Imperfect Foods is a food delivery company dedicated to providing nutritious, sustainably sourced ingredients that could otherwise be thrown away.
Not only can it help you save time on grocery shopping, it can also bring diversity to your diet.
In addition to seasonal products, the service offers a wide range of grocery products, including meat, eggs, coffee, cereals and household items.
Unfortunately, the company is rated F by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) due to frequent customer complaints about product quality and missing shipments.
This article takes a closer look at imperfect foods to determine if they’re worth trying.
Imperfect Foods is a grocery delivery service that offers a variety of high-quality products, including fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and poultry.
The company focuses on promoting sustainability and reducing food waste by offering products that have minor cosmetic defects, such as irregular shapes or sizes.
While Imperfect Foods provides personalized recommendations based on your dietary restrictions and food preferences, it also allows you to customize your weekly box by selecting your favorite foods.
In addition to fresh produce, the service offers add-on packages containing items such as dairy, meat, seafood, and packaged snacks.
Deliveries are available on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis, with delivery days assigned based on your zip code.
Imperfect Foods offers a wide range of products, making it easy to simplify your shopping routine.
These are some of the items you can buy:
- Produces: fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables, including organic and conventional varieties
- Meat, seafood and poultry: ground beef, chicken breast, salmon, turkey
- Articles of plant origin: tofu, meat substitutes, milk alternatives
- Eggs and dairy: cage-free eggs, yogurt, cheese
- Pantry basics: beans, tortillas, pasta, bread, pizza dough, lentils
- Snacks: chips, cookies, pretzels, nuts, dried fruit, snack mixes
- Home furniture: shampoo, facial oils, body creams, lotions, soaps
Every week, your shopping window opens 5 days before the delivery date. During this time, you can personalize your box by adding or removing items from your order.
Your options will change weekly based on what’s available, so that’s great if you like variety. With that said, it may not be a good choice if you prefer consistency in your meals from week to week.
You can also set preferences for recurring items that you would like to receive each week (based on availability), as well as items that you never want to receive.
With Imperfect Foods, items are priced individually and you can easily customize your box by selecting from a variety of foods.
Therefore, the cost varies depending on the items you purchase each week.
Here are some examples of estimated prices for certain foods:
- Conventional avocados: $ 1.99 each
- Canned chickpeas: $ 1.49 per can
- 85% Grass-Fed Lean Ground Beef: $ 6.49 per pound (0.5 kg)
- Organic carrots: $ 1.49 per pound (0.5 kg)
- Vegetable yogurt: $ 4.99 for 24 ounces (680 grams)
- Organic Brussels sprouts: $ 2.89 per pound (0.5 kg)
- Organic broccoli: $ 2.29 each
- Conventional grapefruit: $ 1.25 each
- Organic apples: $ 0.85 each
- Whole milk: $ 2.49 for 1/2 gallon (1.9 liters)
However, grocery prices and availability vary significantly depending on where you live.
Overall, though, Imperfect Foods prices tend to be on par with local grocery stores, especially for non-productive items like meat, dairy, and pantry staples, so it’s possible that the service does not end up saving you money.
Imperfect Foods also offers several add-ons, including 2-4 additional items per week.
These are the prices of each available add-on:
- Dairy Package: $ 9.99
- Snack pack: $ 9.99
- Meat and fish package: $ 9.99
- Bead package: $ 6.99
- Plant Package: $ 9.99
Shipping rates range from $ 4.99 to $ 5.99 per order, depending on your location.
Imperfect Foods ships to many areas of the continental United States.
Specifically, it is currently available in select regions of the West Coast, Midwest, and Northeast.
However, the company is rapidly expanding its delivery zone and you can enter your zip code on the Imperfect Food website to see if the service is available in your area.
Based on your zip code, you are assigned a set delivery day each week.
Imperfect Foods uses its own network of delivery people who will send you text messages when they are near your home. Unfortunately, tracking is not available on these shipments, which can lead to lost orders without resolution.
In fact, I tried to try Imperfect Foods twice and my shipment was lost both times.
Although many people are happy with Imperfect Foods, the service seems to have several issues with ingredient quality and delivery.
Some common aspects among negative reviews are that the product spoiled quickly or the ice packs melted, causing the entire shipment to heat up, which is a big problem if the box contains perishable items like milk or meat. .
Reviewers were also frustrated by the company’s lack of responsiveness to their issues, as well as the inconsistency of some third-party delivery drivers.
The fact that boxes cannot be traced once they leave the warehouse is also a problem, as it can leave customers, myself included, wondering about the status of their order.
However, many positive reviews are mixed with reviews. Satisfied customers appreciate the convenience of service and the variety of products they receive.
It appears that many of the problems with Imperfect Foods may be based on geographic area and who delivers your order.
If you are interested in having your food or products delivered to you, there are several other companies that you should consider.
For example, Misfits Market is a subscription service that offers organic produce and pantry staples, including snacks, dips, and cooking and baking staples.
Like Imperfect Foods, it allows you to customize your weekly box by setting your product preferences and adding other optional ingredients to your order.
Misfit Market differs in that all its products are organic and the boxes have a fixed price. However, like Imperfect Foods, many Misfits Market customers complain that much of the produce they receive is of poor quality and unusable.
Hungry Harvest is another company focused on reducing food waste by offering products with minor cosmetic defects at a discounted rate.
You can choose from several box sizes, including organic or conventional products, for a flat fee each week.
You can also customize your order and purchase other items on the market for an additional cost.
Hungry Harvest is also rated A + with BBB and appears to consistently offer higher quality products based on customer feedback. However, it is only available in select areas.
Imperfect Foods is a sustainable and time-saving alternative to grocery shopping.
With a wide range of products available, there are many options to choose from, regardless of your food preferences.
It can also be a great way to add more diversity to your diet by experimenting with fruits and vegetables in season.
However, it can be more expensive than grocery shopping, depending on the items you select.
Also, unlike in-store shopping, you can’t check the quality of food before buying it, and many customers have reported problems with damaged items or inaccurate orders.
Due to this issue, Imperfect Foods is rated F with BBB.
Regardless, they still have a lot of satisfied customers.
If you are interested in receiving products with a slight defect, you can also consider Hungry Harvest, which offers similar products but is A + rated with BBB.
Imperfect Foods is a subscription service that delivers fresh and seasonal produce, as well as a variety of pantry staples, right to your doorstep.
Each week, you can customize your order and choose your favorite foods, making it a convenient and time-saving way to shop for groceries.
Unfortunately, however, Imperfect Foods has many complaints due to poor quality products and a lack of communication.
For this reason, you may want to consider other services if you are interested in product delivery.
Interested in trying Imperfect Foods? We can help!
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