Misfits Market’s New Private Label Aims to Solve Supply Chain Inefficiencies

At a time when store brands are outperforming national brands—posting a 6.5% gain in dollar sales for first-quarter 2022, per data from Chicago-based IRI—online grocer Misfits Market has launched its first private label: Odds & Ends.

The private-label portfolio currently includes pantry staples such as coffee and snacks such as nuts, dried fruit and dark chocolate-covered mini pretzels. And while Misfits said the line helps customers stock up on high-quality, affordable groceries for their weekly shop, the grocer also said its Odds & Ends products have been specifically designed to address supply chain inefficiencies.

Misfits, which touts offering groceries at up to 40% off traditional store prices with no service or membership fees for delivery, works directly with farmers and producers who share its vision of eliminating waste and using different sourcing methods to offer high-quality products at value. For example, its new direct trade premium coffee blend is purchased directly from the farms where it was grown, providing growers with fair prices and stable incomes while protecting them from market risk and volatility, Misfits said.

“Three years ago, Misfits Market set out to rebuild the food supply chain from scratch in order to provide everyone, regardless of where they live, access to quality food at an affordable price,” Abhi Ramesh, founder and CEO of Misfits Market, said in a release. “After a record-breaking quarter, it’s clear that shoppers are looking for new ways to save, especially with food prices at all-time highs. Our value-conscious customers are saving an average of $25 per order and with the launch of our new private-label line, we’re excited to provide our customers with an even wider variety of affordable and sustainably sourced pantry staples.”

Since its founding in 2018, Misfits has fulfilled nearly 13 million orders and rescued more than 230 million pounds of food, it said. In the first quarter, the company’s growth was fueled by an expansion to all of the lower 48 states, new product categories such as wine and the release of a mobile app.