Ultimately, they're hamstrung by the fact that by nature of their business, they have to limit selection. I haven't encountered a single set of recipes from Blu

Ultimately, they're hamstrung by the fact that by nature of their business, they have to limit selection. I haven't encountered a single set of recipes from Blue Apron that didn't contain at least one that I absolutely hate, taste wise - and that's what I hear from others as well. So what they do is, they teach you how to cook. At some point, you'll lose the fear of it (because it really isn't hard). The moment you add the first ingredient of your own, just because you like it, you're pretty much lost to them. The one useful pivot I could see - but where I can't see the feasibility - is you picking recipes a la carte, and they ship the ingredients prepped. (That's where the major time sink is - and people are always willing to pay to get back time). That requires a huge number of customers, figuring out how to keep prepped materials fresh, and tremendous automation to be possible. It's a far cry from "we ship these 6 meal kits to you"