The Wonky Revolution is coming
The Wonky Revolution is coming
● London’s first and only wonky veg box scheme sets sights on expansion with sales up 650% yoy
● 2,500 households on waiting list
● Ambition to target 500,000 tonnes of produce surplus
Perfectly edible and delicious fruit and vegetables are being wasted on a massive scale on UK farms but one British business is proving that shoppers are willing to embrace it. It is estimated that between 20-40% of all produce is rejected before it reaches the supermarket shelf and is often left in the field to rot because it doesn’t meet strict visual standards. Oddbox is London’s first and only wonky fruit and veg box scheme and has seen phenomenal growth (650% yoy from April-April 2017-18) since launching two years ago and wants to encourage more people to join the wonky veg revolution.
The demand for its delicious, affordable, misshapen and surplus veg boxes has been astronomical, so the business is now focusing on expanding its logistical capability, broadening its delivery area and adding more growers. It currently has 1,500 loyal customers in South London but there is a long waiting list of over 2,500 people from the rest of the country who are demanding wonky veg delivered to their door.
Inspired by eating a misshapen but delicious tomato in Portugal, the founders wondered why they couldn’t get this in the UK. When they returned from holiday, they convinced two British farmers to sell them their imperfect and surplus produce which they paid a fair price for. They boxed it up, charged 30% less than other veg box schemes and delivered them to 10 customers in South London from the back of their car.
Two years on and they have delivered over 25,000 boxes to people’s homes, 4,000 boxes to offices and rescued 150 tonnes of food waste. Customer demand keeps growing so the purpose-driven business is seeking £350,000 investment through leading equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs in order to expand into the whole of London and beyond.
Oddbox was conceived at a time when British shoppers were looking for a convenient and cost-effective way to shop more sustainably and help reduce food waste. The continuing rise of plant-based and flexitarian diets and the desire to reduce plastic packaging has provided a surge in customers who count Oddbox as one of the good guys in an increasingly complex shopping environment.
Emilie Vanpoperinghe, Oddbox co-founder explains: “Food surplus is a massive issue that isn’t going away and we all need to play our part in reducing it. We are on a mission to fundamentally shift food standards and normalise wonky produce and limit food waste.
It’s madness that perfectly edible and delicious produce is being left on the plant or ploughed back into the field because it doesn’t meet strict specifications. We are making it worthwhile for farmers to pick this imperfect produce by paying them a fair price and by doing so, we have rescued 150 tonnes of food from being wasted. We have big ambitions to grow to the whole of London and beyond with a target to save 500,000 tonnes of UK and EU fruit and veg waste by 2022. Come and join the wonky veg revolution!”
Andrew Brice, Farmer owner of Church Farm said: “Oddbox has helped my business in a big way by offering me a fair price for a product that otherwise would have been wasted. Before Oddbox, we wasted between 25-40 per cent of the asparagus we grew because it’s not perfectly straight, which for a product which takes three years to establish and start producing spears, really does impact us.”
For more details on Oddbox, visit: www.oddbox.co.uk
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Notes to Editors:
For media enquiries, photography or comment please contact:
Deepak Ravindran –deepak@oddbox.co.uk / 075361 47838
About Oddbox:
Oddbox delivers small to large seasonal wonky fruit and vegetable boxes weekly or fortnightly to people’s homes in South London. It charges around 30% less that similar veg box schemes and starts at an affordable £8.99 for a small veg box with the largest box costs £17.25 which caters for a large family. It also delivers fruit boxes to offices around London.