HelloFresh, the German meal kit delivery company, made its debut as a publicly traded company on Thursday (Nov. 2), with shares gaining 4 percent, giving it a value that is more than twice that of U.S. rival Blue Apron.
According to news from Fortune, HelloFresh traded at €10.56 in overseas trading, which was higher than the €10.25 issue price for the company’s initial public offering (IPO). The meal kit company sold around 31 million shares in its initial public offering, giving the company a value of €1.7 billion. Blue Apron has a market cap of €763 million.
HelloFresh had canceled its IPO back in 2015, so the surge in price on its IPO debut is a bit of a vindication for the company. Still, it does face a lot of competition from rivals with a lot of cash to spend, namely Amazon.com, which is increasingly going after the food delivery space after its acquisition of Whole Foods in August.
According to a July 6 trademark application, the eCommerce giant’s Amazon Technologies unit is gearing up to create and sell prepackaged meal kits. In the application, the unit described its efforts as “prepared food kits composed of meat, poultry, fish, seafood, fruit and/or and [sic] vegetables … ready for cooking and assembly as a meal.” The tagline of the offering, according to TheStreet.com: “We do the prep. You be the chef.”
In June, meal kit delivery company Blue Apron went public and has seen its stock drop 50 percent. A big hit came with news of Amazon’s trademark filing. The company has been forced to reduce its workforce by 6 percent since then. Between the eCommerce giant’s move into Blue Apron’s niche and Blue Apron’s own struggles to convert new food delivery customers, it’s clear that investors just aren’t feeling it.
It remains to be seen if HelloFresh will eventually have the same fate after its IPO.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More