Blue Cross Blue Shield and Planet Fitness Join Calm in Blue Apron’s Work to Promote a Healthy Lifestyle

Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) is strengthening its ecosystem of best-in-class partners as part of its Wellness360 initiatives. The company is adding two new strategic partnerships with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Planet Fitness, and renewing its program with Calm.

The expansion of Blue Apron’s partnership ecosystem is a key component of its growth strategy and plans to strengthen its customer base. The company continues to expect to grow customers sequentially in Q2, while maintaining quality of engagement. Quarter to date, Blue Apron is registering its highest Average Order Value ever with Average Revenue per Customer sustaining above $320, while the company grows its customer base. Blue Apron plans to continue to scale these efforts through 2022 as it diversifies its ecosystem of e-commerce and other channels for both subscription and non-subscription offerings.

Wellness360 is Blue Apron’s campaign centered on highlighting the different ways cooking can benefit holistic wellness. The initiative is focused on five key pillars—physical, brain, relationship, mental and financial health—and has accounted for approximately 20% of Blue Apron’s new customer registrants since it was launched in 2021.

“As part of Wellness360, we aim to work with partners that help foster a healthy lifestyle. For example, companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield are leading the way in providing customer benefits that help instill proactive wellness behavior, while organizations like Planet Fitness have like-minded customers who may be interested in joint offers,” said Dani Simpson, Blue Apron’s Chief Marketing Officer. “These two new partners complement the incredible relationships we already have and help us meet our goals of growing our partner portfolio to attract customers, while offering new experiences to our current ones.”

Partnerships are a key part of Blue Apron’s acquisition strategy as they reduce the cost of acquisition and attract like-minded consumers. The new and expanded brand partnerships include:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)—Blue Apron is now part of Blue365, a platform with millions of active users that offers premier health and wellness discounts to eligible BCBS members. At sign up, new Blue Apron customers will receive $20 off each of the first five orders in their subscription and $15 off the following 26 orders. Existing customers will receive $15 off their next 26 orders. To learn more, visit cook.ba/Blue365.
• Calm—Building on a successful partnership last year, Blue Apron is renewing its collaboration with Calm, a leading app for sleep, meditation and relaxation. Select new customers will be eligible to receive three free months of Calm premium. To learn more visit, cook.ba/Calm.
• Planet Fitness—Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers with more members than any other fitness brand. Starting mid-June, Planet Fitness and Blue Apron will offer its respective customers exclusive offers and discounts. With more than 2,200 locations, you can find your local club by visiting PlanetFitness.com/gyms.

Blue Apron’s new partnership strategy is focused on four types of partners: acquisition partners; brand and media integrations; enterprise sales; and distribution and licensing. These partnerships are designed to reinforce Blue Apron’s brand equity, help the company differentiate from its competitors and allow for brand alignment with other like-minded organizations to mutually elevate their respective businesses.

About Blue Apron

Blue Apron’s vision is Better Living Through Better Food™. Launched in 2012, Blue Apron offers fresh, chef-designed recipes that empower home cooks to embrace their culinary curiosity, challenge their abilities in the kitchen and see what a difference cooking quality food can make in their lives. Blue Apron is a carbon-neutral meal-kit company and is focused on bringing incredible recipes to its customers, while promoting planetary and dietary wellness for everyone.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements concerning Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. and its future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "should," "expects," "plans," “forecasts,” "anticipates," "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only predictions. Blue Apron has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the company’s ability, including the timing and extent, to successfully support the acceleration and execution of its growth strategy and to meet its outlook forecasts (including the ability to successfully increase marketing and technology improvements on the planned timeline), cost-effectively attract new customers and retain existing customers, including its ability to sustain any increase in demand resulting from both its growth strategy and the COVID-19 pandemic, and its ability to continue to expand its product offerings and distribution channels, and to continue to execute operational efficiency practices; changes in consumer behaviors, tastes and preferences that could lead to changes in demand, including as a result of, among other things the impact of inflation or other macroeconomic factors, and to some extent, long-term impacts of COVID-19 on consumer behavior, on consumer spending habits; the company’s ability to attract and retain qualified employees and personnel in sufficient numbers, both generally and in light of nationwide labor shortages as a result of COVID-19 or otherwise; any material and adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or any future surges, including as a result of new variants and subvariants of the virus, on the company’s operations and results, such as challenges in employee recruiting and retention, any prolonged closures, or series of temporary closures, of one or both of its fulfillment centers, supply chain or carrier interruptions or delays, and any resulting need to cancel or shift customer orders; the company’s expectations regarding its expenses and net revenue, including the impact of its recent price increase for our meal kit and wine products, its increased marketing expenditures, and its ability to grow revenue and adjusted EBITDA and to achieve or maintain profitability; the company’s expectations regarding, and the stability of, its supply chain, including potential shortages, interruptions and/or increased costs in the supply or delivery of ingredients, and parcel and freight carrier interruptions or delays and/or higher freight or fuel costs, as a result of inflation or otherwise; the company’s ability to effectively compete; the company’s ability to maintain and grow the value of its brand and reputation; the company’s ability to achieve its environmental, sustainability and corporate governance goals in its anticipated timeframe or at all; the company’s ability to maintain food safety and prevent food-borne illness incidents and its susceptibility to supplier-initiated recalls; the company’s ability, including the timing and extent, to sufficiently manage costs and to fund investments in its operations in amounts necessary to maintain compliance with financial, and other covenants under its indebtedness while continuing to support the execution and acceleration of its growth strategy; the company’s ability to comply with modified or new laws and regulations applying to its business, or the impact that such compliance may have on its business; the company’s vulnerability to adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, wars, and public health crises, including pandemics; the company’s ability to protect the security and integrity of its data and protect against data security risks and breaches; the company’s ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection; and other risks more fully described in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on February 25, 2022 and the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on May 9, 2022 and in other filings that the company may make with the SEC in the future. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events, or otherwise.

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