Company: The Ugly Company

Website: www.theugly.company/

Introduced: August 2020

Distribution: National

Suggested Retail Price: $3.60-$5.99

Product Snapshot: The Ugly Co. is a new company that is utilizing the incredible power of upcycling by taking fruit that would have otherwise been thrown out and transforming it into little dried treasures. Thousands of truckloads of Ugly fruit are thrown out in California every year. Consumers throw away more peaches in California than the state of Georgia produces annually. This food is perfectly healthy to eat, but it looks a little quirky! Some call it ugly, but The Ugly Co. calls it a beautiful opportunity.

Take part in the Ugly revolution by simply enjoying their dried fruit. Take your pick from naturally sweet and chewy peaches, white nectarines, apricots and/or kiwis.

“Over the years, my family and I have farmed everything from stone-fruit, wine grapes, raisins, almonds and olives. We farm both conventionally and organically. I’ve witnessed hundreds of thousands of tons of perfectly edible fruit thrown out at, and around our farm, over the years. Growing up, I always thought fruit getting thrown out because it’s ugly was normal. I’ve backpacked and traveled across quite a bit of the world, and I came to realize the amount of produce we throw out, in the United States, for aesthetic reasons, is 100 percent not normal. So, this is my Ugly solution," said Ben Moore, founder of The Ugly Co.

Every package of The Ugly Co.’s dried fruit prevents at least two pounds of perfectly ugly fruit from becoming waste. Plus, it is 100 percent all-natural with no GMOs, preservatives, or added sugar, and the upcycling helps local California farmers add value back to their farms.