Imperfect Foods is revolutionizing the produce industry by saving produce that is deemed unsellable by grocery stores. They offer produce boxes filled with products that may have cosmetic quirks, a funky shape, are surplus, among other reasons they cannot be sold at normal grocery stores. They are using Instagram, Facebook, and Podcasts to market these products and are ultimately saving produce and pantry items from going to the landfill.
Tell Me More
Who would buy funky shaped fruits and veggies? The Imperfect food customers are sustainability focused, keen on making our world a cleaner place, and enjoy eating yummy produce and foods. How does their subscription work? Every box is customizable. You get to pick what you want delivered from the options available. Of course, like their name suggests, they have all things food- produce and pantry items. This week they announced they are launching a new line of products for bath, beauty, and health! According to the Imperfect Food blog, the favorite produce item of the year was Honeycrisp apples, yum!
With COVID19, more people are choosing to get food delivered so that they do not need to be around so many other people in grocery stores. Imperfect produce is catering to these new customers, as well as keeping their life-long subscribers. They have new protocols to keep their team and customers safe during this time. This includes professional sanitizing and following CDC guidelines.
Fighting Food Waste one Instagram Post At a Time
Imperfect foods uses Instagram to post information on how to reduce food waste and help the environment. These posts are fun, informative, and give off an empowering mood. Their posts vary from how to properly store produce and food to make it last the longest, to how you can live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle this month based on your zodiac sign.
Because their Instagram posts are engaging, they are creating a large following. They have 397k followers who view their content. Good marketing leads to more box subscriptions sold. Imperfect produce is marketing their mission well on their Instagram, which in turn will drive their sales.
One weakness in their Instagram posts is that they could showcase their subscription boxes more often. I would like to see what comes in the boxes as well as what customizations other people are ordering for their delivery. While making less food waste and creating a better food system is very important and nice to learn about on Instagram, I wish their company posted more frequently about what's in their box.
Overall their Instagram page is very engaging and has a large following. I believe the information they are putting out there is creating a larger community rooted in creating a better food system.
Food on Your Facebook Feed 
Imperfect Foods uses Facebook pretty similarly to their Instagram. Some of the posts are exactly the same, yet they share longer captions on Facebook. They also share recipes and publicize giveaways and events on Facebook.
Posting mostly the same content on both of these social media platforms is not noticeable to people who only have one platform or the other. However if you follow them on both Instagram and Facebook you might be disappointed that the content is not unique to either platform.
Imperfect Foods is marketing their product to a variety of consumers with different demographics. Having both an Instagram account and a Facebook account is enabling them to reach a broader audience. A food subscription box can be enjoyed by anyone and saving food waste should be done by everyone. Imperfect foods is driving the message that perfectly good food with a cosmetic flaw should not be wasted.
The Sweet Sound of Saving Food
Imperfect foods has launched a podcast for those of us who want to learn more about eating and shopping more eco-friendly. Their episodes feature guests who are trying to help improve our food system, are chefs, or work with food. Podcasts are a great type of new media. They are educational, fun, entertaining, and in this case align a brand with a cause, saving food waste. Imperfect Foods is already saving products from ending up in the landfill, they donate to good causes like Feeding America, and they utilize social media platforms to share green ideas. They are taking it one step further by producing a podcast...Producing or should I say produce(ing). A podcast helps grow their audience and sales. The more listeners they get, the more their product is being heard about. They have released 55 podcast episodes with lessons ranging from eliminating ocean plastics to addressing hunger in America. To listen to an episode check out the Unwasted Podcast.
Perfect Stories
Imperfect Foods uses their boxes to advertise with the best stories of funky fruits and veggies who were rejected by grocery stores and then found their home at Imperfect Foods. 
From heart shaped potatoes feeling heart broken, to carrot siblings wanting to stay together, these stories will stick with you. While advertising on a box is not new media, Imperfect Foods transformed the box advertisement with these stories. They are using an emotional appeal to grab the attention of the public. Pathos is used to convince buyers and potential customers to save the imperfect produce. This is a great message to be spreading, because we should be saving imperfect produce from the land fill.
Time to Save Our Food System
I encourage you to check out Imperfect Foods for yourself. With their mission to save food waste, they are a company I believe is creating a positive impact. If buying a food subscription box is not your thing, try following them on Instagram or Facebook to see their fun posts on how to live more environmentally friendly. You can even give them a listen the next time you want to hear a podcast. As agriculture communicators, we can all learn a thing or two about sustainability and food waste. The more we learn the more we can become better communicators. So what are you waiting for? Give them a follow, and save those poor heart shaped potatoes!
Evie Schwartz
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