NEW YORK, NY - In today’s market, consumers have more choices than ever before. The brick-and-mortar retail space continues to evolve, and online grocers have also broken into the mainstream, so what can companies do to stand out amongst heavy competition? Imperfect Foods (née Imperfect Produce) has taken its wildly successful produce-centric business model and expanded it to include other pantry and grocery items—a shrewd move considering the rebranding is likely to secure further brand loyalty by offering customers a one-stop shop. Building on its current momentum, Imperfect Foods has also hit a major milestone, recently launching its services in New York City for the first time.
"We're thrilled to officially rebrand to Imperfect Foods and hit the ground running in New York. New York is the epicenter of food and culture, and we're excited to work with the community here to tackle inefficiencies in the food system while providing quality groceries to customers' doors,” Reilly Brock, Content Manager, told me. “Now, having rolled out expanded grocery, dairy, and protein options, Imperfect is excited to start this new chapter and give consumers from coast-to-coast an accessible way to save more on all their groceries while fighting food waste."
Ever since its inception as Imperfect Produce in 2015, the company has been delivering “ugly”—but perfectly delicious—produce straight to consumers in an effort to tackle the industry-wide food waste issue. About 40 percent of all food sourced goes uneaten, and 33 percent of food that is grown is either unharvested or left behind in the fields because growers aren’t sure of what to do with produce that doesn’t meet standard aesthetic requirements, according to the company. For Imperfect Foods, these statistics were a call to action, and since the company launched, it has recovered 80 million pounds of food that would have otherwise been wasted.
However, as Imperfect Foods continued to evolve, it became clear that produce was not the only category of food that has a waste problem. All too often, shelf-stable and grocery items don’t make it out of the warehouse due to changes in labeling and design, inefficiencies in the supply chain, and inconsistencies with date labels. This was an opportunity for the company to continue expanding and add to its stable of consumer offerings, as well as make a dent in a problem affecting the entire industry. Today, Imperfect Foods has branched out beyond produce to offer items like grains, nuts, dairy, protein, beverages, and more.
The company is not only expanding its product offerings, it is expanding into new markets as well, including the rich customer base of New York City. Residents of the city will now have access to Imperfect Foods’ affordable grocery subscription boxes, so they can save money, save time, and do good. The NYC market is more than just lucrative, it is a concentrated region of consumers who could make a significant dent in the amount of food waste the city produces. Imperfect Foods estimates that if just 2,500 NYC residents sign up, the community would recover 26,450 pounds of produce each week, and over one million pounds of produce per year.
Launching brands in new cities can be tricky, but Imperfect Foods has put real effort into respecting and enriching its new community. The company will be partnering with Mast Brothers and Brooklyn Delhi, both NYC natives, to provide its new customers local products and support New York food producers. Imperfect Foods is also looking to bolster its new community with charitable efforts. Since the beginning, the company has donated over three million pounds of food to over 117 food banks and nonprofit partners, and as part of its NYC launch, Imperfect Foods will be partnering with New York-based organization, Edible Schoolyard, to continue fighting food waste while supporting the community.
With expanded offerings beyond produce and taking bold steps into new markets, Imperfect Foods might have hit on a winning combination—produce producers, take note. AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the evolution of the industry.
