What started as an idea between two friends who set out to rescue the imperfect fruit and vegetables that one of them produced has become a company with 6,000 subscribers throughout Spain and sales of 2.8 million euros last year. The fruit and vegetable rescuers are Oriol Aldomà and Marc Ibòs.
Aldomà, who had just returned from studying a master's degree in business and marketing in Australia, enjoyed eating the fruit that the Ibòs family could not sell or at most used for the production of juices as it did not meet the aesthetic criteria of large stores. A perfectly edible fruit that producers had to throw away or undersell, at best. In 2019, the friends set out to put an end to such food waste and found Imperfectus (now TalKual), an online store for the direct home marketing of aesthetically imperfect fruit and vegetables, but in perfect condition to eat.
TalKual celebrates its fifth anniversary with a basket of about 20 weekly products, from more than 200 producers from all over the country. “Sometimes it is the producers themselves who contact us to sell their imperfect fruit or vegetables,” says Aldomà. They centralize all operations in Bellpuig (Urgell), where the company has its headquarters and from where they deliver throughout Spain, both to individuals and companies.
The company employs 24 people and has managed to double its turnover every year. In 2024, the co-founders also plan to almost double the turnover, up to 5.4 million euros. They aim to be “one of the main suppliers of fruit and vegetables to Spanish homes”, in the words of Aldomà. With this goal in mind, they plan to continue adding imperfect products to their basket. Once they have conquered the national market, the entrepreneurs have set themselves the goal of making their way into other European countries. To do this, they have the help of the first edition of the ¡Que Viven los Pueblos! acceleration program, promoted by Yoigo.
TalKual markets seasonal and local products, which come in a recycled and recyclable cardboard box to avoid the use of plastic. In addition, the company offers job opportunities to people at risk of social exclusion through the Paraplegic and Physically Disabled Association of Lleida (Aspid).
