Here’s how a startup in Singapore saves excess food
As per the National Environmental Agency a shocking amount of 665,000 tons of food was wasted in the year 2020. The food is mainly generated by wholesalers and supermarkets that get rid of food stuff, especially fruits and vegetables with outward damage or cosmetic imperfections. In a quest to reduce food waste, UglyFood purchases the items and resells them at 20-40% discount compared to your regular retail price and ensures convenient delivery or pick up from various locations across Singapore.
About us
UglyFood was founded in 2017 with a mission to eliminate food waste and revamp the food ecosystem. Our aim is to make sustainability a part of people’s everyday lives. We create content that promotes our cause, and link everything back to sustainable buying of groceries. We want to tackle the surplus in the ecosystem caused by inflexible eating and fluctuations in consumer demand and fix misconceptions around edible food perceived as being inedible.
We hold educational and gamified workshops with schools in Singapore, and with companies globally using virtual platforms. We strongly believe that the collective misconception needs to be addressed and through such events, teach participants about what’s truly edible and what’s not.
Why are surprise bundles great?
Retail stores across the globe aim to cater for the needs of as many consumers as possible. Unfortunately, there is no definite way to figure out when the customers will come and what they will buy. They then use past purchases to predict when the customer’s next purchase will be and what they will buy in order to stock up, but this cannot be accurate due to the changing human preferences and behavior. No one can predict the future accurately.
The inaccurate prediction causes the importers to bring in excess food than what is needed into the country. A great solution to this would be if individuals approached the issue with an open mind and helped clear what needs to be cleared first before any waste. With UglyFood surprise bundles, this is possible.
We prefer to source our products from local farms, this allows us to receive the items while they are still fresh due to the short transit, although sometimes they might be ugly. Items that are included in our weekly bundles are posted on our clearance page and some are directly included in your surprise bundle.
We get our packaging from donations and they are recycled back into the ecosystem. If by any chance you come across items that you are not satisfied with, we are happy to process a refund. We hope that you will join us in reducing food waste and support our cause buy choosing flexible eating.
We also share updates on what’s happening in our store and stock updates on our telegram and Instagram pages throughout the week.
What type of fruits and vegetables do you have?
We get our products from local producers and importers from various countries. So, you will have a wide array to choose from. Incase you are more inclined to the exotic fruits and vegetables, you will come across Brazilian figs, African lemons, Korean white peaches and American sweetheart cherries.
It is important to take note that not all of our items are cosmetically ugly or blemished. We also sell immaculate surplus products that would otherwise end up as waste. Our customers who are specific to get these items will request them upon check out.
What are your delivery policies?
We organize your fruit and vegetable delivery around Singapore at $6 if your order is below $40, $3 if your order is between 40 and $65 and for any order above $65 it will be delivered for free.
If you prefer to pick up your groceries, you can do so from our flagship store at SUTD or at any of our partner pick up locations like Treatsure Concept Store, Philip’s Market at Serangoon Gardens or Honeymill at Poragon. Our partners will have special treats for you like free sorbets and discounts.
Check out our online store so you can get your surprise bundle or to get to know more about our workshops.
Written by UglyFood.
Visit the UglyFood website to order your surprise bundle or to find out more about workshops.
Written in collaboration with UglyFood.
