Albertsons to phase out Plated subscription service, Blue Apron shares fall

Albertsons Companies said Tuesday that it plans to phase out the Plated subscription meal service at the end of November. In its place, Albertsons will beef up its in-house culinary brand Own Brands, which will manage the expansion of the Plated brand into a home meal solution. The company will expand the Plated brand with new products in 2020. Albertsons tested meal-kit performance in its Northern California Safeway stores and found that those who purchased Plated products were more likely to have families and purchase larger baskets. Kroger Co. announced at its recent investor meeting that it would also be expanding its Home Chef meal-kit brand, which it acquired in 2018. Blue Apron Holdings Inc. stock was down 4.2% in Tuesday trading after the latest news from Albertsons. Blue Apron reported wider-than-expected losses and a revenue miss in its most recent earnings announcement. Blue Apron stock has lost 61.6% of its value over the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 13.4% for the period.

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