Discount grocery delivery service Misfits Market gets boost from food inflation

With the price of groceries up 12.2% compared to a year ago, consumers are looking to cut costs where they can.

Enter Misfits Markets, a direct-to-consumer online grocer that helps customers save 30% to 50% compared to a grocery store through its "food value supply chain."

"Value is a really, really critical value proposition that consumers are looking for," Abhi Ramesh, founder and CEO of Misfits Market, told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). "Every household cares tremendously about saving money on groceries."

Misfits Market works directly with farmers, distributors and producers directly to eliminate "the middleman in the process." The model also uses its own fulfillment centers and inbound logistics as part of its mission to eliminate food waste and expand food access.

"We've been able to eliminate a ton of the costs — the logistics cost, that sort of build-up along the way in the food supply chain — and we're able to pass on those savings to the consumer," Ramesh explained. "Inflation is impacting every single part of the food supply chain, but because we control so much of ours, we're able to still keep prices very competitive."

According to Ramesh, customers are placing larger orders on the platform as inflation ticks up.

"Basket sizes have generally gotten a lot larger over the past couple of years and people are ordering significantly more," he said.

In the first quarter of 2022, customers added 22% more products to their boxes than the year prior. Items that have been added to orders the most lately include staples like milk, eggs, meat, seafood, and produce.

Prices for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs are up nearly 11.7% year over year, whereas the cost of seafood is up 11%, according to June's CPI report.

"We're definitely seeing a big jump in those items," Ramesh said. "I think especially because those are where we generally have the better deals and customers are really price conscious in today's day and age."

Founded in 2018, Misfits Market has raised over $526.5 million dollars in venture backing to date, bringing the company's valuation to $2 billion.

Brooke DiPalma is a producer and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

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