Amazon Crushes Food Delivery Company with a Single Patent Filing

Amazon Inc. has depressed the IPO of ingredient and recipe delivery company Blue Apron by filing a patent that implies Amazon may soon launch their own fresh food delivery service.

Gizmodo reports that fresh food delivery company Blue Apron, which delivers ready to cook meals direct to customers doors, has taken a massive hit in their stock price following the announcement of Amazon purchasing Whole Foods and subsequently filing a patent for a fresh food delivery service. Blue Apron launched their public IPO just days after Amazon Inc.’s $13.7 billion purchase of the Whole Foods grocery chain, at the time Blue Aprons’ stock  was anticipated to begin trading at $15 – $17 a share, but following Amazon’s announcement Blue Apron’s stock dropped to $10 a share with its first day of trading following the IPO ending at a flat price.

However, a report on Monday hit Blue Apron even harder than Amazon’s previous announcement after the company filed a meal-kit trademark that includes “prepared food kits composed of meat, poultry, fish, seafood, fruit and/or vegetables . . . ready for cooking and assembly as a meal.” Traders immediately began to hit Blue Apron hard with the stock tumbling by more than nine percent by mid-day on Monday. Hours later the stock was driven down to $6.66 a share. In comparison, Amazon’s stock price moved up by one percent to $1,008.11 a share.

In their initial prospectus, Blue Apron stated that they had only raised enough funds and borrowing capacity to last a single year, hoping to take the company public and fund further development that way. Given that Amazon’s new patent filing has resulted in a 35 percent hit to the companies stock, Blue Apron’s future is to some extent uncertain.

Amazon is becoming a powerhouse in many industries as the company expands its reach. Netflix was warned in December to be very wary of Amazon Prime, Amazon’s own video on demand service which, like Netflix, has begun producing their own original TV series such as Man In The High Castle. Netflix, however, seems to be safe for now with the company posting huge numbers this week, surpassing their new subscriber estimates which resulted in a ten percent increase in share price.