Ugly innovation

A handful of brands at Expo East are tackling food waste by innovating with less-than-perfect produce. That’s the mission of Misfit Juicery, whose mantra is, “When life gives you lemons, you don’t ask for prettier lemons. You make juice.” All of its cold-pressed juices contain at least 70% fruits or vegetables farmers can’t sell or leftover scraps from manufacturers of products such as carrot sticks or watermelon cubes.

 

“It has been amazing to me how the conversation around reducing food waste and incorporating ingredients that would have been waste into new packaged products, how that conversation has taken off in the past year,” Ms. Mast said. “This time last year it was just emerging, but now you see the many companies that are trying to incorporate byproducts into finished products.”

From One Potato Snacks comes a brand called Uglies Kettle Chips, made from surplus and rejected potatoes with minor imperfections. Twenty-six per cent of produce is rejected for cosmetic reasons, according to the company.