Solving problems: unwanted fruit and vegetables

The idea came to them during a summer holiday. Following a post-Covid move back to New Zealand after living and working in London for eight years, Angus and Katie bought a campervan and went traveling through the South Island. They spent a few months parked up in the town of Brightwater on the outskirts of Nelson, a large growing region with plenty of seasonal work, which gave them first-hand experience of the challenges facing local growers.

Angus believes that roughly a third of all produce grown in New Zealand doesn’t leave the farm or orchard. The pair developed the concept of Wonky Box, working with growers to reduce waste and start a direct supply chain from farm to consumer.

The business was launched from Wellington, in April 2021. At the time they were breaking ground when it came to delivering odd looking or surplus produce. “We set up a company online, and just got stuck in straight away.” The campervan was stripped out and they drove it up and down the Kāpiti Coast on a search for more growers.  “We were literally just door knocking from one grower to the next, asking if they had supply problems, which, of course they did.”

Angus and Katie define ‘wonky’ as anything that’s deemed unsuitable in appearance by the major retailers. “It's purely cosmetic,” Angus explains. “Things can be too big, too small, or an interesting shape that doesn’t necessarily meet the strict standards for strict export markets or supermarkets here in New Zealand.

“A grower will rarely grow wonky produce deliberately,” Angus says. “They want to grow the best produce, and they want to grow the right amount of produce to meet demand. But the reality is that hardly ever happens.” 

A simple subscription service allows Wonky Box customers to choose the contents of their box: vegetables, fruit or both; box size and the frequency of their deliveries.  Growers deliver their surplus or unusual produce to distribution depots in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland, where it will be boxed up ready for delivery to subscribers the next day.

The ‘wonky’ category also encompasses new varieties and unusual produce. “This week we’re trialing a ‘crispy pear’ variety that looks more like a dry melon,” Angus explains. “We’ll include those in our boxes along with some education in the form of recipes and online content. The feedback is that people love being introduced to products that they’ve never seen or tried before.” For growers who are keen to innovate, it’s also a way to test demand.

Angus and Katie are proud to mention that the Wonky Box initiative has diverted more than four million kilograms of produce from waste since the business began. Not that they have time to celebrate their success. “We do want to tackle the serious problem of food waste, but I think there’s often too much attention drawn to the negatives. The reality is that we're out here passionately making a difference, but I guess our marketing approach has always been to put a positive, fun spin on it.”

Future plans include finding ways to tackle waste at other levels of the supply chain and working to deliver these savings to their customers. The couple believe that, in theory, food shouldn’t be expensive. “It’s a basic need. If we can create more solutions in other spaces, and funnel them through Wonky Box, then that’s a focus for us to work towards.”