Healthy food startup set to launch in Milwaukee

A healthy foods subscription service will be launching later this month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that looks to revolutionize the “ugly foods” industry. According to a report from the Milwaukee Business Journal, the startup will take misshapen and unsightly produce of fruits and vegetables and offer a discount delivery service to the door of those looking to pay less for their groceries. The idea of using ugly foods rather than throwing them out as most grocery stores do has been around for some time and caught on in France a few years ago as an effort to reduce food waste. Now companies like Imperfect Produce are trying to help the trend catch on across the Atlantic in the United States. Offering the subscription services in other places across the Midwest, including its launching pad in Chicago, the startup continues to expand. “After our successful launch in Chicago last winter and in Indianapolis this spring, we learned that the Midwest is just as hungry for this type of positive change in our food system as the West Coast is,” chief marketing officer Aleks Strub told Milwaukee Business Journal. “The state of Wisconsin has been a proud proponent of organic and local agriculture for a long time and Milwaukee, in particular, is a hub of excitement around cooking and sustainability.” The startup has reached an agreement with the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative to buy its fruits and vegetables from the group that includes dozens of organic farm growers. On its web site, heads of Imperfect Produce note that they are able to sell the produce for up to 50 percent less than what it would normally cost at a supermarket while also helping combat the issue of food waste where one of every five pieces of produce is thrown out because of its appearance. “In a world obsessed with perfection, we’re here to show the beauty in imperfection,” the site notes. “We’re here to make a statement that our differences are what make us beautiful.” Those located in Milwaukee can find out if they are inside the delivery area by putting their ZIP code into the startup’s site.