Misfits Market has announced plans to acquire fellow online grocer Imperfect Foods, both of which aim to tackle the problem of food waste by salvaging aesthetically flawed yet edible produce that would otherwise be discarded.
“We have a tremendous opportunity to advance the shared mission of both brands, which is nothing less than a fundamental re-imagining of both the grocery category and the broken U.S. food system,” said Abhi Ramesh, CEO and Founder of Misfits Market in a statement. “The strengths of the Imperfect Foods organization, from its in-house delivery fleet and robust private label program to its sustainability commitments and innovation, add immediate scale and depth to what we’re building at Misfits Market.”
The combined business will be on track to cross $1 billion in sales and reach profitability by early 2024, according to Misfits’ estimates. The two brands will continue separate operations in the short term, with Ramesh serving as CEO of the combined company and a number of executives from Imperfect Foods joining the Misfits Market leadership team.
“Scale matters in grocery, and this combination makes us a truly meaningful disruptor in the space,” said Imperfect Foods CEO Dan Park in a statement. “Both organizations have made significant progress as individual brands — together we have already rescued nearly 500 million pounds of food that may otherwise have gone to waste, and driven innovation in a category propped up by antiquated technology and thinking. The combined experience and expertise of this newly merged team will exponentially increase our ability to take on established players in the traditional grocery space.”
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