Oddbox Turning 10 Reflects Growing Value Of Alternative Routes To Market
Fresh produce surplus specialist Oddbox is marking its 10th anniversary, highlighting the importance of alternative routes to market for UK fruit and vegetable growers whose edible crops fail to meet retail specifications.
Over the past decade, Oddbox has rescued more than 67,000 tonnes of produce that could have been wasted thanks to its sourcing model, reports Grocery Gazette.
During that time, Oddbox has expanded from a small south London operation into a business that now reaches around 70% of the UK; delivering more than 11.5 million boxes to more than 574,000 households.
According to the company, over 140 varieties of fruits and vegetables have now been rescued by Oddbox, which works with approximately 110 growers in the UK and overseas.
The business sources directly from growers by taking crops that are surplus to requirements or do not fit traditional supermarket specifications because of their size, shape or appearance.
Oddbox’s 10-year milestone comes against a backdrop of increasingly unpredictable weather, which is creating additional challenges for growers and the wider grocery supply chain.
Between January and July 2026, the company said it has rescued 10% more produce due to greater crop rejections during the heatwaves.
In a single week during the summer heat, Oddbox said it rescued 6,000 heads of cauliflower affected by sunburn after the crop failed to meet conventional retailer specifications.
Freezing weather, flooding, and storms earlier this year also affected Oddbox suppliers when some of its cauliflower producers in Lincolnshire lost as much as 20% of their crops due to frost damage.
The situation illustrates the potential value of alternative routes to market for edible produce that falls outside supermarket specifications.
Indeed, Oddbox said its approach gives growers a flexible secondary market for such crops, while providing fair prices for produce that might otherwise remain in fields, be sent for animal feed, or sold for considerably less.
Expanding Beyond The Box
Co-founder and chief executive Emilie Vanpoperinghe, said the company’s development had exceeded original expectations while maintaining the community focus of its early years.
“There has always been a wonderful sense of serendipity to Oddbox,” Vanpoperinghe explained.
“We never set out with a grand plan to build a nationwide community. In the early days, we packed boxes in the church hall on our road in Balham, giving them fruit and veg in exchange, we donated produce to the local community fridge and met people who offered to help simply because they believed in what we were doing,” she continued.
“Ten years later, Oddbox has grown beyond anything we imagined, but that generous, resourceful community spirit is still at its heart.”
Founded in 2016 by Vanpoperinghe and Deepak Ravindran, the company was inspired by the discovery of a misshapen tomato in Portugal which demonstrated that appearance does not determine flavour.
The business, initially known as Tasty Misfits, started by supplying just 20 customers in Balham.
From those beginnings, it expanded throughout London and subsequently into other parts of the country.
Oddbox has broadened its proposition in recent years, having moved beyond its original subscription model.
The company introduced its Pick Your Own feature in October 2024, which gives customers the option to exchange items in their weekly boxes.
In 2025, Oddbox launched The Market, an online add-on which offers items such as loose refillables, jars, tins, and other rescued food alongside fruit and vegetable deliveries.
The company said this service prevented 260kg of plastic from being used during its first year.
Oddbox also distributes surplus through charities including FareShare, KIND, and City Harvest. During 2025, the business donated 146 tonnes of food to City Harvest for redistribution across London.
As Oddbox begins its second decade, the firm is continuing to develop its customer offering.
Earlier this month, it launched its first dedicated mobile app, which is designed to make managing boxes and orders more straightforward.
After 10 years in business, Oddbox said its journey has only just begun.
Comments