Matt Salzberg

Current Company

Blue Apron — Co-Founder

Inventing the Meal Kit Category

Matt Salzberg co-founded Blue Apron in 2012 with the idea that busy consumers would pay for pre-portioned ingredients and chef-designed recipes delivered to their doors. A former venture capitalist at Bessemer Venture Partners, Salzberg saw an opportunity to combine supply chain logistics, food science, and subscription commerce into an entirely new consumer category.

Blue Apron grew explosively, reaching over a million subscribers and raising hundreds of millions in venture capital. The company went public in 2017 at a valuation exceeding $1 billion, establishing the meal kit as a legitimate new format in the American food industry. Blue Apron's model was quickly replicated by competitors including HelloFresh, Sun Basket, and meal kit programs from major grocery chains.

The Challenges of Category Creation

Blue Apron's post-IPO trajectory illustrated the brutal economics of consumer subscription businesses. High customer acquisition costs, significant churn, and the entry of well-capitalized competitors — including Amazon — pressured the company's margins and stock price. Salzberg stepped down as CEO in 2017 as the company worked to stabilize its operations and find a sustainable path forward.

Despite Blue Apron's struggles as a public company, Matt Salzberg's impact on the food industry is lasting. He proved that consumers were willing to rethink how they shop for and prepare meals, and the meal kit category he helped create now generates billions in annual revenue globally. His story is a case study in both the power and the peril of creating an entirely new consumer category.