Blue Apron food delivery service on the eve of the report

Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (APRN), which offers food package delivery, plans to report fourth-quarter results on February 10. Investors expect the company to demonstrate acceleration in sales growth. Recall that Blue Apron’s revenue increased by only 2% in the last quarter, despite more than 10% sales growth. 

This difference is associated with a noticeable increase in the cost of completing the order. In addition, Blue Apron is now going through a difficult period when the number of customers began to decline after a sharp rise during the pandemic. However, investors believe that the fourth quarter may bring good news, investing in marketing and customer acquisition. The company received funds for these operations through a secondary placement of shares. 

It should note that the Blue Apron business theoretically has good prospects, as it offers a set of products for cooking different types of dishes, including dietary or taking into account some food exceptions. That is, it fully corresponds to the trend for a healthy diet. However, the risk is high competition in the field of food delivery. For example, some delivery services offer the same dietary food from restaurants but are ready-made and do not require additional manipulation. 

Somewhat reduces the potential market of Blue Apron to a smaller group of consumers who have more free time. Blue Apron delivery was in demand during the lockdown. However, as people returned to work and spent more time away from home, demand decreased again. Probably, the marketing efforts that management is making will change this trend. Investors expect to see confirmation of this in the quarterly report in early February.