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That analysis assumes that the service is only about time-saving. I've never used it but I've heard people say how they like it because - they get to learn ne

That analysis assumes that the service is only about time-saving. I've never used it but I've heard people say how they like it because - they get to learn new recipes using less-common ingredients - have good quality meals (which take out often doesn't provide, if we are considering time saving) - they, sometimes at least, prefer eating at home.

antisthenes 9y ago
Well, yes, of course it assumes that, because providing value to the customer should be somewhere in the business model. If it's not, it'll eventually become a non-business. 1. There's nothing that suggests the ingredients are less common. But if you're a Blue Apron user, feel free to list some of the ingredients you were not able to find at a grocery store. 1.5: you can learn new recipes 10 different ways already, without having to subscribe to any "X as a service". 2. Nothing that suggests an average person can cook better or faster than takeout, which suggests the takeout provides value to the customer. 3. Completely irrelevant to the points at hand.
- jamesrcole 9y ago
  My comment was saying that you're assuming time-saving is the only value, and was pointing out that's not true. I'm even willing to believe it might be the most important source of value by a long shot -- I wasn't arguing against your conclusion; I was pointing out an assumption made by the argument you stated. Regarding 1. It's not that the ingredients are less common per se. It's that using BA means that people ended up using some less commonly used ingredients. They were introduced to new things that they hadn't used before and wouldn't have sought out on their own. They liked that. Regarding 1.5 - obviously, but the thing is there is greater convenience (that some ppl prefer) with not having to select the recipes, get the ingredients, portion them out. For some people that different in convenience makes the difference between whether they do it or not. So treating this issue as if it was purely a matter of whether it was possible or not doesn't make sense. Regarding 2, I have heard people say they have been able to make high quality meals that they wouldn't usually have made that are better than most takeaway. 3 is most definitely relevant, because it's an example of a non-speed-based kind of value it provides to some people - getting the kind of meal they would only otherwise get at a restaurant but at home. Most takeaway can't do that.
  - NoGravitas 9y ago
    There was previously a free website called notakeout.com, which has since gone under (there's currently something else on the domain that's completely unrelated). What they did was provide daily dinner recipes for fancy-restaurant type meals, with instructions, wine pairing, and shopping list. If you're an omnivore, you could simply print the day's page, stop at the grocery store on the way home, and cook whatever it was. It seems to me that this represents about 80% of the value of Blue Apron at no cost (I think they had a for-pay email service, or something?).
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- jhbadger 9y ago
  It depends on your type of grocery store -- maybe gourmet stores carry things like freekah (a type of African grain) and odd varieties of fruit (like Meyer lemons), but I hadn't even heard of these things before joining Blue Apron. It's not a perfect service -- I agree with other posters saying the instructions could be made better, but I've found it quite educational.

antisthenes 9y ago

Well, yes, of course it assumes that, because providing value to the customer should be somewhere in the business model. If it's not, it'll eventually become a non-business. 1. There's nothing that suggests the ingredients are less common. But if you're a Blue Apron user, feel free to list some of the ingredients you were not able to find at a grocery store. 1.5: you can learn new recipes 10 different ways already, without having to subscribe to any "X as a service". 2. Nothing that suggests an average person can cook better or faster than takeout, which suggests the takeout provides value to the customer. 3. Completely irrelevant to the points at hand.

jamesrcole 9y ago
My comment was saying that you're assuming time-saving is the only value, and was pointing out that's not true. I'm even willing to believe it might be the most important source of value by a long shot -- I wasn't arguing against your conclusion; I was pointing out an assumption made by the argument you stated. Regarding 1. It's not that the ingredients are less common per se. It's that using BA means that people ended up using some less commonly used ingredients. They were introduced to new things that they hadn't used before and wouldn't have sought out on their own. They liked that. Regarding 1.5 - obviously, but the thing is there is greater convenience (that some ppl prefer) with not having to select the recipes, get the ingredients, portion them out. For some people that different in convenience makes the difference between whether they do it or not. So treating this issue as if it was purely a matter of whether it was possible or not doesn't make sense. Regarding 2, I have heard people say they have been able to make high quality meals that they wouldn't usually have made that are better than most takeaway. 3 is most definitely relevant, because it's an example of a non-speed-based kind of value it provides to some people - getting the kind of meal they would only otherwise get at a restaurant but at home. Most takeaway can't do that.
- NoGravitas 9y ago
  There was previously a free website called notakeout.com, which has since gone under (there's currently something else on the domain that's completely unrelated). What they did was provide daily dinner recipes for fancy-restaurant type meals, with instructions, wine pairing, and shopping list. If you're an omnivore, you could simply print the day's page, stop at the grocery store on the way home, and cook whatever it was. It seems to me that this represents about 80% of the value of Blue Apron at no cost (I think they had a for-pay email service, or something?).
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
jhbadger 9y ago
It depends on your type of grocery store -- maybe gourmet stores carry things like freekah (a type of African grain) and odd varieties of fruit (like Meyer lemons), but I hadn't even heard of these things before joining Blue Apron. It's not a perfect service -- I agree with other posters saying the instructions could be made better, but I've found it quite educational.