Blue Apron launches own brand microwaveable meals

Blue Apron, the popular meal kit subscription service, is branching out into the private label frozen prepared meal space by introducing its first line of single-serving prepared meals called Heat & Eat. 

The private brand meals come in two and four serving sizes, and are available for Blue Apron subscribers to have delivered for a no-prep meal option. The three meals are cheesy guajillo chicken & rice with corn, black beans & peppers, soy-miso chicken & udon noodles with bok choy & mushrooms, and Calabrian chile meatballs with mashed potatoes, green beans & lemon-caper butter.

“A core pillar of our growth strategy is product innovation and efficient menu expansion with a goal of better integrating into our customers’ lives,” said Linda Findley Kozlowski, Blue Apron’s president and CEO. “The addition of Heat & Eat meals to our product portfolio is our first entry into the growing ready-made food category and now allows us to offer 50 weekly menu options, the highest number since the company’s founding in 2012.”

Blue Apron joins other meal subscription services like HelloFresh, which introduced private label grocery items to its service, attempting to grow into more of an e-commerce grocer. Imperfect Foods also offers private brand food and nonfood private brand products as part of its service.

For Blue Apron, the Heat & Eat meals were crafted alongside Blue Apron Signature weekly recipes, providing customers with more choice and flexibility in their weekly routine. Heat & Eat meals are based on some of the company’s most ordered and top-rated dishes, and designed to be warmed in a microwave.

“When our culinary team set out to develop Heat & Eat, we wanted to make sure we created meals that remained true to the experience our customers have come to expect from Blue Apron,” said John Adler, Blue Apron’s VP of culinary. “When our customers enjoy Heat & Eat, they can trust that the same ingredient standards and unique flavors in our Signature recipes are applied to our ready-made meals.”