ISSAQUAH, WA - After less than a year partnering to provide branded meal kit offerings in club stores across the United States, Costco and Blue Apron are suspending their pilot program.

Blue Apron CEO Bradley Dickerson announced the indefinite suspension of the program during the company’s third quarter earnings call. The call followed a press release in which Blue Apron announced sweeping changes to the company’s strategy—including a 4 percent reduction in workforce.

“As the holiday period approaches, our presence in Costco locations has paused due to the seasonal cadence of their business,” said Dickerson, according to a MarketWatch report. “As we enter 2019, we are targeting to resume in Costco as well as expand into new retailers, leveraging lessons learned from our pilot and evolving our product offerings to complement this environment.”

Blue Apron and Costco first announced their partnership this May—after the meal kit provider declared its intent to enter retail markets as early as March. It was one of the more high-profile of a number of partnerships—including one with Walmart’s Jet.com.

The meal kit maker has been struggling to regain ground since June of 2017, when Blue Apron launched its IPO.

Will Blue Apron’s later pivot bring profitability? Will it rekindle or renege on its partnership with Costco? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.

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