Grocery Chain Albertsons Just Made a Huge Purchase

Albertsons, which is the second-largest grocery chain in the U.S. had some big news this week.

According to TechCrunch, the company has acquired Plated, a meal kit brand, for around $175 to $200 million.

Share of Blue Apron dropped after the news as Plated is a rival of the company. The meal kit industry has been ballooning in recent years and is now worth an estimated $2.2 billion.

Blue Apron was the first meal kit delivery company to go public this year but has had a lackluster performance since its IPO.

Plated, which is based in New York, launched not too long ago in 2012 and offers subscribers boxes that contain recipes and pre-portioned ingredients delivered to their home.

As part of the deal, Albertsons will offer Plated meal kits at almost 2,300 U.S. locations, including Safeway, in addition to the usual subscription model.

Josh Hix, the founder of Plated commented to the Wall Street Journal, “We no longer have to play the game of just spending money in the media to go out and reach folks. It uniquely positions us in the market.”