We have the absurd demand to ask nature for perfection.
The market knows it, and that is why it puts on the shelves bright and unscratched apples, firm and very yellow bananas or still-life aubergines;
the rest, although they are just as good, to the garbage (or to the juice industry).
From the need to put sanity to this food waste, Imperfectus was born, a company from ilerdense that has been selling fruits and vegetables through its website since February 2020 without taking into account their appearance.
They only care about one thing: the taste.
“I think that large supermarkets have created a model of 'this is good and this is bad' in which only part of the fruit and vegetables fits.
We want to put an end to this long-established vision ”, comments Oriol Aldoma, one of the two creators of Imperfectus.
The idea of setting up the company came from seeing the amount of products that were discarded in the small fruit and vegetable center that the family of Marc Ibos, the other founder, has in Bellpuig.
"When Oriol saw me throwing something with a bad aspect he asked me" Why do you discard that if it is good? ".
In my head I didn't see it as a bad thing, it was what my father had taught me forever, ”says Marc. Once aware of the problem and with the project in mind, it was only necessary to convince everyone that the important thing it's inside.
N
i trust farmers
ba
n e
l project
One of the links that suffer the most from the aesthetic criteria are the farmers, who sometimes end up wasting part of their crops because it does not fit the profile demanded by the large chains.
Producers have so assumed this that Marc and Oriol assure that at first they encountered the skepticism of some with whom they contacted at the end of 2019. “They told us that it was better to throw it away, that nobody was going to want to eat one damaged nectarine or an oversized onion.
But we took that discarded fruit and vegetables home and it was very tasty, "says Oriol Aldoma, 26, a former teacher by profession.
After convincing a sufficient number of
farmers
, in 2020 they launched the website and word soon spread among farmers in the Urgell region of the existence of the project.
“When we had only been in operation for two or three weeks, a man called us saying that he had 10,000 leeks that a large area did not want because they were irregular.
We met with him and told him that we didn't know how many we could sell, ”says 30-year-old Marc.
Oriol (center) and Marc (right) chatting with Ramón Abelló in their field.
IMPERFECTUS
That farmer is Ramón Abelló, who learned about Imperfectus from a partner who provided them.
“I got in touch with the boys and thanks to them I was able to sell last year's harvest.
It was the first time I had grown leeks, they came out a little crooked and the supermarkets no longer wanted them even though they had a terrific sweet taste ”, Ramón declares.
The 10,000 leeks found families who ate them and today Ramón Abelló is part of the list of
farmers
who supply Imperfectus.
"Now some peasants even call us so that we can help them with the kind that they have not been able to give way," says Oriol.
The products, which are from the land
In addition to avoiding food waste, another of the maxims that this Catalan company follows is the commitment to local farmers and seasonal produce.
“Our philosophy is to offer local fruit and vegetables, not to import them from other countries.
Both for the CO2 that it entails and for also supporting the economy of the area ”, explains the youngest of the Imperfectus owners.
Another of its suppliers is Jordi Martínez, who produces cherries and plums 20 kilometers from Lleida.
The fruit that cannot be placed on the market is sold to Imperfectus at "a price agreed halfway between the premium quality and the one that goes to the industry."
As Jordi indicates, in this way he manages to give his products a dignified outlet, because the plum, "by not having industrial use, is destroyed".
The cherry, on the other hand, does, although according to this
farmer
, "the price they pay you for it is truly ridiculous."
Surprise boxes
full
of flavor
Thus, in the boxes prepared by Marc and Oriol in Bellpuig, Jordi's damaged plums or Ramón's irregular leeks can go, each at its optimal consumption date.
Therefore, the client who receives it at home can get an idea of what it will take, although the exact content of the same is a surprise.
"We work on it so that the experience is good: we distribute the fruits and vegetables well in each one or we put some written recipes that can be made with the products that go inside," these young entrepreneurs comment.
Marc (left) and Oriol (right) while preparing one of their boxes.
IMPERFECTUS
The sales format of these boxes -which are sent on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays to anywhere in mainland Spain, although you have to order at least two days in advance- are three: the Imperfectus, the XXL and the Fruit.
The first is made up of about eight or ten kilos of seasonal fruit and vegetables;
the XXL carries 12 to 15 kilos of both;
and Fruit, which are between eight and ten kilos only of this product.
Each of these can be purchased as a one-time purchase or by subscription, either weekly or once every two weeks (and that you can cancel whenever you want).
A model, the latter, which is cheaper as a reward for loyalty.
“I have been subscribed since February and every two weeks I receive a box.
The quality of the products is incredible, and I have discovered fruits and vegetables that I would never have bought before, ”says Laia Folgar, one of the first clients that Imperfectus had.
"In addition, I come from a family of
farmers
, and this is a way to support them and go against the absurd standards set by supermarkets," says Laia.
For the near future, the intention of the owners is to expand the catalog of these boxes with other products in the area that, yes, they can choose whether to include them in the order or not.
This would be the case, for example, of jars of honey from beekeepers in the area and other items that users include in their selected box.
From kilos to tons in a short time
From the two creators of the company to the nine employees who work in it today, and from the first seven boxes they prepared for their family, to the four tons of fruit and vegetables that they currently sell per week;
and all this in just a few months.
"The truth is that we have grown very quickly: one day we were two boys buying two boxes of fruit, and the next we were filling a van," says Marc Ibos.
Ugly but delicious apples and pears.
IMPERFECTUS
A success that, however, has not made us forget the philosophy and social commitment with which Imperfectus was born: “We do to reduce the use of plastics, since all our packaging is made of biodegradable material.
Furthermore, all the surplus we have is donated to organizations such as Cáritas or soup kitchens ”, Oriol points out.
Thousands of flattened pears, Siamese cherries and flattened melons later, these two young Catalans maintain the illusion of extending their idea to continue “saving fruits and vegetables”.
So far they have prevented hundreds of kilos of them from ending up in the container for the simple fact of being "ugly" for a market that does not accept a single damage.
"For us, beauty is in the taste," they comment.
And it is true: the rest is useless.
