Blue Apron Store

Blue Apron made a name for itself in the online meal kit industry by selling ready-to-go meal kits with recipes and pre-measured ingredients at the click of a button. Now, the company aims to go “outside the box” and open its first pop-up store in the New York area.

The new pop-up will allow customers and potential customers to explore its products in person and learn some cooking skills in the process. Blue Apron will be offering cooking classes and panel discussions with notable chefs, aimed at answering questions and providing guidance to amateur cooks. Customers and attendees can see for themselves how Blue Apron works as well, from opening the box to bringing the prepared dinner to table.

Each week through the end of June, the pop-up will feature a different theme, including:

Kroger Acquires Home Chef

Kroger just announced its acquisition of meal kit service Home Chef, which gave Blue Apron’s lagging stock a much-needed five percent boost.

Kroger agreed to pay an initial $200 million for the company, potentially offering up to $500 million over a five-year period should specific company milestones be met, according to Business Insider. The big grocer intends to sell the meal kits in its grocery stores as well as online.

When Kroger’s acquisition of Home Chef was announced, investors once again got excited about the financial potential of meal kit services, because the move could be a sign that another big player is eyeing a meal kit company acquisition. In February, Blue Apron got a 7% bump when an analyst wrote that Walmart would be a “logical buyer.” According to Bloomberg, Blue Apron’s stock has lost 70% of its value since it launched almost a year ago.

Byte Foods Vending Machine

Are you a busy employee at Tesla in Silicon Valley? You could be one of the first customers to purchase a ready-to-go meal kit from a vending machine in your workplace.

Meal kit service Chef’d has partnered with vending machine company Byte Foods to provide take-home meal kits for people who don’t have the time or inclination to stop at the grocery store on the way home. Byte Foods offers more than 500 vending machines with offerings like poke bowls, kale salads and Kombucha – and now these machines will include meal kits, too.

According to Bloomberg, Chef’d wanted to reach out to busy people in new ways, offering more options and convenience to customers. In partnering with Byte Foods, they can stock ready-to-go meal kits in vending machines located at places where people don’t normally buy groceries, providing spur-of-the-moment convenience.

Fitbit Health

FitBit recently announced that it will add new smartwatches and apps to its offerings which focus on overall health, according to multiple reports. The move indicates FitBit’s challenge of expanding its business beyond fitness trackers.

The core revenue generator for FitBit has been the fitness tracker, but in recent months, the company has seen revenue decline as customers look for solutions to help with more than just counting steps and tracking workouts. As a result of the new focus on overall health, the company has partnered with relevant organizations, including those dealing with diabetes, cancer, and other health challenges many Americans face.

FitBit said the new apps and face design will “help people better manage their health, directly from the wrist.”

Amazon Body Labs

Online retail giant Amazon is reportedly inviting select customers to participate in a body scanning program as part of its effort to ramp up online clothing sales.

Those who are selected will be required to participate in the scanning program over a twenty-week period, to see how their bodies fluctuate over time, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.

Amazon will potentially be using a 3D body-scanning unit, which was developed after Amazon bought Body Labs, a software development company that created a technology able to capture a body’s shape and motion in 3D. Body Labs originally created the technology to enhance video game users’ experience while playing, but said on its website that the technology could also be used for fashion, according to Business Insider.

Kevin Smith is a Spokesman for Weight Watchers

Kevin Smith, Hollywood writer, producer and actor (his credits include Clerks and his most famous character creation - the iconic Silent Bob), has joined Weight Watchers as an ambassador. Smith follows other celebrity spokespeople for the weight loss giant, including Oprah Winfrey and DJ Khaled.

During an appearance on NBC’s Today Show, Smith revealed that he had become a Weight Watchers ambassador after a life-changing health event: he’d suffered a “widow-maker” heart attack in February at only 47 years old. This type of heart attack was caused by a complete blockage of his left anterior descending artery, according to his doctor. His father died of a heart attack at 67.

“Honestly, the heart attack was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Smith said.