Meal-kit companies of today think they would re-shape food industry and build global ( or at least national brands ). If the market was split between the meal-k

Meal-kit companies of today think they would re-shape food industry and build global ( or at least national brands ). If the market was split between the meal-kits ( Plated, Blue Apron, HelloFresh, HomeChef etc etc etc ) then it is possible that one of them would have become something rather big or at least profitable. Instead what we have now is Amazon not just eating Whole Foods but taking away the customers from the meal-kit industry by taking them back into Whole Foods. So it is Amazon's global logistics + Amazon ops + Whole Foods supply chain in food business + Wholefoods profitability v. upstart with at best a couple of warehouses, some engineers, and a dozens minimum wage paid workers assembling kits. The pie available for the upstarts just became much smaller. For Whole Foods entering a national meal-kit business is a no brainer. It has the needed footprint that dwarfs their meal-kit competitors, it has the logistics of the supply chain and places to distribute the deliveries out of ( Whole Foods stores ) and it has a brand familiar with and trusted by the same people who are targets of the meal-kit offerings. Blue Apron simply won't be able to complete with 2-3 hour delivery from Whole Foods. Not to mention every single thing that one needs to create the most complicated Blue Apron recipe is available at pretty much every Whole Foods immediately. Oh, and Whole Foods is profitable already. Oh, and they can make even more money upcharging. Who can compete with Whole Foods? Your neighborhood grocery store. Why? Detailed local knowledge means knowing exactly who buys what, who lives where and when they are home. Delivery windows of 15 minutes. Prices lower than the prices at Whole Foods. [Late addition below:] The other advantage that local grocery stores/small chains would have over the nation-wide chain is that being Ramen Profitable after all costs is a great result for a stable business not looking at expansion.