Imperfect Produce is now called Imperfect Food! They now offer beyond produce! Previously, I have cancelled my Imperfect Produce subscription because they only offered produce and it was not meeting my needs. After the company transitioned to Imperfect Food, I did give this subscription another try, and here is my Imperfect Foods review.
What is Imperfect Foods?
Imperfect Foods is a subscription service that delivers produce, groceries, and snacks up to 30% less than grocery store prices.
What makes imperfect foods imperfect?
The word imperfect can be a little scary, especially when it comes to food. Probably millions of thoughts are going through your heads, why it is imperfect? What is wrong with it? Here are some of the most common reasons that perfectly good food gets rejected by grocery stores and could end up going to waste, now adopted by Imperfect Foods.
Cosmetic
Every store has it's own standard and spec when it comes to food. Ultimately they want the food to look beautiful and perfect. So this means the ones that have personalities will get rejected.
Off-Spec
Sometimes the food doesn't meet the strict specification set by the buyers, so they get rejected. Many of these are caused by the way the food is harvested or packaged.
Surplus/Excess Inventory
Unpredictable nature happens. Some times a farmer or producer finds themselves with way too much than they had planned. Or suddenly there is a category of trendy food, and the demand for the food is way less. It leaves farmers and producers with perfectly good food that suddenly with no future.
Undervalued
Perfectly good food goes to waste every day simply because there isn’t enough demand for it.
Packaging Change
Sometimes brands do a makeover. However, when they do changes to their packaging on one of their product, an unintended consequence is that the old packaging is often stuck in food purgatory.
Short-Coded
Traditional retail stores won’t stock items or purchase from the manufacturer with expiration dates less than a few months away. To help close the loop on this needless source of food waste, Imperfect Foods source products that are "short-coded" so they can find a good home instead of being stranded in a warehouse.
How Much Does Imperfect Food Cost?
It cost you nothing to join. The price you pay will depend on what you order, which you will know at checkout. However, Imperfect Food does have a $30 order minimum in some locations. If your location has a requirement, you will get notify at sign up. Plus, Imperfect Foods does have a shipping charge.
How Does Imperfect Food Subscription Works?
After you enter your zip code, you will be given a delivery day (the day of the week), and your box will be delivered weekly/every other week/monthly on that day. For example, my weekly delivery day is every Wednesday. You also will be given a time when you can customize your box.
After you sign up, you will be asked to answer a few questions like what category of the item you are planning on purchasing, how often you would like your box to be delivered, etc. It only takes a second to answer.
If you sign up to weekly and would like to change it to every other week delivery, you can change it any at time. If you are out for the week and don't need your box, you can skip the week (see above image as an example).
When it's time to customize your box (you will be given a customize box window), you will notice there are already items in your cart. Don't panic. You don't actually have to buy these. These items are selected for you just in case you forget to customize your box. If you are a picky eater, be sure to customize your box!
You can either go through what is in your box first to see and take out what you don't like and then shop and add the ones you do want. Or shop what you like and then check the final list and take out what you don't like.
My Imperfect Foods Review
Pros:
- Offers a variety of groceries from produce to meat to pantry items. It offers large enough varieties that you don't need to go to the store anymore.
- You can save up to 30% less than the grocery store. Who doesn't love to save some money these days right?!
- Available in organics and conventional.
- Super convenient to order, and your box will show up at your door.
- The whole ordering process only takes a few minutes. You can save a ton of time just using this service. Think about all that traffic going to the store, and waiting in line to pay for your items.
- Imperfect Foods website is super user friendly.
- You will know exactly what makes it imperfect. Every item comes with description of why it imperfect.
- You have the flexibility of skipping delivery. Life happens, you have to go out of town or you simply still have way too much produce left from last week, you can skip a week of delivery.
- You can cancel your subscription at any time and it is super easy to cancel. No awkward phone calls or email, all you have to do is to click cancel service in your account. It is that easy!
- You will always get a text message when you produce is near your house and then a second message when it is delivered to your door. This way, you know exactly where your produce is.
- Usually you do not need to be home when your box is delivered. As long as it’s clear to the driver where to leave the box. If you live in an apartment building that require access code, you can provide instructions to Imperfect Foods so they can deliver you box to your door.
- Your box is delivery by Imperfect Food employees and their truck. It is not UPS or other delivery services that deliver your goodies. I LOVE that it creates job for locals.
- By purchasing items from Imperfect Foods, you can helping to reduce food waste by purchasing imperfect items.
Cons:
- Because of the nature of the business, I felt like in general there is a lack of organic variety and options.
- The weekly items available are not consisted. If you see something you like this week, it might not be there next week.
- There is a $4.99-$5.99 delivery fee to cover the costs involved in getting your box from their warehouse to your door.
Imperfect Foods Review Summary
If you are looking to save on grocery bills, have a busy schedule, or would like to avoid the store, then this service is for you!
Previously I canceled my Imperfect Produce service because they only carried produce, and I still need to go to the store often to pick up other items. Now that this service offers more than just produce, and I can save a few on the grocery bill, so of course I will continue to use this service.
Click here to get $20 off your first order!
Common FAQ
Do You Need To Be Home For Delivery?
Usually no. As long as it’s clear to the driver where to leave the box. If you live in an apartment building that require access code, you can provide instructions to Imperfect Foods so they can deliver you box to your door.
Will my meat goes bad if I didn't fridge them immediately of receiving the box?
Delivery typically happens between 12pm to 8pm. You should refrigerate immediately upon receiving. However, if you are unable to, don't worry. Imperfect Food does pack your meat with ice pack.
If you know you will be out all day and your box will be sitting in the hot sun all day, you can invest in a cooler. You can instruction the delivery person to put the items that requires registration in your cooler.
How do I know when the box will be delivered?
You will receive an automated text message when your box is getting close. And another text when the box has been delivered.
Is there delivery fee?
There is a $4.99-$5.99 delivery fee to cover the costs involved in getting your box from their warehouse to your door.
Imperfect Foods Service During Covid 19
Due to the high demand for the service, there is a waitlist you can join. The waitlist time will depend on your zip code. I do recommend joining the waitlist just because we don't know what the future may look like. Even if you join the waitlist and decides not to use it in the future, you can cancel at any time.
Overall I would say this service is reliable to use during COVID. At beginning of this crazy time, some people did experience missing box, missing items, or even order suddenly being cancelled. It was frustrating for many people and including myself but we have to understand there was a sudden spike in demand that no one saw it coming. Imperfect Foods is consistently working on improving and adapt their service during this difficult time. They put the waitlist in place so it doesn't affect their current customers, they hired a ton of new employees to meet current demand (if you know someone who is looking for a job, they are hiring)... they are working on improving all aspect of their service so we can experience a better experience. So far, I have nothing to complain about, but grateful I can get what I need through this service.
**Please note that this Imperfect Foods review is written based on my personal experience. It is not a sponsored post. This post do contains my referral link. This means if you do sign up, you will get $20 off your first box and I will also get a discount off my box.**
