Blue Apron IPO Launches $4 Less a Share Than Anticipated

Blue Apron made its public debut in the New York Stock exchange, surprising the market with a lower-end launch to its projected share price.

As we previously reported, the meal kit delivery giant filed for a $100 million IPO earlier this month, and later announced a $586.5 million target. However, Blue Apron opted to launch at $10 per share instead of the higher-end $15 to $17 per share, raising about $300 million that the company plans to use for expansion, according to USA Today. Shares rose 98 cents after they began trading to $10.98 on late Thursday morning.

Reuters noted that the company’s stock saw as high as a 1% jump, despite the one-third cut in its valuation.

Since launching in 2012, Blue Apron reports:

• Delivering more than 159 million meals to U.S households, representing roughly 25 million paid orders, from launch date to March 31
• Revenue growth from $77.8 million in 2014 to $795.4 million last year
• A more than tripled customer base since 2015, with more than 1 million customers ordering 8 million meals every month, according to a report from research firm S3 Partners

With a business model that looks to “eliminate the middlemen” for consumers, going public is a move that could bolster sustainability of that model, according to Managing Partner at tech investment company Goodwater Capital Eric Kim in a Blue Apron report.

"...How they plan to use these IPO proceeds to create that moat [around their business], other than spending on marketing, will be critical to how enamored Wall Street becomes with the stock," Kim noted, according to USA Today.

Sustainability in the meal kit delivery spectrum has continued to be of discussion as the market becomes increasingly competitive with launches from not only Blue Apron, but also Amazon, Uber, and traditional retailers.

As the retail and foodservice scape continues to shake things up, keep checking in with Deli Market News for all the latest.