le Foods founder Pat Brown influence you to set up this business?  Richard Tourino: It was when Pat said he had left a career as an academic and then looked around to determine what it was he could do next to have the biggest positive impact on the planet. I had just left GoGet after more than a decade where I helped build the brand into the leading carshare organisation in Australia. Around the same time, I came across the statistic that 25 per cent of produce does not even leave the farm because of supermarkets’ beauty standards. It became very clear what I should be doing next. Good & Fugly was born.  How do you convince consumers that odd looking fresh produce is still good to cook?  RT: It does not take too much convincing. People are blown away when they find out that so much food, and the resources that go into growing it, is just wasted. And so they will buy their first box because they want to do something to help the planet. They tell us they keep buying because the fruit and veg is so much fresher and tastes better than what they are used to. How much ugly fruit and vegetables contribute to food waste?  RT: Up to 25 per cent never leaves the farm. It either gets thrown into landfill or plowed back into fields. Now the latter does not seem too bad, right? But the problem is all the fuel and water that [are] wasted growing it in the first place and throwing it into landfill means it produces methane as it decomposes, which is over 80 times worse for the climate than carbon dioxide.  Where do you source the products?  RT: Right now, direct from local growers, but we are building multiple distribution channels nationally for growers so that they can get paid more [for] their time and effort. We buy the fugly produce that the big guys refuse to take and sell it at a more affordable price to consumers. And so for any growers out there who want to get involved, they can get in touch by visiting our website. What are your programs as a sustainable company?  RT: What I love about our business model, which is similar to GoGet, is that the more the business grows the bigger the positive impact it has, so in a way the business model itself is our biggest sustainability program. Besides that we make sure that our packaging is as eco-friendly as possible – there is no point trying to reduce food waste if we then replace it with plastic waste. We also remove and recycle any packaging we get from farmers so we do not place the burden onto our customers. And we donate any excess produce so that it does not go to landfill and helps feed people in need. How did you start working with clinical nutritionist Callie Ford?  RT: Cailie was a champion of what we were doing right from the start. We had some conversations and it became clear that what she believes about how people change, become healthier and ultimately eat and live well deeply aligns with what we believe. Cailie brings the education piece to cooking best with our Fuglies. What is in store for Good & Fugly? RT: First and foremost, using our growing business footprint to get the message out there that there has to be a better way to consume food. Next is growing our network of growers so we can meet the rapid demand that we are experiencing. Finally, continuously doubling down on customer experience. Learning what our customers like, what they do not like and incorporating that into every box and every delivery.