Branding the Blue Apron Analytics team: What’s in a name?

Over the past two years, my team at Blue Apron has gone through a lot of changes: from size, to scope, to even our name.

When I joined, our team was named Data Insights & Analytics— a spin off of the Data Science and Engineering team, but “business-y.” A few weeks later, our team merged with Corporate Development to become Strategic Development and Insights. But, given the divergent skillsets of the two groups at the time (and perhaps irreconcilable differences over the ability to use shortcuts in Excel) we drifted apart. My group then merged with Data Science and Data Ops into an amorphous blob known only as “Data,” which by that point had somehow also become synonymous with my own name.

After a few months, the Strategy team disbanded when the Data (Science, Engineering, and Analytics) teams moved from Finance into Technology. My team moved into Product, and dropped the “Data” to differentiate from Data Engineering because it was now, logically, housed in Engineering. Yet, this brief rebranding to Insights & Analytics was also destined for failure because Blue Apron had also hired a Consumer Insights manager who was conducting qualitative research in Marketing, which made our name not only convoluted, but also confusing.

So we simplified to Analytics. Just Analytics. Coupled with the recent hire of two new analysts who expanded our team to a group of 5, this was the moment in which I felt that things were finally settled, and our team was born.

So, to summarize, in the space of about 6 months we were named:

1. Data Insights & Analytics
2. Strategic Development & Insights
3. “Data”
4. Insights & Analytics
5. Analytics (which now includes Business Insights, Consumer Analytics, Operational Analytics, and a Pricing & Innovation team-of-one)

To some, this might seem like navel-gazing. Why does it, and why did it, matter so much to me what the team is named?

The answer is that the different flavors of our team name are the true source of the diversity within our group, because different members joined at different times for different reasons. And, while the Analytics team’s impact has grown as we clarified and expanded our offering to clients across the business, just like any successful brand, it’s important to remember the organic, unintended steps that led us here.

Some of our team members joined because they liked that we were housed in Strategy under Finance. Some team members joined because they were passionate about digital consumer experiences, and deeply invested in Product analysis. Some team members joined because they wanted to develop into full-fledged data scientists but were working as consultants or financial analysts. Some team members joined because they could work in data science at any tech company, but were passionate about food. And, some team members might not have applied positions on our team if they had been called “Business Intelligence” rather than “Business Insights” because the former felt too technical and quantitative, given their background.

Our team is the better for housing these strengths and weaknesses within a single group, because it makes us well-rounded and stronger as a whole. It also reduces unhealthy competition, which I have found to be more common in teams with more narrow range of personalities and interests.

I’ll be honest: sometimes I feel a twinge of envy when I look at teams that are similar to mine but branded as Data Science. It was hard for me to let go of “Data,” because it not only happens to be one of my passions and professional strengths, but also one of the hottest areas in industry. Which is to say, some of this story is about ego, and being forced to let go out of necessity rather than humility.

But at its heart, this story of the twists and turns in our team name is the story of how we (sometimes accidentally) built a team that is strong because it embraces difference across demographics, personalities, strengths, viewpoints, and interests. It is the thing I am most proud of in my time at Blue Apron. Giving up “data” — and my ego — for this experience was worth it.