FILE: A customer unpacks a Blue Apron box on a kitchen counter.
FILE: A customer unpacks a Blue Apron box on a kitchen counter.
A once highly valued meal kit delivery service is seeing some of its darkest days, as customers nationwide report delayed shipments, missing ingredients and even unexpected treats.
Blue Apron, once valued at nearly $2 billion when the company went public in 2017, is dealing with a massive supply chain issue after its main supplier, FreshRealm, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year. Its new partner since April, Misfits Market, is now tasked with taking over Blue Apron’s sprawling delivery network, which includes a former FreshRealm fulfillment center in Tracy. Misfits Market’s facility in Walnut, in Los Angeles County, will now also facilitate Blue Apron’s orders in addition to its own grocery delivery service. Blue Apron used to operate a distribution center in Richmond; however, it sold the site in a $50 million deal in 2023.
“We know many Blue Apron customers have experienced missed items and canceled orders during our transition to a new fulfillment partner, and we take full responsibility for this lapse in service,” said a Blue Apron spokesperson in a statement.
Misfits Market spokesperson Holly Eagleson told SFGATE that the company is executing the transition from FreshRealm in under 10 weeks –– a process that would normally take around a year.
“The transition involved standing up an entirely new fulfillment operation on a dramatically compressed timeline,” Eagleson said in an email. “Inventory has been the primary challenge during that process, and it’s an area we continue to work through.”
When SFGATE called the company’s main phone line, a prerecorded message states the company disabled the phone line due to a surge in calls about delivery issues, and the call automatically ends without allowing customers to leave a message.
In an Aug. 14 Facebook post, Blue Apron blamed delivery delays and missing ingredients on the transition, writing that “to say that it has not gone smoothly would be an understatement.” The company said in the post that it would be limiting menu options in the meantime and would be adding more quality control checks to crack down on faulty shipments.
“We know that some Blue Apron customers have felt the impact of this transition, and addressing that is our top priority right now,” Eagleson said in an email. “Our remaining work is closing inventory gaps as quickly as possible, and we’re committed to supporting Blue Apron and its customers through that.”
FILE: A Blue Apron box sits on the porch of a house.
FILE: A Blue Apron box sits on the porch of a house.
It’s a stark contrast to the Blue Apron that was awarded “Best Overall” food delivery service by Delish earlier this year. The website hailed the company not just for having the “best-tasting meals (by far!)” but also for “empowering customers” to cook themselves. Blue Apron provides all the ingredients needed for making its meals, as well as a recipe card teaching the customer how to prepare the dish.
But in recent weeks, customers have been taking to social media to figure out why ingredients on the recipe cards were nowhere to be found in the package. For one customer, that meant no gnocchi for a pesto gnocchi bake, and a hot honey chicken meal missing entirely.
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Another customer on Reddit said their box was missing multiple proteins but instead came with some extra ingredients, including “a giant carrot that looks like it was grown by aliens.” Customers are also reporting damaged products or opened bags of produce. Though many are reporting that the company has been issuing refunds, several customers said the quality of the service has decreased over the past few years and that this was their last straw.
“What a bizarre way to destroy a company, its reputation, and brand loyalty,” one Redditor commented. “We’ve put up with the occasional missing ingredient because of their (then) excellent customer service. This is different.”
This story has been updated.
Work at Blue Apron and want to talk? Contact tech reporter Matthew Brown securely at matthew.brown@sfgate.com or matthewbrownsfgate.11 on Signal.
Aug 17, 2026