Blue Apron Holdings (APRN) - Get Report shares crashed 11% Monday afternoon after a reports suggested Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) - Get Report is readying a move into the meal kit market.
In a July 6 trademark application, Amazon subsidiary Amazon Technologies Inc. revealed it's planning "prepared food kits composed of meat, poultry, fish, seafood, fruit and/or and [sic] vegetables ... ready for cooking and assembly as a meal," as well as primarily grain-based offerings. Britain's Sunday Times newspaper said Amazon will market the service as "We do the prep. You be the chef" that will cover ready-to-assemble kits of prepared food.
Blue Apron shares have declined more than 30% since their June 30 IPO.
WATCH: Is Blue Apron Cooked?
Major food companies are scrambling to partner with meal kit companies as their popularity grows. In May, Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) - Get Report invested $10 million in meal kit maker Chef'd LLC and Unilever NV (UN) - Get Report backed Sun Basket Inc. Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG) - Get Report sells meal kits through online grocer Peapod.com, while Hershey Co. (HSY) - Get Report partnered with Chef'd on dessert meal kits. Whole Foods itself has some experience with meal kits: last year it began selling Purple Carrot meal kits in its stores.
Amazon representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by TheStreet.
More of What's Trending on TheStreet:
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk Basically Just Said His Car Company Is Worth Too Much
- I Just Tried Burger King's New 570 Calorie Chicken Parmesan Sandwich -- Here's How I Felt After
- Amazon Files Trademark to Get Into Meal Kits, Continuing to Haunt Blue Apron
- Millennials Are Making This Huge Mistake When Buying a Home, Say HGTV's 'Property Brothers'
- Walmart Is Going to Kick Amazon's Teeth In, so Don't Be Surprised When It Happens
- Alpha Rising: Carly Fiorina on Leadership, Micro Financing and Her Only Regret
