What Happened When I Tried Imperfect Foods Delivery Service
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What would you think if someone asked, "Hey, do you want to buy a box of groceries that's totally cool with calling itself, um, not-the-greatest?"
For me, the answer would not be an immediate and/or enthusiastic YES. Sure, it can sometimes be tough to find the time to shop in person, and there've been plenty of periods over the last two years (including RIGHT NOW) when walking into a packed grocery store seems straight up risky. But I'm still a picky shopper. I like to select my own food for the very reason that it helps me feel like I'm getting the best stuff.
All of this is to say: When I was asked to review the flexible grocery subscription service Imperfect Foods, I waffled. It just didn't really feel like my kinda thing!
But in the name of journalism, I dug a little deeper, and managed to convince the perfectionist food buyer within me to chill. Truth is, most supermarkets turn away perfectly good food for reasons that seem a little...ridiculous? We're talking a potato with a weird shape, a box of pasta with a few broken pieces at the bottom, or a bottle of olive oil set to expire in three months instead of, like, 12. All of this stuff is totally edible, but it ends up as waste. Supporting that didn't really feel like my thing either.
So, I gave Imperfect Foods a try. The service is all about diverting these supermarket beauty pageant rejects from landfills and offering them to shoppers at great prices, brought right to your doorstep once a week. In other words, their goal is making it simple—and convenient—to eat well while supporting sustainability. Eager to see if it was all as good as it sounded? Here's my review.
How does Imperfect Foods work?
Getting set up in Imperfect’s subscriber pipeline was fast and seamless. At ImperfectFoods.com, I hit the Sign Up button to create an account. After that, it was just a matter of a few quick steps to get my first order set up.
I answered a few questions about my family’s grocery needs—like how many people I’m feeding (the max option is 5+), our eating habits and dietary restrictions (low-carb, vegetarian, or vegan), whether I prefer organic produce, and which meal(s) of the day were most important to me (obviously, I chose all three!).
Based on my answers, Imperfect Foods put together a personalized recommendation for myself, my husband, and my toddler son — a box of 16-21 items with an estimated weekly cost of $27 to $37.
Then it was time to pick what went into my first box. The downside is I couldn't do it right away. I had to wait for my assigned shopping window, which opens up a few days before my scheduled delivery day. The upside is that the sky's sort of the limit in terms of selection. In addition to fresh produce, Imperfect also offers:
Responsible meat and seafood
Plant-based proteins, like nondairy milks and cheeses
Dairy and cage-free eggs
Grains, beans, and pantry staples
Snacks
Bath and beauty items, like shampoo and body butter
By default, Imperfect Foods will send you a box of curated ingredients based on your preferences. But there's also the option to customize your delivery. I opted to remove a few of the items Imperfect had put in my cart that I didn’t need (or knew my toddler wouldn’t eat) and added others, like a pack of frozen shrimp, pre-cut mango, fresh dates, and upcycled chocolate chip cookies made with okara—soybean pulp that’s a byproduct of tofu and soymilk production. (Seriously, how could you say no to trying those?)
But if you feel like being more hands on, that's totally fine too. If you want to nix all of the items that Imperfect selects for you in favor of building your box from scratch, that's also an option.
How much does Imperfect Foods cost?
Imperfect items are priced individually just like at the grocery store, so it all depends on what foods and how much of them you're getting in your box each week (or every other week, if you opt for a bi-weekly subscription option).
Our box for a family of three came with an estimated weekly cost of $27 to $37, based on the specific items I ended up choosing for our delivery. You can expect to pay less if your household is smaller, for instance, or more if your household is larger or if you prefer to receive only organic produce.
As for extra fees like shipping? It's pretty reasonable. Imperfect shoppers pay between $4.99 and $8.99 to have their boxes delivered, but that's it. There aren't any extra sneaky service or subscription costs, and you can cancel your subscription at any time.
