By Josh Beckerman
FreshRealm, which provides meal kits for Blue Apron and Marley Spoon, filed for bankruptcy, citing disruptions due to listeria-related recalls and withdrawals that resulted from contaminated ingredients from suppliers.
Blue Apron sales account for about 70% of total revenue, according to the declaration of Chief Financial Officer Bryan Fleming.
The company voluntarily filed for relief in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey on Monday.
FreshRealm said in a statement after the filing it expects to continue normal daily operations and said it reached an agreement with Blue Apron to resolve certain issues. Subject to court approval, Blue Apron would exit its FreshRealm commercial agreement and transition the related operations to a new structure. Blue Apron's exclusive fulfillment business will transition to Misfits Market Inc., Fleming said.
FreshRealm will pursue a sale of its remaining business and operations.
In 2023, FreshRealm bought Blue Apron's operational infrastructure assets in a transaction valued at up to $50 million and acquired some Marley Spoon assets in 2024.
In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback data showed that certain meals produced by FreshRealm were contaminated with listeria, and said that pasta from Nate's Fine Foods was an ingredient in FreshRealm meatball marinara linguine meals.
Fleming said that while FreshRealm was implementing a turnaround plan that included reducing facility?level fixed costs, Walmart told the company that it would cease its customer relationship in January. Walmart had comprised more than 20% of the company's revenue.
Fleming said recalls and withdrawals disrupted operations and hurt customer demand and commercial opportunities. FreshRealm estimates total business interruption losses of about $27.9 million attributable to the 2024-2025 insurance policy period.
In April 2025, a presumptive positive environmental swab was identified on a conveyor belt at the Montezuma, Ga., facility. In May 2025, Walmart withdrew all products produced at that facility as a precautionary measure, Fleming said. FreshRealm received contaminated ingredients in 2025 in linguine, cauliflower and spinach products.
Marley Spoon said Tuesday that "no service interruptions are to be expected for the time being," but said there may be a significant adverse impact on revenue, particularly for U.S. operations.
Blue Apron is owned by Wonder.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-28-26 1441ET
