Dive Brief:

• Blue Apron announced on Monday the launch of a new national brand campaign, which it has kicked off with two advertising spots. One focuses on the convenience of Blue Apron’s services, while the other is an online video series spotlighting the flavor, nutrition and ease of preparation of its meals
• As part of its planned marketing strategy for this year, the meal kit maker said it will refresh its sign-up experience, offer a “tailored menu option and preference selection” and roll out more creative assets that support online and offline marketing.
• With the campaign, Blue Apron said it is focused on creating a streamlined and personalized customer experience. That effort comes at a time when the meal kit industry faces slower growth and strong competition for customers’ meal dollars.

Dive Insight:

Blue Apron's new marketing campaign is the latest push by the meal kit company to differentiate its offerings.

“Our 2022 marketing strategy is centered on efficiently engaging consumers, and offering them a more seamless and personalized experience,” said Dani Simpson, Blue Apron’s chief marketing officer, in a statement. “This is the first of many planned initiatives for this year, as we look to increase customer awareness, and order volume, size and frequency.”

In developing the just-released ads, which are on Blue Apron’s YouTube account, the company said it relied on segmentation research conducted over the last year to understand its customer demographics and insights and then determine how to match its target customers with the company’s value proposition. At the end of some of the new ads, Blue Apron offers customers $110 off meal plan subscriptions.

One of the ads ties customers' dietary health with the company's work on what it calls "planetary wellness." Earlier this month, Blue Apron announced it had met its carbon neutrality goal at the end of March and that it is now working to put in place “systematic reductions designed to achieve a longer-term goal of net zero."

This bid to win new customers comes at a time when meal kit sales have slowed after significant growth at the start of the pandemic. 

In Blue Apron's fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2021, the company saw its net revenue increase 13% on a two-year-stack. Its number of orders, average order value, orders per customers and average revenue per customer were all up compared to the same time period in 2019, though its customer count slid from 351,000 to 336,000. 

At the start of this year, Blue Apron gained media attention over its partnership with Panasonic to sell a countertop oven that costs more than $500. Since then, the meal kit maker has added breakfast to its menu as part of its add-on options that also include appetizers, side dishes and desserts.

In March, Blue Apron announced the appointments of Amit Shah, former president and chief marketing officer of 1-800-Flowers.com, and Beverly K. Carmichael, who has leadership experience at companies ranging from airlines to restaurants, to its board of directors. 

Competitor HelloFresh, meanwhile, has also continued to expand and innovate. At the end of last year, the German meal kit maker said it plans to enter new markets and improve its customer experience with "more flexibility and more meal choices." Meal kit and prepared foods companies are facing increasing competition from restaurants and grocery stores that have seen foot traffic bounce back more than two years into the global pandemic.