Wonky fruit and veg company Oddbox expands into Edinburgh and Glasgow

They deliver the produce that supermarkets don’t want
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If you don’t mind that your banana is crooked, pear ginormous, potato tiny or tomato too bulbous, then you may be interested in Oddbox.

This London-based company was set up six years ago by Emilie Vanpoperinghe and Deepak Ravindran, who had the idea after browsing a stall of produce in Portugal and wondering why the wares looked quite different to the uniform grocery displays in UK supermarkets.

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Their wonky veg delivery business has thrived and is now expanding into Scotland, with an open waiting list and deliveries in Edinburgh and Glasgow from March 30.

Deepak and Emilie Pic:Naomi WoodDeepak and Emilie Pic:Naomi Wood
Deepak and Emilie Pic:Naomi Wood

Their speciality is “rescued” fruit and vegetables - the produce that supermarkets won’t accept and is saved from farms where it would otherwise go to waste.

It’s not always the strangely-shaped items, as they also take surplus wares, which may have been rejected simply because they’re seasonal and thriving.

According to the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, if food waste was a country, it would be the third largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Oddbox say they’ve already rescued 25 tonnes of food, and hope to raise that to 150 tonnes by 2025, as part of their expansion.

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They decided on the Scottish capital as one of their delivery locations, since the largest volume of visitors to their site over the last year have been from Edinburgh. This could be in part due to some of our other fruit and veg delivery suppliers, like East Coast Organics, becoming temporarily oversubscribed during lockdown.

OddboxOddbox
Oddbox

“Expanding Oddbox into Scotland means growing our community of people doing good for the planet – and having a greater collective impact in the fight against food waste. We're giving Edinburgh and Glasgow locals a tool to make a change seamlessly in their everyday lives,” says Vanpoperinghe.

The concept is subscription based, so you pay weekly or fortnightly for a choice of four box sizes, which start at £10.99 for a x-small one. This contains five varieties of veg and two types of fruit, and they’re promising that asparagus, tenderstem broccoli and broad beans might be making an appearance sometime soon.

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Oddbox on doorstepOddbox on doorstep
Oddbox on doorstep

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