How to know if Misfits Market or Imperfect Foods is right for your family

What does each delivery service offer that the other doesn’t?

Misfits Market

There is a really lovely selection of add ons that are just so different from the choices in Imperfect foods. I regularly get fresh herbs, unique mushrooms, and dented, but high-quality canned goods like tomatoes.

Misfits also includes at least one recipe in the box each week. Sometimes they also have a highlight of foods, especially for those who can’t customize yet, to show how to store or use them! We have found a nice salsa recipe this way.

Imperfect Foods

There are add-ons like meat, snacks, grains, and dairy. They can be subscription based or added a la carte. The very first week they send a laminated storage guide for common foods.

We get eggs, apple cider vinegar, plant-based yogurt, quinoa, and more from I.F.. Some of these options are less common because it’s based on surplus inventory and availability. The quinoa for example, was the wrong ratio of colors so it couldn’t be sold in stores. Not sure about you, but I simply don’t care about that. The ability to get eggs is probably the number one reason we still get orders from both services.

Quality

Misfits Market

There has been the occasional time that a zucchini or carrot is snapped in half. Or one time some green cauliflower has a spot of mold on it. Otherwise, the food quality has been phenomenal. To be honest, I firmly believe it’s better than what I can get in almost any of our local grocery stores, especially in winter. A little different if I was getting from a CSA or Farmer’s Market in the summer, but it’s definitely top notch.

I feel like I am constantly getting surplus here versus rejects.

Imperfect Foods

I have been pleased with the quality. A few more issues with some cheeses being really moldy or veggies just being ok/satisfactory. We still used them, but some weeks I am less satisfied than others.

Ugly Food Factor

Misfits Market

I have obtained two boxes in the same week for Misfits mainly to compare what comes in each and how they look. Most of the time, the thing that made them ugly was the sizes… too big or too small compared to average. And I have seen that especially with brassica family plants like cauliflower, broccoli, etc.. I also noticed one week I got kale in one box and a different leafy green in the other. Remember, I get the ability to customize. So apparently they ran out of one of the ones I wanted, but they tried to substitute with something comparable.

Imperfect Foods

I haven’t noticed too make things like big or small or even weird appendages, but we sometimes get apples with cracks in the top part by the skin or an accidental slice in the skin that we just cut around. I think this plays into how I feel about the quality.

Quantity

Misfits Market

While each box is supposed to be in a specific range, I always feel like I get the upper end, if not more than what my box indicated. I feel like I am always prepared for a lot of food and I am always surprised by how much is there for the money when I am done.

Imperfect Foods

Their model is typically based less on weight of food and more on how many of each you get. I personally don’t like that because if their stuff is of varying sizes, you could get a lot of the smaller sized foods which honestly has happened a couple of times. It doesn’t bother me too much because I am not solely relying on it. So just be aware in case you need to bulk up at the store or something.

Customer Service

Misfits Market

I have had 1 error and 1 issue. I’ll detail what happened and the outcome.

• One was that I ordered 2 boxes in a week but only one the next but was still billed and shipped a second box. It’s wasn’t a huge deal for us, but definitely a glitch. They checked everything on their end, didn’t know why it was a problem so investigated further and asked for a screenshot of what I was seeing. They corrected the current order and put in the right number for future orders and very kindly told me that if I changed to a different number in the future that I could shoot them an email just to make sure that whatever technical difficult happened wasn’t going to be an inconvenience to my plans.
• I ordered coffee in a box and didn’t receive it. Because it’s based on supply they couldn’t send it separately or add it to the next order so they refunded it in full.

Imperfect Foods

I have had a few issues. I’ll detail what happened and the outcome.

• First 2 issues: My very first box I ordered eggs. 5 dozen of them. 37 of the 60 eggs were broken. Same box, I had a few orders of cheese and 2 of them were almost completely covered in mold. Customer support replied with “Yikes! Thanks for reaching out – I’m really sorry to hear that the eggs and cheese your received wasn’t in great shape. You’re right although we expect our produce to be ‘imperfect’ we expect them to still be edible… I will share this information with the warehouse manager to make sure we are packaging your box with a little extra care next time!” They didn’t refund the money, but gave us a credit for a subsequent order for what we couldn’t eat. I have ordered eggs 3 or 4 times since and never had an issue.
• My first order also didn’t come in the delivery window. It came the next day and didn’t have a response or indication that it would happen. I reached out to C.S. but received it before they replied. Because of my other issue, they never replied to the delay. Since the first order, I have actually started getting texts notifying me that they’re close; it even has GPS showing right where they are.

Customizations, Choices, and Options

Misfits Market

This is a feature that’s being rolled out more and more. From add-ons to picking the produce, there are a lot of customization options in Misfits that weren’t there even a couple of weeks and months ago.

I like that their customization is actually based on choices in certain groups. I am sure that this is because it helps them to target the things that don’t get picked as often so they have less waste. And I like that. It gives our family some options and to plan out meals, but also ensures the company doesn’t get left with a bunch of something only a few people chose.

Imperfect Foods

They have meat, dairy, snacks, and all kinds of choices. Everything in your box can be hand-picked so only get all the exact thins you want. You can also keep adding and adding items… like several dozen eggs… as you see fit, especially if something special pops up. For instance, we buy up the non-dairy yogurt when it comes up. You can start telling it what to always include in your box if available so that if you don’t want random groceries if you forget to customize, you don’t have to. So we have “never include” on some foods we’re allergic to and “always include” to certain egg varieties. So it’s not number of boxes based or weight based, it’s completely quantity based.

Packaging & Packing Process

Misfits Market

Everything in the box is reusable and recyclable and most is even compostable. They have cardboard inserts for insulation and a cardboard piece protecting greens from a reusable ice pack. We’re even going to use the top layer of cardboard with the holes in it as a gardening cover to have a spot to plant each seed!

Imperfect Foods

The ice pack is reusable or drain safe, the boxes are recyclable, but I have found they send way too many boxes every time. Once I got a big box with about 4 or so potatoes in it. They also use the plastic-ish silver bubble wrap.

I have mentioned the eggs previously. While I haven’t had ANY broken eggs since the first incident, I don’t feel like they’re packed very securely. And I don’t mean to be so down on Imperfect Foods. I like them a lot. But I think there’s just more room for growth in their processes.

The boxes are completely compostable which is great as we have a garden and use them for “lasagna” layering. Even the ink is certified compostable. The boxes also, as of the end of the year, have included awesome handles, making them really easy to reuse for packing and other purposed too.

Delivery

Misfits Market

Mine always comes in a pretty small window on Friday mornings. It happens like clock-work and I have always been happy knowing they’re there. I typically get an email the day before telling me everything has been shipped and another email within an hour of it being on my doorstep that it has been delivered. They leave it right by my door but out of sight from passing cars.

Imperfect Foods

I mentioned above that my first box was awol for about 18 hours. That had me kind of nervous that it had actually been stolen overnight since our assigned delivery window was between 4 and 8 in the evening. I was thankful it came and even more thankful that I now have text alerts and a GPS map to know when it will arrive. These boxes seem to come to my doorstep sometimes on my bench, sometimes in a chair, sometimes just plopped out there. This probably contributed to the egg-splosion in box 1.