Earlier this week, we learned people were less inclined to subscribe to monthly clothing delivery when Stitch Fix reported less than favorable earnings. And, according to our data, it looks like they’re not too keen on meal kit delivery these days either.
Blue Apron ($APRN) has been losing Twitter followers since late April, 500 to be exact. The New York company’s Facebook likes have been declining in step. Since March, Facebook mentions of Blue Apron have dropped by 39%.
Fellow meal kit delivery service HelloFresh ($XETRA:HFG) seems to be performing a little better on social media, but not by much. While Facebook likes have been increasing, mentions have fallen by 54% since the beginning of the year.
You might think the risk of contracting Coronavirus at a grocery store would drive people to brands like HelloFresh, but its Instagram following only grew by 3% from March to May.
All that said, analysts think these services are ripe for a post-COVID comeback. Monthly meal-kit sales doubled through mid-April year-over-year at roughly $100 million, as Yahoo! Finance reports. Blue Apron’s stock has risen by 15.9% in the past month, earning itself a Zacks Consensus Estimate Rank #2 (Buy).
In its latest Q1 earnings report, Blue Apron said demand was up 27% for the first three weeks in April and the service counted 25,000 new subscribers during the quarter. But as restaurants start to reopen and cooking at home gets old, meal kit delivery services will have to get smart about retaining their users.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.