From The Roots: A Decade of Odd
On a balmy Tuesday night in early September, we celebrated ten years of Oddbox. Right where it all began, back in Balham, with over 250 customers, partners, growers, creators and staff.
Back in the early days, some of Oddbox’s first meetings took place at The Regent, so it felt fitting to bring our community there to celebrate just how far we’ve come over the last decade. Not to mention, our founders used to drive right by the pub when they were delivering to their first twenty customers, straight from the boot of their car.
Making the most of what's already there
The night was a real show of ‘making the most of what’s already there’. This included wonky fruit and veg bunting, hand-cut by our marketing team and hung around the venue. Gav, our head of sourcing, hosted a chat with two of our partners: Henry from Burgess Farms and Justine from Caravan Coffee, to give us a peek behind the curtain of how Oddbox works with our suppliers. Pete from your weekly Box Letters hosted the raffle, with prizes donated by many wonderful brands. Marcus, our Senior Brand Manager, hosted the entertainment: Family Fortunes but for Odd People. This involved asking the crowd “What fruit could you fit the most of in your mouth?”, which isn’t something we ever thought we’d ask our customers.
The food was also a real highlight. There was dinner for all — sweet potato pakoras, melon and feta skewers, brown butter-drizzled cabbage and garlicky, herby potatoes to name but a few choices. All made from rescued fruit and vegetables, of course. Birthday cake followed, topped with beautiful fruit and flowers. Happy birthday to us.
But the point of the evening was really to raise money and awareness for our wonderful charity partner Felix. The charity rescues good-to-eat surplus food that would otherwise go to waste, from across the food industry. That food is repurposed and shared to support more than 8,000 community organisations across the UK, reaching over 1.5 million people. Not only did we donate the equivalent of 10,000 meals, we also raised £1106 on the night and sold out every raffle ticket, which will all go towards Felix helping even more people in need.
Those small moments add up...
Our founders, Emilie and Deepak, gave a speech on the night to all the guests. When they spoke of the milestones, they touched on the big moments but really celebrated all the small moments that led us here today.
The one wonky tomato from a market in Portugal.
Packing boxes by candlelight when there was a power cut.
Delivering to the first 20 customers out of the boot of our car.
A grower calling the first time they had butterfly kiwis they couldn’t sell.
A customer writing in about how they now loved fennel after discovering one in their box.
None of those things sounds particularly grand on their own. But added together, week after week, month after month and year after year, those small actions have created something incredibly powerful. A brand that people genuinely love and trust. Which we got to see in all its glory at the party.
Thank you to you all
Thank you so much to everyone who came to celebrate with us — to reflect on how far we’ve come and what lies ahead. It was so great to see so many faces: customers from up and down the country, growers who we’ve worked with for 1 year or 10 years, advisors and investors who have supported us through the great times and also the trickier times.
Equally, for those of you who couldn’t be there, we are eternally grateful for all your support: ordering your boxes each week, spreading the word and helping us rescue delicious food. We couldn’t do it without you.
