Weeks after fulfillment issues began at Marley Spoon following its former food supplier filing for bankruptcy, customers are speaking out about their negative experiences with the Martha Stewart-backed meal kit brand. (Full disclosure: CNET has tested Marley Spoon several times. We liked it so much, it landed on our list of the best services and earned an Editors’ Choice award before the fulfillment issues began.)
Sylvia Turcotte, who has been a Marley Spoon customer for over six years, told CNET that she and her husband have loved the brand’s offerings for years and would even mark certain recipes as “restaurant quality” when they were worthy and often served them to dinner guests.
Then, in July, issues began with her regular deliveries: melted ice, warm protein and questionable produce. In August, a box that was supposed to have 27 ingredients was missing 21 of them.
“Needless to say, I did not cook Marley [Spoon] that week,” Turcotte said. “What I do not understand is why the powers that be have not suspended the meal plan until they get their logistics straightened out. Instead, they are ruining their brand.”
Other Marley Spoon customers shared additional disappointing experiences, including receiving boxes missing protein and receiving no response from customer service when inquiring about damaged or incomplete boxes.
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Marley Spoon’s transition
In April, Marley Spoon’s previous food supplier, FreshRealm, which also supplied Blue Apron, filed for bankruptcy. CNET later confirmed that Misfits Market would be taking over fulfillment for both brands.
The transition has been rocky, with Misfits Market spokesperson Ken Shuman previously saying the company has “compressed what’s typically a 10- [to] 12-month transition into under 10 weeks,” and “an operational transition at that speed has real challenges, and the biggest one has been inventory.”
Marley Spoon has offered customers credit toward their next order when a problem occurs.
“Customers who experience missing items or other issues with their order are encouraged to contact Marley Spoon’s Customer Care team directly through the Help Center,” a spokesperson told CNET. “While credits may be automatically issued in some cases, the team will review the individual circumstances and determine the appropriate resolution, including a refund.”
When I inquired to customer service about a refund instead of credit for missing ingredients, I did not hear back on two occasions. The Marley Spoon customer service phone number directs you to the website or app.
However, Marley Spoon previously shared a statement regarding the fulfillment issues, which read in part, “We take this very seriously and are working around the clock to ensure our customers receive their boxes on time, with the correct, high-quality ingredients they expect from Marley Spoon.”
Stewart remains affiliated with the brand, with select recipes of hers featured every week, her team confirmed to CNET. However, they added that the “delivery and fulfillment operations are managed independently.”
While some loyal customers have said they want to help the brand weather the storm, others have told CNET they’ve decided to cut their losses and cancel their subscriptions entirely. When a subscription is canceled rather than paused, any accrued credits are lost.
“I love Marley Spoon,” Turcotte said. “I hope they can solve their issues.”
Blue ApronBlue Apron faces similar challenges
Similar issues have plagued Blue Apron recently. In a previous statement to CNET, Blue Apron said in part that the company is “temporarily focusing our menu on what we’re confident we can deliver, adding quality checks before boxes ship, and making progress with our partners to fix what’s broken.”
On social media, after the company released a statement about the service disruptions, customers echoed complaints made about Marley Spoon, particularly about a lack of response from customer service.
“I’ve been a customer since 2012,” one commenter wrote. “[Blue Apron] has taught me how to cook, and I love it dearly. But these last two weeks have been challenging. This week we received a box of condiments, a bag of spinach, a card for a steak recipe (I’m a vegetarian) but no steak and not one complete recipe to cook.”
Blue Apron responded to the comment, saying it would reach out via direct message to handle the situation.
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