Marley Spoon, the Martha Stewart-backed meal kit service, is facing a growing wave of customer complaints tied to incomplete deliveries and unresponsive support. The issues surfaced weeks after fulfillment problems began at the company, following the bankruptcy filing of its former food supplier.
Customers report receiving missing ingredients, warm protein, melted ice packs and questionable produce. In one case, a longtime subscriber said a box that was supposed to contain 27 ingredients arrived missing 21 of them. Others described receiving boxes without protein and getting no reply from customer service when they asked about damaged or incomplete orders.
One customer who has subscribed for more than six years said her deliveries began showing problems in July, with more serious shortfalls appearing in August. She questioned why the company had not paused meal plans while working to resolve its logistics rather than continuing to ship problematic boxes.
What Triggered the Fulfillment Problems
In April, Marley Spoon’s previous food supplier, FreshRealm, which also supplied Blue Apron, filed for bankruptcy. Misfits Market later took over fulfillment for both brands.
The handoff has proved difficult. A Misfits Market spokesperson said the company compressed what is typically a 10- to 12-month transition into under 10 weeks. According to the spokesperson, an operational transition at that speed carries real challenges, and the largest of those has been inventory management.
How Marley Spoon Is Responding
Marley Spoon has been offering customers credit toward their next order when a problem occurs. A company spokesperson said customers who experience missing items or other issues should contact the Customer Care team directly through the Help Center. While credits may be issued automatically in some cases, the spokesperson said the team reviews individual circumstances to determine the appropriate resolution, including a refund.
In practice, reaching support has proven inconsistent. Requests for a refund rather than credit for missing ingredients went unanswered on two separate occasions, and the customer service phone number directs callers to the website or app instead of a live representative.
Marley Spoon has also issued a broader statement on the fulfillment issues, saying it takes the situation very seriously and is working around the clock to ensure customers receive their boxes on time with the correct, high-quality ingredients they expect from the brand.
Martha Stewart remains affiliated with the company, with select recipes of hers featured every week, according to her team. Her team clarified that the delivery and fulfillment operations are handled separately from the recipe partnership.
