FreshRealm, a US ready-meals manufacturer, has acquired the “operational assets” of meal-kits business Marley Spoon. The company, which previously acquired assets from Blue Apron, another US meal-kits business, has paid $24m to take over “all of Marley Spoon’s US operational and supply chain infrastructure”. This allows FreshRealm to “position itself at the forefront of exciting food and beverage industry trends, streamline business operations and expand its consumer reach”.
At the same time, Marley Spoon is acquiring BistroMD, a “food as medicine” subscription service that will complement the FreshRealm platform. This move gives FreshRealm three more production and fulfillment facilities in California, Texas and New Jersey, helping the company to build on its food and drink consumer trends.
Michael Lippold, FreshRealm’s founder and CEO, stated that the deal “marks a milestone for FreshRealm in shaping the future of the fresh meals solutions space”. With the market “currently valued at $900bn”, Lippold mentioned empowering meal providers like Marley Spoon and BistroMD with the tools needed to deliver at scale and efficiency in the industry, underscoring the importance of innovation in this space.
Wonder Group, a UK-based direct-to-consumer business, also acquired Blue Apron in November. This move saw FreshRealm sell a stake in Blue Apron as part of their earlier asset transaction. Wonder Group, led by entrepreneur Marc Lore, is “creating the mealtime super app” to serve a broad range of occasions featuring cuisines from top chefs and restaurants.
