Ugly produce refers to aesthetically imperfect fruits and vegetables and also fruits and vegetables with minor blemishes. Ugly produce does not refer to spoilt, rotten, or germ-infected fruits and vegetables. The basic premise of this study is from self-signaling and self-perception theories. The self-signaling theory states that when people make a choice, they disclose something of their character and personality not just to others, but also to themselves. Self-perception theory (SPT) developed by psychologist Daryl Bem asserts that people develop their attitudes by observing their own behavior and further concluding what attitudes must have caused it. Classically, consumers undervalue ugly produce because of altered self-perceptions; simply visualizing the consumption of imperfect produce acts as a self-indicative signal that negatively affects how consumers view themselves. Due to this, the unattractive produce, even though perfectly edible and with the same taste and nutritional value, is rejected by consumers merely based on shape or some other cosmetic blemish. We discussed the strategies adopted by Indian startups and organizations to reduce food waste. Deep discounting is the strategy followed by food retailers worldwide to sell ugly produce, however, this is not the best strategy as it leads to losses for both the retailers as well as the farmers. We suggested alternative strategies successfully followed by foreign retailers, such as spreading awareness, boosting self-confidence and esteem among consumers, attracting kids, etc., which can be followed by Indian food retailers for selling ugly fruits and vegetables.

1. Aschemann-Witzel, J., De Hooge, I., Amani, P., Bech-Larsen, T., & Oostindjer, M. (2015). Consumer-related food waste: Causes and potential for action. Sustainability, 7(6), 6457–6477. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7066457
2. Aubrey, A. (2015, June 17). To tackle food waste, big grocery chain will sell produce rejects. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/06/17/414986650/to-tackle-food-waste-big-grocery-chain-will-sell-produce-rejects
3. Aubrey, A. (2016, March 7). From ugly to hip: Misfit fruits and veggies coming to whole foods. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/07/469530045/from-ugly-to-hip-misfit-fruits-and-veggies-coming-to-whole-foods
4. Bem, D. J. (1972). Self-perception theory. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 6, 1–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60024-6
5. Berkenkamp, J., & Nennich, T. (2015). Beyond beauty: The opportunities and challenges of cosmetically imperfect produce. Report 1: Survey results from Minnesota produce growers. https://misadocuments.info/Beyond_Beauty_Grower_Survey_Results_052615.pdf
6. Bodner, R., & Prelec, D. (2003). Self-signaling and diagnostic utility in everyday decision making. The Psychology of Economic Decisions, 1(105), 26.
7. Buzby, J. C., Farah-Wells, H., & Hyman, J. (2014). The estimated amount, value, and calories of postharvest food losses at the retail and consumer levels in the United States. United States Department of Agriculture - Economic Information Bulletin Number 121. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/43833/43680_eib121.pdf?v=1923.5
8. Das, M. (2015). Consumer demographics and environmental responsibility: An empirical investigation of the consumers of Tripura. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 8(5), 43–55. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2015/v8i5/68777
9. De Hooge, I. E., Oostindjer, M., Aschemann-Witzel, J., Normann, A., Loose, S. M., & Almli, V. L. (2017). This apple is too ugly for me! : Consumer preferences for suboptimal food products in the supermarket and at home. Food Quality and Preference, 56, 80–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2016.09.012
10. Dou, Z., Ferguson, J. D., Galligan, D. T., Kelly, A. M., Finn, S. M., & Giegengack, R. (2016). Assessing U.S. food wastage and opportunities for reduction. Global Food Security, 8, 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2016.02.001
11. Dutton, D. (2009). The art instinct: Beauty, pleasure, & human evolution. Oxford University Press.
12. Fagan, L. (2019, November 18). Want to reduce food waste? Turns out kids love 'ugly food'. Sustainability Times. https://www.sustainability-times.com/green-consumerism/want-to-reduce-food-waste-turns-out-kids-love-ugly-food/
13. Fernandes, S. (2016, February 21). Finding the beauty in ugly food. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/finding-the-beauty-in-ugly-food/articleshow/51072059.cms
14. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2011). Global food losses and food waste: Extent, causes and prevention. FAO.
