Ontario company selling 'odd' or 'ugly' produce for huge discount launching in Toronto

A trip to the grocery store in Ontario can cost as much, if not more than, a night out these days.

New data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday shows grocery prices were up 11.4 per cent from a year ago and 11 per cent from December. Because of that, shoppers are looking to stretch their dollar as far as they can without sacrificing the staples in their fridge or pantry.

To fill the gap, an Ontario-based company that sells “odd” or “ugly” fruits and vegetables that don’t meet major grocery retailer’s strict aesthetic standards is launching in Toronto.

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“Maybe the retail stores turned down [the produce] for cosmetics, maybe they have too much…Let’s put them together in a box and offer it at a ridiculous discount,” Odd Bunch Founder Divy Ojha told CTV News Toronto.

The company works directly with farms, greenhouses and distributors in southwestern Ontario to source the products, which could include items with imperfections as minor as a cucumber that’s too curved or a clementine that’s not quite the right colour, Ojha said.

From there, customers can select an all vegetable, all fruit, or mixed box and have it delivered directly to their door.

While the service isn’t the first to market, with similar businesses in the east and west coasts, Ohja said what makes his company stand out is its commitment to addressing the food waste problem.

A woman is seen with a piece of 'ugly' celery from Odd Bunch. (Supplied)

Since launching in May 2022, Ojha said Odd Bunch has diverted 10 million pounds from landfills.

“At the end of the day, [the unwanted produce] it's going to landfills, it's creating or emitting more greenhouse gases, while one in seven Canadians are struggling to put food on the table,” Ohja said.

“It makes you wonder, what people like you and I could do to try and mitigate that, or at least try to make some sort of progress towards that.”

Ohja said Odd Bunch launched a beta version of their service with a limited run of products earlier this year in Toronto and that the response was “amazing.”

However, he said that he needed to scale up the logistical side of the business to meet the demand.

“We nailed some of those things down and we’re feeling a bit more comfortable now,” he said.

Odd Bunch launches in Toronto on Thursday.