Many shoppers take a deep discount on misfit produce as a sign of poor quality, a researcher says
Stressed US shoppers still pass over discounted misfit food because they doubt its quality, a consumer researcher says. The author's studies point sellers of rescued and upcycled food toward quality labels ahead of price cuts or carbon claims.
The Scientist · Science desk
Too Good To Go's US users saved 8.1 million meals in the first seven months of 2025, up 67% on the year before. Upcycled Certified product sales grew 17% from 2024 to 2025, with over 600 products labelled. Misfits Market rescued 27 million pounds in 2025, up from 23 million in 2019.
- 8.1 million meals Too Good To Go US meals saved, first seven months of 2025, claim 11 a 67% jump from the year before
- 17% Upcycled Certified product sales growth, 2024 to 2025, claim 17 more than 600 products carry the label
- 27 million pounds Food rescued by Misfits Market in 2025, claim 12 up from 23 million in 2019
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Too Good To Go US meals saved, first seven months of 2025 | 8.1 million meals | a 67% jump from the year before | 11 |
| Upcycled Certified product sales growth, 2024 to 2025 | 17% | more than 600 products carry the label | 17 |
| Food rescued by Misfits Market in 2025 | 27 million pounds | up from 23 million in 2019 | 12 |
What happened
- Almost three-quarters of Americans say they are stressed about skyrocketing grocery bills, according to the essay.
- Labeling produce as 'ugly' reduces the bias against it, the essay reports, because the word signals that the only flaw is cosmetic.
- A separate study field-tested an in-store message, 'Different Outside. Same Inside', that successfully urged shoppers to overlook external appearance when judging people or food.
- In the author's studies of upcycled foods, buyers decided largely on whether they believed the product was as good as its conventional counterpart.
- More than 600 products from over 100 brands now carry the Upcycled Certified label, and sales of certified products grew 17% from 2024 to 2025.
Why it matters
- decision A seller weighing a deeper discount against a quality-first label has the author's results pointing to the label. We'd test the label at the current price before cutting price further.
- constraint Upcycled products sell at a premium, so they cannot discount past doubt [c15]. Their certification is an audit of the supply chain [c13], a claim about origin. The doubt in the author's studies is about equivalence.
- exposure Rescue brands pitch shoppers who want to save and cut their carbon footprint [c10], with Misfits Market's average discount at 35% [c9]. Those are the two motives the author ranks below quality.
The paradox in the essay is assembled from figures that were not measured on the same people. The stress figure is a share of Americans who say they feel it [1]. The waste figure covers consumers, retailers and producers together [3]. Some of the essay's examples, such as "best before" items pulled from shelves early [2], never reach a shopper's hands.
The core claim is a ranking. According to the author, who studies how consumers evaluate product value and quality, American shoppers care less about price or environmental impact than about quality [4]. The behavior described is specific: even when misfit produce is deeply discounted, many shoppers assume the low price reflects poor quality, then walk away or reach for produce they think looks better [5]. A ranking of three motives needs a design that varies price, appearance and the carbon message separately, and ideally measures price stress. The essay reports no sample sizes, effect sizes or comparison conditions for any study it cites, so the size of the price-cue effect, as against appearance, cannot be read from it.
The two label findings are the most actionable part of the essay. The "ugly" wording and the "Different Outside. Same Inside" message are both told as successes, and the in-store message comes from another study [8]. The author wrote that people "have to believe the food is good first" [6].
The essay says consumers appear to be responding [16]. Misfits Market rescued 27 million pounds in 2025 against 23 million in 2019 [12], a rise of about 17% over six years [18]. Too Good To Go's U.S. users saved 8.1 million meals in the first seven months of 2025, up 67% on the year before [11]. One is pounds across six years, the other meals across seven months. Both are volumes, so neither can show how many shoppers who once skipped misfit food now buy it.
In our view the quality-first half of the argument is the better supported, since the label results, as described, point the same way as the walk-away behavior. The ranking over price and carbon is the half to hold loosely until the underlying studies show their numbers.
What to watch
- Whether the author's studies, once their numbers are visible, show sample sizes and effect sizes for price against quality.
- A label test at constant price, cosmetic-flaw wording against a plain discount, would show how much of the gain is the wording.
- Whether certified upcycled brands add a quality-equivalence claim to the audit label, and what happens to the 17% sales growth when they do.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence50
- Adoption45
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence50
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Almost three-quarters of Americans say they are feeling stressed out about skyrocketing grocery bills.
- [2]
Americans keep discarding large quantities of safe-to-eat food, from crooked carrots to surplus yogurt to 'best before' items pulled from shelves early.
- [3]
The U.S. government estimates that 30% to 40% of all food, from consumers, retailers and producers, is thrown out.
- [4]
The author, who studies how consumers evaluate product value and quality, says the research suggests American shoppers are much less fixated on prices or environmental impact than on quality.
- [5]
Even when perfectly good misfit produce is deeply discounted, many shoppers assume the low price reflects poor quality and either walk away or reach for a fruit or vegetable they think looks better.
- [6]
The author wrote that a discount or promise of lower carbon emissions is not enough by itself, and that people "have to believe the food is good first."
- [7]
Shoppers who believe appearance is important tend to judge misshapen produce as lower quality, but labeling these offerings as 'ugly' reduces that bias because it signals that the only flaw is cosmetic.
- [8]
Another study found that in-store messages that raise shoppers' self-esteem can make a difference: in field tests, a 'Different Outside. Same Inside' message successfully urged people to overlook external appearance when making judgments, whether about people or food.
- [9]
Misfits Market has rescued more than 265 million pounds of food since 2018 and sells it at an average discount of 35%.
- [10]
'Ugly produce' delivery companies such as Hungry Harvest and Misfits Market rescue and resell food to shoppers who want to save and reduce their carbon footprint.
- [11]
Too Good To Go users in the U.S. saved 8.1 million meals in the first seven months of 2025, a 67% jump from the year before.
- [12]
Misfits Market rescued 27 million pounds of food in 2025, up from 23 million in 2019, its first full year of operation.
- [13]
Companies that want to market upcycled goods can get third-party certification through Upcycled Certified if they pass an audit of their supply chain.
- [14]
In research on consumers' acceptance of upcycled foods, the author and co-authors found that purchase decisions were based largely on whether consumers believed the product was as good as its conventional counterpart.
- [15]
Upcycled products tend to be pricier, so they cannot compete through discounting and usually sell at a premium.
- [16]
Consumers appear to be responding to the market for rescued and misfit food.
- [17]
More than 600 products from over 100 brands now carry the Upcycled Certified label, and sales of certified products grew 17% from 2024 to 2025.
- [18]
Misfits Market's rescued volume rose about 17% between 2019 and 2025.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- phys.orgAmericans are stressed about grocery prices, so why do they toss or overlook so much 'misfit' food?
1 article · October 13, 2026
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Topics
- Consumer behaviorFollow
- Grocery RetailFollow
- Food wasteFollow