Tried Hello Fresh.
As compared to Blue Apron:
-- More of the work is done for you
-- The meals are easier
-- The meals are blander
-- The ingredients seems less fresh.
Here's an example:
-- One of our Hello Fresh meals was a baked tortellini with asparagus and pesto.
The Hello Fresh box contained: asparagus, tortellini, vegetable stock concentrate, 2 cloves garlic, a pesto sauce, and a crunchy topping.
That is: they made the pesto, they cut the garlic, they made the topping, they made the veggie stock.
I learned nothing, and the meal was no better than trader joe's cheap pasta. If anything, it seemed saltier.
Conversely, a Blue Apron version would (probably) contain: asparagus, tortellini, whatever goes into veggie stock, a head of garlic, basil, and whatever goes into the crunchy topping.
I would have learned what goes into veggie stock, gotten more practice smashing garlic, and made both a pesto sauce and the crunchy topping.
I can make pasta, sauce, and a veg. I do a couple nights a week.
But, making pesto? Making a veggie stock? Learning how to make a crunchy topping?
That's what I'm paying for.
So, goodbye Hello Fresh.
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We subscribed for a while just for a time saver where we could still cook together. It was nice to have pre weighed ingredients. However, we never had leftovers and became less pleased with the quality of the meals, so we decided that was $70 a month we could get back. We haven't done any subscriptions since.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Hello Fresh was really not up to the standards set by Blue Apron. I don't know how the two are competitors -- its like you could goto Whole Foods or Food Lion for the same price.
ReplyDeleteBlue Apron also usually provides left overs, making it a much more reasonable economic proposition.
Dude ... if you ... you know ... ever want to know how to make a pesto or a vegetable stock, please just ask. Together, we can free the world of the predations of orgs like Blue Apron, and Teach America to Shop and Cook Again Just Like Real People Do. (grin)
ReplyDeleteJohn Jainschigg Thanks, but my cognition is such that being told how to make a thing doesn't work at all.
ReplyDeleteWhile I dislike Hello Fresh, Blue Apron sends real ingredients and teaches real skills. The recipes are all online, meaning it is super easy to replicate. I really don't have a problem with Blue Apron. Can you tell me why you do, and if it is founded on experience or perception?
Oh, there's nothing morally wrong with any of it. It just astonishes me that one can develop an infinity of new-economy businesses by using computing power, micrologistics and package delivery to disrupt existing business models -- and that potential targets for such disruption include prior generations of disruptive business models.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, obviously, meal-kit delivery services are a (shallow) repackaging of online grocery shopping and delivery services, mostly managed by software.
As it happens, I've gone through periods where I make consistent use of the latter (e.g., FreshDirect). As someone who cooks for a family and entertains frequently, being able to shop for high-quality food online, maintain shopping lists for reorder, etc., can be a huge convenience, saving hours per week at least.
But though I've tried Blue Apron, too, it has no similar resonance for me. I guess because I feel it puts my own preferred value-adds (i.e., being a cook, thinking about food/menus/nutrition/portions/logistics of acquisition and storage, etc.) under erasure.
At one level, this is just 'different strokes,' right? Some people can maintain high levels of fitness by playing hoops on the corner. Others need a gym. Still others find a personal trainer helpful. No blame. And also no need for anyone to make the same choices forever. People do change patterns as their needs evolve.
I'm not sure I understand the position you have espoused. I'd be surprised if cheap computational power stopped disrupting markets. Things like HF and BA are pretty clearly still in their infancy, like when netflix sent spinning disks.
ReplyDeleteFor us, the meals it replaced is the standard minimal thought but you've got to buy it meals of: TJ's pasta, sauce, veg.
And that, dare I say it, is a good thing.
Dude, veggie stock: put lazily-cut-up veggies in water. (Any mix of veggies as long as it includes onions.) Bring to boil, then simmer for half an hour. Use colander to remove veggies. Ta da!
ReplyDeleteJosh Roby I know. I think you are missing my point, maybe.
ReplyDelete