Brands bound for Foxtrot find new home at Misfits Market

Online grocer Misfits Market said this week it’s now selling products that were intended to be sold at Foxtrot before the retailer abruptly ceased operations last month.

The shutdown left not only extra food and beverage inventory on shelves, but more in warehouses, and Misfits tapped into its recent partnership with Pod Foods, a distributor that connects small emerging food brands with retailers, to give 35 products across 15 brands (virtual) shelf space.

Jessie Kimsey, Misfits Market’s senior category manager for snacks and beverages, told Retail Brew the retailer scooped up 95% of the ex-Foxtrot inventory available via Pod Foods.

“My first thought when the closure happened was, ‘Is there food that's going to waste?’ And then, ‘How can we support these smaller brands that don't have the scale?’” she said.

Brands include BonBon candies, Couplet Coffee beans, Courtside coconut water, and Leisure Hydration beverages. Couplet Coffee and Courtside were among the many Foxtrot brands that took to TikTok to share their experience after the news broke, with Couplet noting that the brand had 550 extra bags of coffee produced for Foxtrot.

Kelly Nigh, Misfits Market’s chief merchandising officer, noted that the process from starting conversations with brands to landing at the online retailer took just three weeks. They’ll be added to its Chicago, Baltimore, and San Antonio warehouses, which fill orders across most of the country. Nigh said prices will be competitive with other retailers, though some will be discounted.

Brands that perform well on the platform could become longer term partners for Misfits, Kimsey said. Nigh added that they’ll be monitoring the brands over the next 90 days. Pods Foods will also continue to coordinate with Misfits on excess inventory.

“This wasn’t a one-and-done issue for these brands. They had production cycles that were part of Foxtrot’s forecast,” Nigh said. “While we were able to support immediately with the inventory that was available immediately, there's other product that is coming, obviously, and is in production.”

The product expansion is part of Misfit’s larger effort to grow its offerings. This week it also announced it’s adding several new products like pasta and olive oil to its private label Odds & Ends brand, and plans to roll formerly Imperfect Foods-branded items into the brand by Q3 following its acquisition in 2022, Nigh said.