The Delivery
I set up my subscription on a Wednesday, and Imperfect Foods told me to expect my box the next Tuesday—the day that deliveries happened in my area. The bummer? They said my delivery window would be between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Even though I’m home, um, a lot these days, that was kind of annoying. Luckily, my food ended up arriving around 11:30 a.m. this time, though I’m not sure how the crazy-wide delivery window or actual drop-off time would work if I worked outside of the house…or was living a normal life?
For life right now though, it was fine. The delivery person dropped the boxes on my doorstep, gave a knock, and waited until I waved to him from the window before leaving. Then, I brought my two boxes inside. There was minimal packaging other than an ice pack to keep the shrimp cold—which I really appreciated. It was nice not having to spend 20 minutes unwrapping food items and generating a trash bag’s worth of plastic!
The downside of zero styrofoam and bubble wrap was that a few of my items seemed to suffer from some in-transit jostling. One of my bell peppers had a small nick and a few of the apples had bruises. Or maybe those were just their imperfections? It was hard to tell.
The Food
Imperfect says they offer foods with cosmetic imperfections, foods from excess inventory, and “short-coded” items where the expiration date is nearing. But looking at my haul, there wasn’t much difference between what they sent and what I’d normally get from my local stores. It all looked fresh and tasty.
One of my carrots was a little bent. The skin on a few of the sweet potatoes was a little roughed up. And the frozen shrimp was supposed to be used within 1-2 days once thawed. But none of this was a big deal, and there was zero effect on the taste. (And in what scenario would you not use fresh or thawed shrimp within a day or two of buying?!)
The organic cheese sticks I got for my son had an expiration date that was about two months out, which is shorter than what I'd find from organic cheese sticks at the grocery story. But again, it wasn't a big deal, because there were only 8 in the package. He can get through that in a week or two.
As for those upcycled chocolate chip cookies? Seriously, delicious. My husband and I crumbled a few over ice cream and packed the rest in the freezer so we wouldn’t be tempted to devour the whole container at once.
What reviews are other customers leaving?
Imperfect scores big points for offering a wide variety of choices, budget-friendly prices, and generally being convenient and easy to use. But some customers have gotten produce that seems like it's past its prime, and like me, not everyone is a fan of the huge delivery window.
The pros
"It’s super easy to sign up; all it takes is a few clicks to subscribe," writes Kristen at The Kitchen Chalkboard. "Also, the set delivery day may be inconvenient for some. There are options to have the box shipped to your office if that is more convenient for you."
"They have amazing customer service. I’ve received a few un-usable items and they’ve been great about offering refunds and credits to make up for it," says Angie at Angie Cruise.
"Of course, we have received some fruits and vegetables that have minor imperfections like weird shapes, but they have always maintained their integrity and taste, which is all we care about. Plus, we absolutely adore the selection of pantry staples and grocery items that we can receive at a fraction of the cost, too," write the reviewers at Glam Vegan.
The cons
"I have gotten one to two produce items that weren't useable—beets that were too woody, even after cooking and one other I can't remember," writes Jami at An Oregon Cottage.
"We did have an issue with packaging where our grapes were smushed on the bottom of the box, but customer service was fast to react and gave us a credit. We had another issue this week with the asparagus being a little mushy, but again customer service was fast and gave us a credit," Ali at Champage and Coffee Stains says.
"I have, unfortunately, received a couple of items that were too damaged to use. Both times they were shipping issues, and not issues with Imperfect Foods," says Angie at Angie Cruise.
My Overall Verdict
Using Imperfect is basically how I wish ordering groceries online from my local store would be: Ordering is easy and fast, I can get what I’m looking for, and delivery fees are minimal. Plus, knowing I’m playing a (teeny, tiny) part in fighting our food waste problem makes me feel good.
The only real downside is that huge delivery window, which worked out alright this time, but I could see becoming a thing if my food was always showing up at 9:00 at night...Unless the reward for unpacking groceries before bed was a few of those cookies. That would be pretty perfect.
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