15. Food Marketing Institute. (2016). Consumer expenditures study (CES), supermarket sales by department. https://tinyurl.com/ydha4hyl
16. Freedman, J. L., & Fraser, S. C. (1966). Compliance without pressure: The foot-in-the-door technique. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(2), 195–202. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/h0023552
17. Gao, L., Wheeler, S. C., & Shiv, B. (2009). The “shaken self”: Product choices as a means of restoring self-view confidence. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(1), 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1086/596028
18. Göbel, C., Langen, N., Blumenthal, A., Teitscheid, P., & Ritter, G. (2015). Cutting food waste through cooperation along the food supply chain. Sustainability, 7(2), 1429–1445. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7021429
19. Godoy, M. (2015). In Europe, ugly sells in the produce aisle. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/09/369613561/in-europe-ugly-sells-in-the-produce-aisle
20. Grewal, L., Hmurovic, J., Lamberton, C., & Reczek, R. W. (2019). The self-perception connection: Why consumers devalue unattractive produce. Journal of Marketing, 83(1), 89–107. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022242918816319
21. Griffin, A. M., & Langlois, J. H. (2006). Stereotype directionality and attractiveness stereotyping: Is beauty good or is ugly bad? Social Cognition, 24(2), 187 – 206.
22. Griskevicius, V., & Kenrick, D. T. (2013). Fundamental motives: How evolutionary needs influence consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 23(3),372–386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2013.03.003
23. Gunders, D. (2017). Wasted: How America is losing up to 40 percent of its food from farm to fork to landfill (NDRC Issue Paper). Natural Resources Defense Council. https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf
24. Jessica. (2021, May 17). Best ugly produce delivery service: Misfits market vs imperfect foods. The Fioneers. https://thefioneers.com/ugly-produce/
25. Langlois, J. H., Kalakanis, L., Rubenstein, A. J., Larson, A., Hallam, M., & Smoot, M. (2000). Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 126(3), 390 – 423.
26. Liu, Y., Li, K. J., Chen, H., & Balachander, S. (2017). The effects of products' aesthetic design on demand and marketing-mix effectiveness: The role of segment prototypicality and brand consistency. Journal of Marketing, 81(1), 83–102. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0315
27. Loebnitz, N., & Grunert, K. G. (2018). The impact of abnormally shaped vegetables on consumers' risk perception. Food Quality and Preference, 63, 80–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.08.004
28. Loebnitz, N., Schuitema, G., & Grunert, K. G. (2015). Who buys oddly shaped food and why? Impacts of food shape abnormality and organic labeling on purchase intentions. Psychology & Marketing, 32(4), 408–421. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20788
29. Nandi, R., Bokelmann, W., Gowdru, N. V., & Dias, G. (2014). Consumer preferences and influencing factors for purchase places of organic food products: Empirical evidence from South India. Indian Journal of Marketing, 44(5), 5–17. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2014/v44/i5/80374
30. Ramakrishnan, M. (2020, September 23). Cutting down food loss and food waste: 3 retail stories. AgFunderNews. https://agfundernews.com/cutting-down-food-loss-and-food-waste-3-retail-stories.html
31. Richmond, R. (2017, February 2). An Indian startup takes 'Ugly' farm food to market. The Story Exchange. https://thestoryexchange.org/indian-startup-takes-ugly-farm-food-market/
32. Rucker, D. D., & Galinsky, A. D. (2008). Desire to acquire: Powerlessness and compensatory consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(2), 257–267. https://doi.org/10.1086/588569
33. Saleem, M. A., Wasaya, A., & Zahra, S. (2017). Determinants of frozen food purchase intentions: Insights from a developing country. Indian Journal of Marketing, 47(7), 47–59. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2017/v47/i7/116476
34. Siddiqui, A., & Siddiqui, M. (2021). Buy my trust, before I buy your food – consumers' insights for online food delivery platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indian Journal of Marketing, 51(12), 26–40. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2021/v51/i12/167218
35. Sivathanu, B. (2017). Food marketing and its impact on adolescents' food choices. Indian Journal of Marketing, 47(8), 46–60. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2017/v47/i8/117432
36. Smithers, R. (2016, February 5). Asada puts UK's first supermarket wonky veg box on sale. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/05/asda-puts-uks-first-supermarket-wonky-veg-box-on sale#:~:text=The%20UK's%20first%20supermarket%20'wonky,week%20for%20just%20%C2%A33.50
37. Sprig & Vine. (2017, June 5). Looks don't matter - Ugly produce is beautiful too. http://sprigandvine.in/looks-dont-matter/
38. Townsend, C., & Shu, S. B. (2010). When and how aesthetics influences financial decisions. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(4), 452–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2010.06.013
39. UN Environment Programme. (2021, March 04). UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021
40. Wu, F., Samper, A., Morales, A. C., & Fitzsimons, G. J. (2017). It's too pretty to use! When and how enhanced product aesthetics discourage usage and lower consumption enjoyment. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(3), 651– 672. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx057
41. Zamon, R. (2015, March 13). No frills naturally imperfect produce makes the most of every veggie. The Huffington Post. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/no-frills-naturally-imperfect_n_6863452
42. Zellner, D. A., Loss, C. R., Zearfoss, J., & Remolina, S. (2014). It tastes as good as it looks! The effect of food presentation on liking for the flavor of food. Appetite, 77, 31–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.02.009