Blue Apron Introduces Ready to Cook Meals to Meet Growing Customer Demand for Quicker Options

Newest Offering Features Pre-Chopped and Pre-Portioned Ingredients Ready to Combine, Bake and Serve

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) introduces a new line of Ready to Cook meals to meet growing customer demand for convenient, quick and delicious meal options. Available to order as part of a subscription, each recipe comes with pre-portioned, pre-chopped ingredients and a recyclable aluminum tray—simply combine, bake and serve to enjoy a chef-designed, delicious meal with minimal preparation.

“Our customers’ desire for easier meal options on days when time is limited has led us to introduce Ready to Cook recipes. After exploring and testing dozens of options, our culinary team created delicious meals, without compromising on quality of ingredients for convenience,” said Josh Friedman, Blue Apron’s Chief Product Officer. “We believe these meals meet an important need for our key customer segments, including families, a category we see as one of the biggest opportunities for Blue Apron.”

Ready to Cook meals feature ingredients that require no knife work or chopping, making it easy for customers to assemble the meal in a recyclable, single-use aluminum tray, bake and add the finishing touches, which helps keep cleanup to a minimum. The offering is the latest addition to Blue Apron’s ‘quick prep’ category of recipes that help customers save time in the kitchen. In addition to Ready to Cook, the company offers:

• Heat & Eat—prepared, single-serving meals designed to be warmed in the microwave and ready in five minutes or less. The offering features recipes that are based on some of the company’s most top-rated dishes.
• Fast & Easy—a series of recipes designed with ease of cooking and cleanup in mind, featuring sheet pan and one-pot dinners designed to be ready in 30 minutes or less.

“Our Ready to Cook recipes were developed by testing a combination of grains, starches and sauces from our pantry to offer a variety of options and cuisines, including Italian, Mediterranean and Mexican, with a cooking vessel that delivered the most consistent results,” said John Adler, Blue Apron’s Vice President of Culinary. “For example, our oven-baked gnocchi features a mixture of juicy tomatoes, spinach, spicy Calabrian chile paste topped with mozzarella, and our hearty tacos feature a mixture of chorizo and black beans served in a soft tortilla.”

Ready to Cook meals will be available to order through Blue Apron’s website and mobile app on the Two-Serving and Four-Serving menu starting July 29. Rotating on a weekly basis, initial recipes include:

• Oven-Baked Cheesy Tomato Gnocchi with Calabrian Chile & Spinach
• Oven-Baked Chorizo & Black Bean Tacos with Jalapeño & Monterey Jack
• Oven-Baked Sweet Chili Udon & Vegetables with Coconut Chips & Sesame Seeds
• Oven-Baked Pesto Chicken & Orzo with Spinach, Tomatoes & Ricotta

To learn more about Ready to Cook meals, visit cook.ba/readytocook.

About Blue Apron
Blue Apron’s vision is Better Living Through Better Food™. Launched in 2012, Blue Apron offers fresh, chef-designed recipes that empower home cooks to embrace their culinary curiosity, challenge their abilities in the kitchen and see what a difference cooking quality food can make in their lives. Blue Apron is a carbon-neutral meal-kit company and is focused on bringing incredible recipes to its customers, while promoting planetary and dietary wellness for everyone.