Blue Apron opens the doors on its first pop-up shop

Meal-kit service Blue Apron, which has begun a strong push to grow its brick-and-mortar presence, has opened its first pop-up, in New York, to allow visitors to explore its products.

Launched in late May, the spot allows shoppers to experience unique programming such as cooking classes and panel discussions with notable chefs. The majority of its activities are free, except for cooking classes, which cost a nominal fee, with proceeds going to a local food-rescue organization.

Open six days a week through June 24, the pop-up will feature a different theme every week:

• Chef University Week (week of June 5)


• Fam Jam Week (week of June 12)


• Besties & Baes Week (week of June 19)

New York-based Blue Apron first revealed plans for the pop-up earlier this month, also noting that it has planned mobile pop-ups for Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, each of which will last two days. They will provide experiences following the evolution of a Blue Apron meal from source to dinner table, as well as chef stories behind various recipes.

Additionally, the meal-kit provider has planned movie nights for the public: free screenings that will include lawn games, themed snacks, giveaways and other activities.

Blue Apron has planned the shops and events as a way to  “further broaden” its geographic reach, a strategy CEO Brad Dickerson mentioned during a May 3 earnings call. The meal-kit service first announced in March its plan to roll out meal kits in physical stores, followed two months later with an agreement to sell products at Costco in the Pacific Northwest and San Francisco Bay Area.

A version of this article appeared at ProgressiveGrocer.com.