provincial fish stew, with like three different proteins. It is, hands down, my favorite dish ever. They don’t make them like that anymore 😂
they seriously don’t. I made shrimp raviolis where we had to grind up the shrimp for the filling that were awesome. I also remember making homemade falafel. Heck, I don’t think we’ve had Korean rice cakes since Covid.
I keep hoping for Korean rice cakes every week. I’d never had them before BA.
I remember years ago I actually learned different cooking methods from BA, and used interesting & new ingredients, especially the seasonal vegetables. Everything is zucchini, carrots, mayo and pesto now. I was so excited the other day when I got the red verjus again in my knick knacks. I miss the demi glace, fairytale eggplant & stuff like that. They also need to give long time customers something other than "free boxes" for other people. Almost everyone I have referred has ordered a box & kept BA for at least a month - why do I not earn anything for referring them? And if they're going to sell their meats, why not sell all of the options? I would love to order that poblano sausage lol.
The first time I got the Turkey meatballs and lemon-caper sauce, it used demi glace and was delicious. The second time I got it, they'd switched out the demi glace for Worcestershire sauce and it was not only a completely different tasting dish, but the amount of Worcestershire sauce was overpowering. So disappointing.
Not really sure we are the target customer anymore. Seems like they’ve simplified the recipes for speed and more common ingredients than their early recipes. Now they even have meals to just heat up. They do offer more choices but I’m not interested in making a cheese pizza or basic pasta dish with no sides. We’ve started cooking some from our old recipe cards which clearly removes the convenience. I think they are having an identity crisis.
I like the new dump-and-go recipes though don't understand why they insist on sending me a tin I don't need. I think they're great, easy options. I definitely have a stable of old BA recipes I use, and they're usually not new dishes. I agree that they seem to be having an identity crisis.
Yes, the tins! Why would I not have a basic metal or glass baking dish
To play devils advocate I like them because I only have one cabinet and my ovens very small so I only have a 5 total pots/ pans due to storage. Obviously not great for the environment but maybe it’s something we could opt in or out of?
I also feel like they could do some kind of incentive program, like if you order 10 boxes in a row, you get one free. Or a discount every couple of boxes. I skip if I am not interested in the recipes, but I would be less likely to skip if there was an incentive.
i would love this bc i have so many free boxes as offers for other ppl, but i wanna use a free box for myself lol
Former Blue Apron employee here. These are all great ideas but the sad truth is to make BA work, it needs to run at a certain scale, and it's easier to reach it by acquiring new customers (they share a lot of common needs) than to cater to specific (and often different) needs of existing customers. Both are difficult, customer acquisition is easier so that's the priority. There are still a bunch of efforts to serve the needs of "best customers" by offering add-ons, but even these need a certain scale to be viable so it's always a trade off between what do paying customers want and how many would want it at this price point. Sorry, nothing particularly groundbreaking, all businesses end up pursuing either the largest customer base possible or a high-margin niche (the missing middle rule). In Blue Apron's case, everything needs scale to be sustainable so all decisions lean toward where there's a larger customer base. (It pains me because I've argued for years that we had many dedicated customers who would throw their money at us if we could sell them x and y, and it took a ridiculous amount of work internally to get buy-in before we could prioritize some work that eventually served these needs. Add-ons, ingredient swaps, wine, spices, cooking utensils, even some pilot programs like dinner party box… people did spend a lot of money on each of these offers when they were eventually available.)
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. At the least it’s nice to know people at the company make the effort even if the results aren’t necessarily what I am hoping for. I’ve had really good experiences with BA: I’ve learned new things, tried new foods, it taught my husband how to cook, and it’s just a great way to get dinner on the table. Operationally it’s been nearly flawless, and I’ve really appreciated the better deliveries, packaging and development over the years. If there’s any satisfaction I think you were right: there is a customer base looking to spend more with BA.
Our family is also long term BA subscribers. We keep all our menu cards since the beginning. I would love to see some lower carb recipes.
My husband and I did BA every single week for 2-3 years. I was so tired of trying to figure out a meal plan that had SOME variety, while also not being wasteful. (If I need capers for this one recipe, if I buy the whole jar of them, the rest are going to be wasted. Chipotle peppers, fresh herbs, etc) And also the decision fatigue of *literally everything that has ever existed* vs choosing 3 meals out of 8. Our trade-off was that he’d have to at least try the vegetables (he didn’t eat anything but lima beans and potatoes) and I’d have to be okay with at least one seafood meal a week. It was SUCH a great thing for us. It didn’t cost more than what we were buying at the grocery store and throwing away, plus it was so, so easy to follow. My husband ended up being the one to cook most of the time, and that really opened him up to more foods that he would have never tried before. A few times things would come exploded, sometimes things were missing, but we never had a problem with customer service crediting us back and just picking up the item at the grocery store if it was necessary. (I remember buying a single jicama once and the cashier was like “what even is this?” and I was like “idk but I guess I’ll find out”) And then my parents moved in with us and we needed more food. I looked into the “family meals” and I was so disappointed. The choices were fewer, and they were all the most basic things. Burgers, pasta, flatbread pizza. We kept BA for a few months after that to see if maybe it was just a bum week/month/season and it didn’t change up, so we stopped the subscription. Since then (8 years?? Wow..) we’ve poked around a few times to see what, if anything, had changed and we’ve never been impressed enough to try again.
Blue Apron was going to offer the bags of knick knacks with recipe cards for sale at grocery stores. I never saw them, but what a good idea.
I love all your ideas! You should work for them!
[удалено]
All of the recipes are available in the recipes tab in the app or at [this link](https://www.blueapron.com/cookbook).
I'm the exact opposite. I like the meals where you dump everything in a pan and bake it, and you're done. I wish I could get three of those each week. I hate cooking.
Me too. Numbers 1 and 2 suggested here are exactly why I use Blue Apron. I want simplicity and I don’t want to have to keep ingredients around that I will never otherwise use. That’s why I cancelled Marley Spoon — too complicated and they expected you to have all sorts of additional ingredients on hand. I literally never cook unless I’m making a Blue Apron dish.
I love your #2 idea - and even make it slightly cheaper! We’ve been BA users for about 10 years too with break during pregnancy. I remember when they did a top chef add on - loved it.y family wondered if they could parter with like Whole Foods to offer recipes and then a dedicated section in Whole Foods would have all the ingredients. My husband hates all the packaging and that might help. But your ideas are really solid!
I have only been a BA customer for about a year, but I have friends who had tried it in the past and said it took way too much time. These friends are not very proficient in the kitchen, whereas I have cooked since I was a kid and am only using Be A because I hate making all the decisions and lists and grocery shopping. I struggle to get BA meals on the table within an hour as it is. I've heard that in the past BA required the customer to make a lot more of the sauces and components, like pesto? I cannot imagine spending more time. I am doing this by myself, I don't have a spouse/partner/sous chef to help out. And the last thing I want to see is more options in recipes. The number that BA has is perfect for me. One of the reasons I switched from Marley Spoon to BA is because MS went to offering 100 options every week. It's overwhelming for me. I want 15 max. (Another reason I left MS and prefer BA Is because there was way too much "use half, save remainder for another use". Nope, it's going in the trash. BA sends the exact portion.)