Amazon just filed a trademark application for «prepared food kits composed of meat, poultry, fish, seafood, fruit and/or vegetables.»
Hot off the heels of last week’s revelation that Amazon might be unveiling a new messaging app, the online retail giant is making headlines yet again. This time, it’s with food. The Seattle-based company proved that you can never have your hand in too many cookie jars by filing a trademark application for “prepared food kits composed of meat, poultry, fish, seafood, fruit and/or vegetables” that would come ready for you to cook and serve as a meal. Sound familiar? Yeah, it’s another meal-kit service.
Clearly, Amazon’s potential entrance into the already crowded space has made waves throughout the market. On Monday, Blue Apron’s shares dropped by 11 percent, underscoring just how powerful Amazon has become in the food industry. After all, this is the same company behind grocery delivery service AmazonFresh, which launched in 2013, restaurant delivery service Amazon Restaurants, which launched in 2014, and its recently announced Whole Foods acquisition.
Indeed, that particular $13.7 billion acquisition will be Amazon’s largest yet, and while it is unclear exactly what the company will do with Whole Foods, it certainly stands to reason that the grocer could help Amazon prepare its new meal kits.
Amazon’s description for the service is rather straightforward. These prepared food kits are said to include “sauces or seasonings, ready for cooking and assembly as a meal; frozen, prepared, and packaged meals consisting of meat, poultry, fish, seafood, fruit and/or vegetables; fruit salads and vegetable salads; soups and preparations for making soups.” While it’s not a novel idea, it’s clearly a popular one. In March, Bloomberg reported that the grocery market is worth $800 billion.
We ought to point out that the company filed for this trademark on July 6, which is to say, almost two weeks ago, and very shortly after Blue Apron’s initial public offering. But as we have seen before, Amazon has no problem taking risks and making bold moves, and this latest endeavor could just be the latest in a string of interesting endeavors.
