New Roundup: Blue Apron Expands DoorDash Partnership; Foxtrot Names New CEO
Blue Apron Expands Heat & Eat Meals
Meal-delivery business Blue Apron is expanding its Heat & Eat meals partnership with DoorDash’s DashMart platform to 11 new markets.
Last year, Blue Apron launched a Philadelphia-based pilot program with DashMart, DoorDash’s “convenience” offering that launched in 2019 and sells household essentials and local restaurant favorites. The Heat & Eat meals will now be available in select cities in New Jersey, Virginia, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
“These types of strategic partnerships are an important market opportunity for us to expand our reach and provide customers with access to our products without a subscription. We’re committed to providing them with even more convenient ways to bring Blue Apron into their kitchens each week,” said John Adler, Blue Apron’s SVP of physical product.
First announced in September 2021, Blue Apron’s Heat & Eat meals are fully prepared, single-serving microwavable meals like Cheesy Truffle Cavatappi and Spanish-Style Beef & Rice. The meals can be added to a Blue Apron subscription or ordered directly through DashCart to be delivered anytime.
Blue Apron has been trying to expand its offerings and use-occasions as it grapples with declining interest in meal delivery kits. Recently, the company has struggled with liquidity issues. In November, Blue Apron reported during its Q3 earnings call that it was pulling its yearly guidance as it saw flat revenue growth and struggled to secure a $57 million private placement funding infusion from RJB Partners LLC.
Foxtrot Names President As New CEO
Modern convenience store chain Foxtrot has promoted Liz Williams to CEO, replacing co-founder and former CEO Mike LaVitola who will move into the role of chairman of the board.
Williams was appointed as the Chicago-based company’s first president and CFO in 2022 after recently serving as CEO of Drybar, a chain of blow-dry salons. Before that, Williams was the CFO of Taco Bell and president of Taco Bell International helping the Yum Brand subsidiary grow its business in over 30 countries worldwide.
Foxtrot was founded in 2014 by LaVitola and Taylor Bloom as a contemporary take on the corner grocery store. It has since expanded to over 16 brick-and-mortar locations in Chicago, Dallas and Washington D.C. as well as an online marketplace.
In January 2022, the brand announced it had secured $100 million in a Series C funding round led by D1 Capital Partners to open 25 new stores in 2022. In the company press release at the time, Foxtrot announced that it had plans to expand to additional markets in New York, Nashville and Miami in 2023.
Maya Kaimal Releases Third Cookbook
Maya Kaimal, the founder of a namesake line of Indian foods, has released her third cookbook, Indian Flavor Every Day. Published by Clarkson-Potter, the book debuted last week and is the top new release for Indian Cooking on Amazon, currently.
Kaimal launched her line of “speed-scratch” Indian simmer sauces in 2003, with the portfolio expanding to include condiments, heat-and-eat meals, pre-cooked rice packets and, most recently, a line of soups. Backed by North Castle Partners, the brand is sold across channels in retailers including Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, Sprouts and Walmart.
Indian Flavor Every Day seeks to simplify Indian cooking for the time-pressed, home chef, and marry Western classic recipes with traditional Indian flavors. Kaimal’s last book, Curried Favors, won the Julia Child First Book Award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
“When I hear trend forecasters claim year after year that Indian will be the Next Big Cuisine, I just smile. Because even though I suspect it will never have one bust-out moment, Indian food is being seen—and not just in a tiny section of the supermarket or on take-out menus,” Kaimal writes in the book. “Thanks to the legions of Indian food writers who are lending their perspectives to print and social media, and to the chefs who are getting bolder about sharing their regional and homestyle versions of Indian dishes, this vivid cuisine is now getting the love it deserves, in all its complex glory.”
