Grocery subscription service Farmers Pick expands into Queensland

Two mates who started a grocery subscription service that rescues ‘imperfect’ fruit and vegetables left on farms are ramping up their expansion.

A start-up that delivers tasty but “imperfect” fruit and vegetable boxes is expanding into Queensland with the aim to win over a slice of the 1.5 million households in the state’s southeast.

Melbourne-based sustainable grocery subscription service Farmers Pick has secured a Queensland base at Morningside, in Brisbane’s eastern suburbs, which will enable it to service an area from the Gold Coast to Bundaberg.

Started in 2020 by Josh Ball and Josh Brooks-Duncan, the company has so for delivered to more than 30,000 households – many who are regulars – in the NSW, ACT and Victoria.

“Since we’ve started we've rescued more than 1,500,000 kilograms of produce because they don’t meet the aesthetic standards set by the major chains and buyers,” Mr Ball said.

“They’re considered not big enough or too big, blemished, too bendy and not quite perfect looking.”

A Farmers Pick vegetable box.

Good friends, Mr Ball and Mr Brooks-Duncan stumbled on the idea for their business at a farmer’s market in 2020 during the covid pandemic.

Mr Ball said there were fruit and vegetables there that did not fit the supermarket but were a lot tastier.

“We thought what’s happening here?” he said.

Mr Ball said after researching they discovered that 7.6 million tonnes of food was wasted in Australia annually and an “astronomical” 1.7 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables – or 30 per cent of the crop – were left on the farm.

Since Farmers Pick was launched it has grown rapidly and in 2021-22 notched up $2.7m in revenue and in the 2023 financial year $7.8m.

Mr Ball said their expansion into Queensland was a milestone for the business whose prices were 30 per cent cheaper than the supermarkets and the first deliveries will start on August 25.

Fruit and vegetable boxes start at $36 for a solo box, which features 6kg of fresh, perfectly imperfect produce across 16 to 20 varieties.

Alongside fruit and vegetable boxes, buyers will also be able to access The Farmers Pick Pantry offering which features preserves, alternative milks and preserves like peanut butter.

The company currently has about 45 employees and in Queensland will initially have five staff.

Some of Farmer Pick's imperfect fruit and vegetables.

Mr Ball and Mr Brooks-Duncan are co-owner Farmers Pick and they aim to raise $1.2m in capital through crowdsourced funding, via the equitise platform, that will support Queensland and NSW expansion.

Mr Brooks-Duncan said as grocery prices are increasing throughout Queensland, Farmers Pick’s expansion into the state was a big win for consumers.

“If a fruit or vegetable has a small mark or is ‘non-standard’ in shape or size, they are rejected by major supermarkets,” he said.

“Excessive food wastage means that farmers are less profitable and the cost of fresh produce skyrockets for households.

“By working with farmers to save fruit and vegetables that would be otherwise wasted, Farmers Pick helps save consumers up to 30 per cent on their grocery shop each week – a much-appreciated saving at a time when food prices are soaring.”