Blue Apron Hopes to Revamp its Meal Delivery Business With the Help of Weight Watchers
The meal delivery staple hopes to get a boost to its customer base with the help of Weight Watchers.
The prepared meal delivery pioneer has seen about a 28% loss in its customer base, according to the latest financial reporting by the company. Blue Apron saw its customer count fall from 2.8 million members to 646,000.
The company's stock hasn't fared any better either. After a $10 per share debut on the Stock Market in July, the company has seen its share price plummet to a mere $1.12 in last trading session.
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At some point this month, the stock was trading in penny stock territory at just under $1 per share, sparking concerns that the stock may be forced to delist. Most exchanges will remove a stock from their roster after 30 consecutive days of below $1 per share trading.
Blue Apron, however, has plans to bounce back in the coming year. The company has teamed up with Weight Watchers, now known as WW, to help reach more diet-conscious customers. WW will allow its members to enroll in specialty meal delivery options via the Blue Apron Platform.
Blue Apron hopes this new partnership with WW will help grow its customer count and also reach consumers who do not mind paying a little extra for customized meal plans.
Blue Apron's CEO, Brad Dickerson hopes the new partnership will help his company acquire new long-term customers at a faster rate. " Historically, we've been going out and acquiring one customer at a time," Dickerson said. " This is a great way for us to get our brand in front of multiple customers at a time."
Without going into specifics, Dickerson said Blue Apron will pay WW a small acquisition fee for every customer who signs up for the company's meal delivery plans via the WW ecosystem. Pricing will remain the same for menu items as it is if customers were to access meal options directly with Blue Apron.
In October, Blue Apron joined forces with Jet.com to deliver same-day or next-day meals to customers in The New York city area. This program was launched through jet's robust e-commerce platform.