Is The Meal Kit Trend Dying? Most Customers Ditch These Services Within 6 Months

Last year, 2015, was the year of the meal kit: It was one of the top gifts to give and receive during the holidays, and, this year, Peapod, Martha Stewart, and even Whole Foods all launched their own meal kit services. Boxes of pre-packaged, fresh ingredients to make specific meals may sound convenient, but despite the popularity boom, about half of Blue Apron customers drop the service within two weeks of signing up.Furthermore, 90 percent of those who subscribe to meal kits like Blue Apron drop the service within six months of signing up, Fast Company reported according to data from the research firm 1010data.

"Our customers who stick with us adapt Blue Apron to their lifestyles. They order week after week after week, and it becomes the way they cook dinner for their families," Blue Apron CEO Matt Salzberg told Fast Company earlier this month, speaking of customer loyalty.

Spokespeople from various meal kit companies, including Blue Apron, Plated, and HelloFresh, all told Mother Jones that the data was incorrect but failed to provide replacement statistics.

Startup analysts said they believed it was highly unlikely that any of these meal kit companies would be profitable in the long run.