Blue Apron stock price tumbles to record low

Markets Insider

• Blue Apron hit a record low of $1.50 a share on Tuesday.
• The meal-kit maker announced it was launching a pilot program for on-demand delivery in New York City on the Grubhub and Seamless online and mobile platforms.
• Blue Apron shares are down 85% since their June 2017 initial public offering.
• Watch Blue Apron trade in real time here.

Blue Apron sank to its lowest level on record Tuesday after announcing its meal kits would be available for on-demand delivery in New York City.

Shares sold off more than 6%, hitting a record low of $1.50, after the meal-kit maker announced it was launching a pilot program for on-demand delivery in New York City on the Grubhub and Seamless online and mobile platforms. The program will offer customers “fresh, pre-portioned ingredients to easily cook two- or four-serving a la carte meals in 30 minutes or less,” and will allow them to add on specialty items. 

“This new on-demand product is a complement to our core offering, giving consumers — for the first time — the option to have a Blue Apron meal delivered to their doorstep in less than an hour,” Blue Apron CEO Brad Dickerson said in the press release.

“We are thrilled to launch this initial pilot to expand the reach of our brand, and expect to build on this new competency with additional same day, on-demand platforms over the coming months.”

It has been a rough 15 months for Blue Apron. It was set to price its June 2017 initial public offering between $15 and $17 a share until Amazon announced it was entering the meal-kit business. That caused meal-kit maker to lower its IPO range to $11-$12 before ultimately pricing shares at $10. Over the next several months, other competitors, like Walmart, would announce that they too were entering the meal-kit space.

But increased competition isn’t the only problem Blue Apron has had to deal with. The company has struggled to keep customers coming back. In August, the meal-kit service said it saw a 24% year-over-year drop in customers during the second quarter as revenue per customer slipped to $250 from $251 last year.

Blue Apron shares have lost 85% since their IPO.