4 ms·

"Company with absurdly expensive food that still requires considerable preparation gets rejected by non-tech workers". Federal minimum wage is $7.25 and median

"Company with absurdly expensive food that still requires considerable preparation gets rejected by non-tech workers". Federal minimum wage is $7.25 and median HOUSEHOLD income is around 59k so let's look at their pricing: the cheapest plan they offer is $39.96 a week for 4 servings a week ranging to $143.84 for 16 servings a week for $143.84. That means 1-day's kcals for someone on a 2k kcal diet is $25.68 to $39.96 a day depending on the plan. PURE INSANITY.

jeron 8y ago
you measure your food's value by cost per kcal?
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  Of course comparing celery to a McDouble using just kcal/$ is not really appropriate but when comparing two reasonably nutritionally balanced meals it's an ok way to compare value.
- ryanmercer 8y ago
  At their pricing 1-day's kcals for someone on a 2k kcal diet is $25.68 to $39.96 a day depending on the plan. I spend $45-60 for a WEEK (depending on sales and meat close to sell-by date) and I'm a 300+ pound powerlifter!
jsjohnst 8y ago
That’s actually an average meal price for that size meal in NYC. That said, there’s no cooking involved for that $10, unlike with Blue Apron.
- 123jay7 8y ago
  There's also no education and skills gained by just buying everything. Blue Apron teaches you how to cook. Simple as that.
ct0 8y ago
Cost for the delivered food and spices may be high, but I think blue apron missed out on the larger opportunity of food preparation education, aka cooking. They could have gamified the whole system to offer more difficult meals as the subscriber gets better, with points for free perks and all that.
- stanleydrew 8y ago
  This is a good idea, but wouldn't that essentially ensure that you churn out your best customers eventually? They get so good at cooking that they don't need your perfectly portioned and pre-prepped but overpriced meal kits.
  - ct0 8y ago
    That's already happened with me, I mainly look up recipes and buy in store.I believe that adding "perks" for best customers would help keep them around a big longer.
jpeter 8y ago
What food has the most calories per dolar?
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  >What food has the most calories per dolar? For DIY food my wild guess would be butter. My somewhat educated guess for prepared food would be something off the value menu at McDonalds/Burger King/Wendys.
  - WJW 8y ago
    I thought someone measured twinkies to be the best... That was a few years ago though, we may have found something by now that's even better. (or worse, depending how you look at it)
  - lordnacho 8y ago
    Pizza, esp with sausage on. It's basically just fat, and costs very little to buy. A Big Mac is actually only 500 cals, a double Whopper 1100. Pizza can end up being 6000.
  - ken 8y ago
    My first guess would have been rice. Rice is super cheap. According to [1], it's oils and flours, followed closely by rice and sugar. Butter is around $5/lb for 32 x 100-Kcal servings, so it's only around 640 Kcal/$. That would put it pretty far down the list, below milk and eggs, and on par with lentils. [1]: https://efficiencyiseverything.com/the-highest-calorie-per-dollar-food-in-human-history-flour-vs-oil/ https://efficiencyiseverything.com/the-highest-calorie-per-d...
- mondo9000 8y ago
  Soybean oil from CostCo https://efficiencyiseverything.com/the-highest-calorie-per-dollar-food-in-human-history-flour-vs-oil/ https://efficiencyiseverything.com/the-highest-calorie-per-d...
- ryanmercer 8y ago
  That's going to depend but if you mean something that isn't highly processed stuff like rice, beans, wheat, potatoes. Check out subs like - https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/ - https://www.reddit.com/r/7dollardinners/ https://www.reddit.com/r/7dollardinners/ - https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndVegan/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndVegan/
giarc 8y ago
I had an interesting conversation with colleagues about this. They are all well educated people but for some reason they compared these services to eating out, rather than buying food at a grocery store. Many of my colleagues thought $10/meal was great! My mouth dropped when they claimed how good of a deal this was.

jeron 8y ago

you measure your food's value by cost per kcal?

dsfyu404ed 8y ago
Of course comparing celery to a McDouble using just kcal/$ is not really appropriate but when comparing two reasonably nutritionally balanced meals it's an ok way to compare value.
ryanmercer 8y ago
At their pricing 1-day's kcals for someone on a 2k kcal diet is $25.68 to $39.96 a day depending on the plan. I spend $45-60 for a WEEK (depending on sales and meat close to sell-by date) and I'm a 300+ pound powerlifter!

jsjohnst 8y ago

That’s actually an average meal price for that size meal in NYC. That said, there’s no cooking involved for that $10, unlike with Blue Apron.

123jay7 8y ago
There's also no education and skills gained by just buying everything. Blue Apron teaches you how to cook. Simple as that.

ct0 8y ago

Cost for the delivered food and spices may be high, but I think blue apron missed out on the larger opportunity of food preparation education, aka cooking. They could have gamified the whole system to offer more difficult meals as the subscriber gets better, with points for free perks and all that.

stanleydrew 8y ago
This is a good idea, but wouldn't that essentially ensure that you churn out your best customers eventually? They get so good at cooking that they don't need your perfectly portioned and pre-prepped but overpriced meal kits.
- ct0 8y ago
  That's already happened with me, I mainly look up recipes and buy in store.I believe that adding "perks" for best customers would help keep them around a big longer.

jpeter 8y ago

What food has the most calories per dolar?

dsfyu404ed 8y ago
>What food has the most calories per dolar? For DIY food my wild guess would be butter. My somewhat educated guess for prepared food would be something off the value menu at McDonalds/Burger King/Wendys.
- WJW 8y ago
  I thought someone measured twinkies to be the best... That was a few years ago though, we may have found something by now that's even better. (or worse, depending how you look at it)
- lordnacho 8y ago
  Pizza, esp with sausage on. It's basically just fat, and costs very little to buy. A Big Mac is actually only 500 cals, a double Whopper 1100. Pizza can end up being 6000.
- ken 8y ago
  My first guess would have been rice. Rice is super cheap. According to [1], it's oils and flours, followed closely by rice and sugar. Butter is around $5/lb for 32 x 100-Kcal servings, so it's only around 640 Kcal/$. That would put it pretty far down the list, below milk and eggs, and on par with lentils. [1]: https://efficiencyiseverything.com/the-highest-calorie-per-dollar-food-in-human-history-flour-vs-oil/ https://efficiencyiseverything.com/the-highest-calorie-per-d...
mondo9000 8y ago
Soybean oil from CostCo https://efficiencyiseverything.com/the-highest-calorie-per-dollar-food-in-human-history-flour-vs-oil/ https://efficiencyiseverything.com/the-highest-calorie-per-d...
ryanmercer 8y ago
That's going to depend but if you mean something that isn't highly processed stuff like rice, beans, wheat, potatoes. Check out subs like - https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/ - https://www.reddit.com/r/7dollardinners/ https://www.reddit.com/r/7dollardinners/ - https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndVegan/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndVegan/

giarc 8y ago

I had an interesting conversation with colleagues about this. They are all well educated people but for some reason they compared these services to eating out, rather than buying food at a grocery store. Many of my colleagues thought $10/meal was great! My mouth dropped when they claimed how good of a deal this was.