Funky Food Review: Is Australia's Ugly Produce Box Worth It?

A little "ding" on my phone this morning — my Funky Food box had arrived.

There's something strangely satisfying about opening a box of groceries you ordered yourself, and still feeling that little flutter of "ooh, what's in there" when you actually open it.

Even though I already know roughly what's coming, unpacking it still feels like unwrapping a small present.

So What Exactly Is Funky Food?

If you haven't heard of it yet, Funky Food is an Australian grocery subscription startup with a genuinely good mission: rescuing fruit and veg that taste and are nutritionally just as good as anything on a supermarket shelf, but got rejected for being the "wrong" shape or size.

Here's the stat that stopped me in my tracks — around 30% of all produce grown in Australia never even makes it to harvest, simply because it doesn't look "pretty" enough. A wonky carrot, an oversized zucchini, a slightly lopsided apple — perfectly good food, thrown out before it even reaches a shop.

Funky Food partners directly with local Australian farms and buys up this "rejected" or surplus produce, cutting out a chunk of the usual supply chain markup along the way.

The result is fresher food at a friendlier price, and farmers actually get paid for produce that would otherwise go to waste. It's one of those rare setups where everybody wins.

My Funky Food box

Why I Actually Like It More Than the Supermarket

It's noticeably cheaper. On average you're looking at 30% or more off standard supermarket prices — enough that it's made a real dent in my weekly grocery bill. It's gotten enough attention that Australian outlets like 9 News and A Current Affair have covered it as one of the bigger cost-of-living relief stories going around.

It's actually fresher, not less fresh. One can easily think "surely 'ugly' means it's been sitting around longer?" — but it's the opposite. Because it skips the big supermarket distribution warehouses and goes straight from Aussie farms to your door, the produce arrives crunchier and juicier than what I've been getting at my local grocer.

You can customise almost everything, allergies included. This is the part that really won me over. You've basically got two options:

• Variety Box — Funky Food puts together a seasonal mix for you, but you can permanently exclude up to four items you don't want (handy if you've got allergies or just really hate beetroot).

• Custom Box — you pick every single item yourself, as long as you hit the $40 minimum spend.

It's more than just fruit and veg. They also carry Australian grass-fed beef packs, bread, milk, eggs, nuts, and granola — so you can genuinely knock out most of a grocery run in one order. The only thing they skip is fish and seafood, presumably to keep freshness guaranteed.

Box Sizes and Delivery Areas

If you're just starting out, the easiest way to pick a size is by household headcount:

Box Size	Best For	Starting Price
XSmall	Solo living, working holidaymakers, students	~$30
Small	Couples, 1–2 person households	$38.00
Medium	Small families, 2–3 people	~$50
Big	Larger families, share houses (4+)	~$80–100

Spend over a certain amount and delivery is free.

I added eggs and walnuts to my Funky Food order this time

As for coverage, Funky Food currently delivers across:

• Southeast Queensland (Brisbane, Gold Coast, etc.)

• New South Wales (Sydney and surrounds)

• Victoria (Melbourne and surrounds)

• ACT (Canberra)

If you're not home when it arrives, no stress — the box is insulated with foil liners and ice packs that keep everything cold for up to 12 hours, so it's safe sitting on your doorstep.

Once you're done, just leave the empty box and cooler packs out for your next delivery and they'll collect and recycle them. Nice little closed loop.

How I'd Recommend Ordering It

If you're thinking of giving it a go, here's roughly how I'd approach it:

1. Head to funkyfood.com.au and check your postcode to make sure your suburb is covered.

2. Grab the first-order discount — pop your email in on the homepage and you'll usually get 20% off your first box. Don't skip this one.

3. Pick your box type — Variety if you don't mind a bit of surprise, Custom if you already know exactly what you want.

4. Choose your delivery frequency — weekly or fortnightly, whatever suits your household.

There's no lock-in contract or cancellation fee, so if the first box isn't for you, you can pause or cancel any time. Pretty low-risk way to try it out.

My Honest Take

Cheaper groceries, less food waste, support for local Aussie farmers, and fresher produce showing up at my door — it's hard to find much to complain about. I've genuinely been happy with mine, and figured this might be useful for anyone else in Australia looking to trim their grocery bill without compromising on quality.

Hope this helps someone out there.

Thanks for reading!