Blue Apron has revealed that Josh Friedman will serve as the online grocer and meal delivery service’s new Chief Product Officer.
When Friedman officially joins Blue Apron on April 18, he will report directly to President and CEO Linda Findley. He will be responsible for the company’s product strategy, overseeing cross-functional efforts between its fulfillment, culinary and digital products.
Friedman joins Blue Apron from Neiman Marcus Group, where he was the Head of Digital Products. Before that, he was JCPenney’s VP of Digital Commerce and led digital, e-commerce, marketing, analytics and finance teams at Dell.
“Josh’s strengths in weaving digital experiences around unique physical products combined with his experience growing e-commerce, fulfillment environments as well as transforming a product-driven culture cross-functionally will be a great addition to our established leadership team,” Findley explained in the company’s announcement. “His exceptional record in team building, leadership, growing direct businesses, marketing technology, and data-driven product strategy will be an asset, and I look forward to his contribution to the business.”
Friedman arrives at Blue Apron while the meal kit delivery industry has begun to face slower growth in revenue and order volumes as consumers resume pre-pandemic habits, such as eating at restaurants. It will fall on Friedman to help the company design digital products that better retain its users and attract new customers to spur larger revenue growth.
In 2021, Blue Apron’s net revenue increased by 2% to $470.4 million from $460.6 million in 2020. Between 2019 and 2020, the company’s revenue grew just 1%. The company’s revenue growth has lagged behind arch-rival Hello Fresh, which saw a more than 59% increase to almost $6 billion in 2021, and spike by 107% in 2020.
“As a fan of the product, I have followed Blue Apron over the last few years, and believe that this is an exciting time for the company. The team has established a strong foundation for the business and I am excited to work with them to build on top of the great work that has already been done,” Friedman said.
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