Company saves 775,000kg of food waste by selling 'imperfect' fruit and vegetables

The Catalan company Talkual has managed to save over 775,000kg of food waste in two and a half years.

Talkual's business model is based on selling fruits and vegetables discarded by supermarkets for mainly aesthetic "imperfections," either for not conforming to the expected shape or else for spots and marks on their skin. 

The company from Bellpuig, in rural western Catalonia, has delivered boxes of fresh produce to around 2,200 customers from all over Spain, delivering between up to 1,500 boxes of "imperfect" fruit and vegetables to consumers every week, mostly in big cities such as Madrid or Barcelona.

Customers have the choice of purchasing a one-off box of mixed fruits and vegetables, or else subscribing to weekly or fortnightly deliveries. They can also decide if they want a mixture, only fruit, or only vegetables. 

The delivery is always a mixture of what is available and always seasonal fruits or vegetables, but customers can choose to exclude whatever items they do not like. 

The idea of the company came from the desire to reduce food waste and help spread awareness among consumers that discarding perfectly good food because they do not meet superficial standards is a global problem, especially in the current context of the climate crisis.

Oriol Aldomà explained to the Catalan News Agency that they want to make consumers understand that in supermarkets, the fruits and vegetables all look the same, but in reality, on farms and in fields, not all apples, lettuces, tomatoes are the same size or shape.

A significant portion of fresh produce, between 30-40%, gets discarded and is not even considered to be put on supermarket shelves, meaning the problem comes from the distribution process. To counter this, the co-founders of Talkual want to give customers the opportunity to purchase this produce that normally isn't offered to them. 

Talkual has gone from having an annual turnover of €800,000 to now €1.5 million. The company has 16 workers, three of whom are people at risk of social exclusion. 

Seasonal fruits and vegetables

In autumn, sweet potatoes are commonly found in the boxes delivered, and they are usually a lot bigger than those found in regular stores.

Meanwhile, melons are also common for this time of year, but the ones from Talkual are generally smaller but just as good. 

Elsewhere, customers could expect pears with spots on the skin, pomegranates that are not quite round, or plums that suffered a hailstorm in early summer but still grew with a healed wound on their skin but still containing all the taste and nutrients.

Talkual already have around 90 suppliers where they buy the imperfect fruit and vegetables.

Many farmers found it hard to believe that someone wanted to purchase the imperfect pieces which are normally either destroyed or destined to be used in by-products such as juices.