Imperfect Foods Review

Imperfect Foods is a grocery delivery service that started with ugly produce. Basically, they got the idea to reduce food waste by selling fresh produce that isn’t “pretty” enough to be sold at the local grocery store.

The American food system creates an astronomical amount of food waste, even when the food is safe to consume! One of the main reasons for this is that grocery stores want to sell items that look as good as they taste, making ugly produce a big no-no.

They deliver ugly produce to their customers every week, in addition to a growing selection of dairy, eggs, meat, pantry products, and snacks. This flexible subscription-based service is not only helping to eliminate food waste in American households, it’s also making high-quality groceries more affordable!

They make the ordering process super simple, and there’s no order minimum. While some similar grocery delivery services require a minimum total to ship your order, they allow you to order as much or as little as you like.

Each week, a curated box will be built for you. Then, you can edit the box to add or remove items before it ships during your weekly shopping window.

If you don’t need a box every week, you can opt for biweekly or monthly deliveries instead. It’s easy to pause or cancel your deliveries, too, so there’s no pressure to fit it into your budget or meal plan every week.

Imperfect Foods delivers in all zip codes across the continental United States. Shipping is always free for boxes with a total value of $60 or more. There’s a flat-rate shipping fee of $5.99 for orders less than $60. 

There’s an in-house delivery team, which is the preferred delivery method, but third-party courier services may be used, depending on your location. 

Boxes are delivered within 24 hours of leaving the packaging facility, so your imperfect items arrive fresh and not overly ripe.

Their packaging is simple and eco-friendly. The cardboard boxes can be recycled or composted, reducing the carbon footprint of your kitchen. Most pantry items and heartier imperfect produce items are simply packed inside the box without unnecessary padding or insulation.

More fragile produce, like apples and Brussels sprouts, are packed together in smaller bags before being placed in the box to minimize the risk of damaging the produce.

If you’re ordering cold products, they’re packed with an insulated liner and long-lasting gel packs. This will keep everything at a safe temperature until you unpack your delivery. The liner and gel ice pack are not compostable, but that doesn’t mean they’ll fill up your trash can!

The company encourages customers to return the insulated liner and gel packs each week, which can easily be done when your next delivery is dropped off! As you restock your kitchen, you can return the non-compostable packaging items to the company for proper recycling.

Overall, the packaging is good but not perfect. Since the padding is not added to protect the produce in transit, there’s always a risk that items could become damaged or bruised.

There are a noticeable number of customers who report these types of issues online, but there are just as many positive reviews praising high-quality produce that arrives in good condition. A bit of eco-friendly padding in the box would be a welcome addition across the board, though!

Imperfect Foods works with more than 150 growers. Most of these growers are family farms and cooperatives, 78% to be exact. 6% of their produce is sourced from farmer advocates, 13% comes from wholesale, and only 3% comes from corporate farms. 

We love how transparent they are about where their ingredients come from, and seeing their ongoing support for small, family farms is amazing! 

They take items that local grocery stores don’t want to sell for one reason or another, such as being cosmetically imperfect. This could be because the product is misshapen, the wrong weight, or simply because the farmer has excess stock and insufficient demand from mainstream stores. Other items are short-dated, meaning they’re close to expiring, or feature outdated packaging. 

One thing is for sure – this is a better food system than the one local stores use! Why should perfectly good, nutritious food be thrown away for such superficial reasons?

Produce

Imperfect Foods built its brand with fresh, delicious produce. Bringing high-quality, whole foods to the customer’s doorstep at lower prices than the grocery store is something that people were excited about when the brand began, and that excitement is just as strong today. 

While the company is very open about where its produce is sourced from, most of the produce is not certified organic. The items that are organic are clearly marked while you shop, so you can seek those items out specifically if organic produce is important to you. 

Produce in the boxes may look slightly different than what you’re used to buying at the grocery store, but it tastes the same. Imperfect Foods offers a second chance for produce with cosmetic imperfections and helps people lower the amount they spend on fresh produce. 

Meat & Seafood 

The meat and seafood in the boxes are super similar to what you’d buy during a normal grocery shopping trip. Notably, the price of these products is not as discounted from normal grocery stores as the produce, but it’s not noticeably more expensive either. 

The quality is good, and it’s super convenient to get everything for your weekly meals delivered in one box. The company does keep strict standards in place for all their meat and seafood. Salmon is wild-caught or sustainably farmed. Poultry, beef, and pork chops are free of antibiotics and hormones. 

Additionally, the beef is grass-fed, and pork chops come from farms that are certified humane with crate-free outdoor access. 

Meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy products are shipped with gel ice packs and liners that act as insulation to keep things at a safe temperature until you unpack the box.

Pantry

Almost all of the pantry items from Imperfect Foods are short-dated or surplus inventory that would otherwise go to waste. Instead of letting that perfectly good food go to a landfill, this delivery service brings it to customers across the US at discounted prices.

Dairy & Eggs

The type of dairy and eggs available can vary quite a bit depending on what’s available from farms at the time. 

All eggs are 100% cage-free, but their organic, free-range, and pasture-raised status varies. They do a great job of detailing these things on the product pages, though, so it’s not hard to determine which products align with your values and preferences. 

Similarly, dairy products are free of artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors. Dairy is never sourced from farms with concentrated animal feeding operations, and it’s always rBST-free. They opt for pastured dairy from smaller milksheds whenever possible, too. 

The customer care team is responsive and helpful, and it’s clear their end goal is to keep customers happy! If you experience something like damaged items, a late delivery, or general questions about your account, you can contact customer service via online chat, email, or over the phone.

The website is easy to navigate, so making changes to your account or skipping a delivery rarely requires assistance from the customer service team. 

When reviewing online reviews from customers across the web, everywhere from Google to the Better Business Bureau, we quickly noticed one thing in common: most negative reviews are from customers who are frustrated by the automated subscription service setup. 

Many of them ordered once, not expecting a recurring charge, but the company makes it very clear when you sign up how frequently you’ll be charged, and it’s easy to cancel anytime. 

2023 has brought lots of exciting changes for this brand, but the most notable was the official merging of Misfits Market and Imperfect Foods. The two brands have teamed up to expand their network of providers, reach a larger audience, and help end unnecessary waste. 

As part of this merger, all customers are eligible for the Misfits Loyalty Program. This program tracks the points you earn while you shop, which can be redeemed for free groceries! Despite the Misfits Market associated name, Imperfect Foods customers don’t have to create a Misfits Market account to enjoy the loyalty program benefits.

• Imperfect Foods and Misfits Market are now affiliated, but they’re still separate grocery delivery services with a unique inventory and shopping experience.
• This company doesn’t carry a huge selection of certified organic produce, but they are very transparent about where items are sourced from.
• Order pantry items, dairy, salmon, eggs, and meat, in your produce box and skip a grocery shopping trip!
• There is no minimum order total, so you can get just the products you need. 
• This is a flexible subscription service. A curated box will be shipped each week unless you skip the week or edit the items in the box during your shopping window.