Amazon Fresh, the grocery distribution arm of Seattle-based Amazon, quietly added meal kits to its lineup in late June.
There are now 36 meal kits available to the company's Amazon Fresh customers. Seventeen are branded by Amazon, and the rest are a mix of Tyson Tastemakers and Marley Spoon, a Martha Stewart co-branded meal kit.
Varieties range from Veggie Quinoa with spiced chickpeas to Steak au Poivre with Paremesan Fries. They range from 2 to 4 servings, priced at $8 to $10 per serving.
Amazon boasts they're “Fresh, pre-portioned ingredients for your ready-to-cook meal” and because they're available to Amazon Fresh subscribers, they're not a subscription meal delivery like competitors Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, which have been criticized for low retention rates.
The company is seeking a trademark for the slogan "We do the prep. You be the chef," according to a July 6 filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Blue Apron's stock, already faltering after its Initial Public Offering in late June, took another hit after news of Amazon's meal kits started spreading. The company's stock was trading early Tuesday for $6.40/per share, down about a dollar from the previous day's trading.