Blue Apron Investor Day Unveils Next Course Strategy

Blue Apron hosted its inaugural Investor Day on May 10, at its fulfillment center in Linden, N.J, where the New York-based meal kit company unveiled its new The Next Course strategy and details on its path to achieve adjusted EBITDA profitability in 2023 and positive free cash flow in 2024.

Blue Apron, which announced its first-quarter results on May 9, said the company’s The Next Course strategy outlines a path to sustainable growth, profitability and shareholder return. 

Looking long-term, Blue Apron said its goal is for the company to be the first choice for consumers who seek out curated food experiences and that it plans to expand beyond traditional meal kit subscriptions, which includes building an ecosystem of partners that create "better living through better food."

“This is an exciting time for Blue Apron as we step into the next phase of our turnaround. With the customer at the center of everything we do, we are moving beyond the three-pillar strategy that we introduced shortly after I joined Blue Apron in 2019,” said Linda Findley, Blue Apron’s president and CEO, in a statement. "The next phase of our strategy, which we have titled The Next Course, will be focused on delivering long-term sustainable growth, and sets our sights on profitability at the adjusted EBITDA level in 2023. It also positions our ESG programs as an enabler of our long-term ambitions, simultaneously driving accountability to the environment, customer growth and employee engagement.”

Earlier this year, Blue Apron reached its carbon neutrality goal. The company said it met its commitment to become carbon neutral by March 31, 2022, offsetting Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol—the global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.

Other plans shared during the investor day included three objectives the meal kit company said it will target to drive growth over the next three years: curated customer experiences, scalable platform and sustainable profit.

“Our strengthened balance sheet positions us to execute against the next evolution of our strategic plan with targeted marketing spend, continued investment in product innovation, and the build out of other revenue streams via partnerships, add-ons and marketplace offerings,” Randy Greben, Blue Apron’s CFO said in a statement. “We believe we can not only make meaningful progress on our path to profitability but can do so while staying true to our guiding principles to serve all of our stakeholders.'

Greben said the meal kit company sees the path to 2024 with the goal of having at least “500,000 customers, at least $700 million in revenue, with adjusted EBITDA margins of more than 2% and positive cash flow generation.”