Wonky veg box startup smashes crowdfunding target with £520k investment

Wonky fruit and veg box scheme Oddbox has smashed the target in its six-figure crowdfunding campaign.

The London-based startup aimed to raise £350k on funding platform Seedrs but ended up pulling in £520k from investors.

Oddbox offers weekly packages filled with wonky and surplus fruit and veg that would otherwise have been wasted.

Founded in 2016, the company currently delivers to more than 1,600 homes across South London and 85 offices in the centre of the capital.

But demand is booming, with more than 3,000 people signed on to a waiting list for a subscription.

Oddbox will use the funding to upgrade its tech platform, develop its brand, optimise operations and grow its team’s expertise as it looks to reach 12,500 customers by 2019.

Work is already underway on the expansion; from August, the service will roll out to 15 new postcodes in West and East London.

Oddbox co-founder Emilie Vanpoperinghe said: “We are incredibly humbled to have exceeded our investment target in such a short space of time.

“The support we have had from customers and investors has been phenomenal and we can’t thank them enough. We believe wholeheartedly in our wonky fruit and veg scheme and we’re looking forward to bringing it to more people.”

She continued: “We won’t stop there though, our mission is to fundamentally shift food standards and eventually, normalise wonky produce and we need everyone to get involved. Come and join the wonky veg revolution with us!”

Investment bank ClearlySo supported the fundraise by helping Oddbox with pitch preparation and due diligence, and introducing the firm to high-net-worth investors.

Hayley Collen, investment director at ClearlySo, commented: “It was a pleasure working with the Oddbox team to help them raise funding to expand their operations and tackle the vast food waste challenge.”