![]() ![]() Some customers might assume that surface imperfections affect the flavor of an item, he said. “Therefore, produce that doesn’t look as great tends to stay on the shelf.”Ībhi Ramesh, who launched produce company Misfits Market in a North Philadelphia warehouse last August, believes that education is key. “Most customers are looking for blemish-free produce,” Ward said in an email. Edible but flawed items that end up in stores are either cut up and used in veggie and fruit bowls, or donated to Acme’s food bank partners, she said - otherwise, they go to waste. But often, it’s for aesthetic reasons.ĭana Ward, a communications manager for Acme Supermarkets, said that’s because many customers judge produce by how it looks. Department of Agriculture, and founders of ugly-produce companies say their businesses provide additional income to farmers while making fresh food more accessible.ĭistributors and grocery stores might reject produce when there is a surplus, or because there is too little of a product available for the store to consider the purchase worthwhile. As much as 40% of the food produced nationwide goes to waste, according to estimates by the U.S. Simon is one of a growing number of entrepreneurs who see beauty, as well as profit, in “ugly” produce - the fruits and vegetables that distributors and supermarkets say they can’t sell. “Especially if you’re just going to chop it up, what’s the difference?” “The average customer doesn’t care about how it looks nearly as much as stores think they do,” Simon said. ![]() And when ordered through companies such as Simon’s, they often cost less. He wants those fruits and vegetables to become carrot cake, peach pie, stir-fry for a family dinner.įlawed fruits and vegetables taste the same as the produce found on supermarket shelves, said Simon, co-founder of the Imperfect Produce company, which was recently launched in Philadelphia (and also delivers in Minneapolis-St. PHILADELPHIA - Ben Simon takes the gnarled carrots, undersized peaches and scarred peppers, all those grocery-store rejects, and he finds them a home. ![]()
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