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A significant part of the Blue Apron value proposition (and I am not a subscribed or otherwise interested--I cook for myself, mostly from scratch), is: "You do

A significant part of the Blue Apron value proposition (and I am not a subscribed or otherwise interested--I cook for myself, mostly from scratch), is: "You don't have to think or plan anything." And that is where your one paragraph about how easy it is to cook for yourself falls down. You have to think up a menu. You have to find a menu (and hope it is good), plan, get ingredients, get the right odds and ends and figure out portions. That is all fairly easy to do (and I do it myself), but not cost-free. If you have more money than emotional energy and time, the Blue Apron value proposition may appeal to you. I hate the amount of waste it produces too, but "waste for wastes' sake" is not what is going on there.

justinator 10y ago
> "You don't have to think or plan anything." Yeah, and you lose a lot of what makes cooking cooking. You put effort into something, your satisfaction goes up. Extend this to how you live your life, and learn the secrets of being happy.
- nilkn 10y ago
  I think it depends what aspects of "cooking" you value. Some people really enjoy the meal planning part. Some people really enjoy picking out fruits and vegetables at the store. But others don't like planning out meals for the whole week and find grocery store trips stressful and frustrating (maybe their local store is incredibly busy). Blue Apron has a value proposition for those in the latter category who also enjoy the part of cooking that starts once you've got the grocery bags in your kitchen.
- compiler-guy 10y ago
  I assume you don't grow all your own produce, or slaughter your own meat. My extended family does (at least mostly) and they would claim that I would have a more satisfying life if I did as well. Where one draws the line at doing it all on your own depends on time available, motivation, and opportunity cost. I'm not going to judge people whose utility function is different than mine.
- thatswrong0 10y ago
  Everyone's different. You can't expect that everyone will derive the same satisfaction from the exact same activities as you.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > You put effort into something, your satisfaction goes up. I enjoy menu planning, shopping, and cooking more than most people. OTOH, I also enjoy ballroom dancing, and a variety of other non-cooking hobbies. Sometimes, I want to devote lots of time to cooking. Sometime, I want good food at home with the care I (or my wife) puts into cooking without the rest of the organizational and planning overhead. Blue Apron excels at the latter case. It's more packaging than I'd prefer, and than I need for the use case because I have a pantry well stocked with basic essentials (which is where the worst of Blue Apron's packaging excess tends to be), but for something that works in a diverse market and without gotchas, I see why they do it.

justinator 10y ago

> "You don't have to think or plan anything." Yeah, and you lose a lot of what makes cooking cooking. You put effort into something, your satisfaction goes up. Extend this to how you live your life, and learn the secrets of being happy.

nilkn 10y ago
I think it depends what aspects of "cooking" you value. Some people really enjoy the meal planning part. Some people really enjoy picking out fruits and vegetables at the store. But others don't like planning out meals for the whole week and find grocery store trips stressful and frustrating (maybe their local store is incredibly busy). Blue Apron has a value proposition for those in the latter category who also enjoy the part of cooking that starts once you've got the grocery bags in your kitchen.
compiler-guy 10y ago
I assume you don't grow all your own produce, or slaughter your own meat. My extended family does (at least mostly) and they would claim that I would have a more satisfying life if I did as well. Where one draws the line at doing it all on your own depends on time available, motivation, and opportunity cost. I'm not going to judge people whose utility function is different than mine.
thatswrong0 10y ago
Everyone's different. You can't expect that everyone will derive the same satisfaction from the exact same activities as you.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> You put effort into something, your satisfaction goes up. I enjoy menu planning, shopping, and cooking more than most people. OTOH, I also enjoy ballroom dancing, and a variety of other non-cooking hobbies. Sometimes, I want to devote lots of time to cooking. Sometime, I want good food at home with the care I (or my wife) puts into cooking without the rest of the organizational and planning overhead. Blue Apron excels at the latter case. It's more packaging than I'd prefer, and than I need for the use case because I have a pantry well stocked with basic essentials (which is where the worst of Blue Apron's packaging excess tends to be), but for something that works in a diverse market and without gotchas, I see why they do it.