Investors have demonstrated a healthy appetite for Sydney social enterprise Good & Fugly, which has raised $528,628 from 652 backers in a crowdfunding campaign.
The business was seeking up to $1.5 million at $1.59 a share at a pre-raise valuation of $13.52 million.
Good & Fugly offers standalone and subscription boxes of “ugly” fruit and vegetables. It’s a form of food rescue that tackles the problem for farmers of 25% of the fresh fruit and vegetables they’ve grown never leaving the farm because they don’t meet the aesthetic standards of supermarkets.
Investors who chipped in more than $250 in the Birchal campaign also received a free box of Good & Fugly produce.
The business recently launched the 13-000-FUGLY produce ‘rescue’ hotline for farmers for the Good & Fugly team to purchase surplus fruits and vegetables.
Founder Richard Tourino said his startup is an economically and environmentally sustainable social enterprise that helps farmers get ahead.
“What we do is better for the consumer, better for the growers and better for the planet,” he said.
“The feedback from farmers has been really positive. They’re telling us we’re giving them an option that didn’t exist before.”
Two years after launching the Good & Fugly, Tourino said he plans use the new capital to expand to Melbourne and grow across the country as well as for education around the issue of food waste and the movement to rescue “fuglies”.
“We were blown away by the community response and were heartened to see that so many people support our mission to fight food waste,” he said.
“We had over 2351 total campaign followers, close to 2,000 EOIs, and 652 investors. Their support will super-charge our next stage of growth in the fight to give ugly fruits and veg their rightful place as we expand across the country.
“We will also be turning to this community for the feedback, ideas and the energy that we need to really make a difference and spread the word.”
More at goodandfugly.com.au
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