Startup of the Month: I'm Perfect Food

DESIREE TADOADA, FOUNDER OF I'M PERFECT FOOD, PERU

I’m Perfect Food is an online shop that sells food that might otherwise go to waste. It can be anything from imperfect fruit considered too unattractive to be sold in the supermarket, to a squashed cereal box or a bottle of Martini with an upside-down label. We also sell products that are close to their best before date, but are still perfectly fine to consume.

Shoppers save money by buying things in our store. At the same time, they help limit food waste and reduce the impact of food production on the environment. We reclaim products from various suppliers and we’re adding more all the time. Currently, we deliver to selected locations in Castelldefels and Barcelona, but we hope to extend our services to the rest of Spain and Europe.

I’m Perfect Food’s ultimate mission is to reduce food waste by raising awareness. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, roughly one third of all food produced gets lost or wasted. The online shop is our main platform, but we’re also planning on bringing attention to the problem through original content such as videos, interviews and educational talks. There are so many things we can do to decrease food waste, and the more people are aware of the issue, the better will be able to tackle it.

I became aware of the issue when I was working with companies manufacturing consumer products in Peru. During my 10 years of providing marketing services to the industry, I witnessed many companies struggling with food waste on a large scale. More often than not, the willingness to tackle the issue was there, but the companies lacked the logistical means to do so.

After taking a sabbatical year in Barcelona, I decided to launch I’m perfect Food. I had to decide whether to return home and work for a large company, like I had in the past, or start something on my own. I decided that it was time to take the risk and that’s how we started. During my studies at EADE, I met my business partner, Natalia Escolá, and when I told her about the project she immediately said, “Let’s do it!” So we started in December last year and launched the beta version of the app in March.

We’re working on a plan to connect all organizations related to the issue. The idea is to help streamline the process of recovering food products and make it easier for shelters and organizations to pick up products from supermarkets and suppliers. The food banks try their best to recover products but sometimes they just don’t have the resources to do so. A robust network would make it easier to rationalize the process and access products.

We also want to help companies improve their waste management. We often hear that supermarkets and producers don’t have the logistical framework to coordinate regular donations and that their only other option is to destroy the products. We really want to work with these companies in order to avoid the destruction of consumable food, and we’ve already presented a couple of proposals. 

Learn more about I"m Perfect Food at iamperfectfood.com.