Buy Crikey: Boxes of goodies well worth a try

Fruit and vegetable boxes cost a tad more than supermarket prices, but are fresher. Photo / Thinkstock

Home delivery of fruit and vegetable boxes is a booming industry. Chances are, several companies deliver in your area.

I decided to give them a go and over the past couple of weeks have ordered mixed boxes from Foodbox.co.nz and Ooooby.org.

A carrot-shaped flyer through the letterbox convinced me to try Foodbox first. The entire experience, from the appearance of the flyer to the last mouthful of fruit, was a pleasure.

The proof was really inside my $45 Big Bang box, which came packed with 20 varieties of fruit and vegetables. I loved the fact that the only packaging, apart from the aerated box, was for the mixed salad.

The produce felt and tasted as fresh, or in some cases fresher, than the supermarket's. I have to mention the Yummy brand Ambrosia apples in the box, which were spectacularly good.

Foodbox and its competitors, such as Vegdout.co.nz, buy their produce at market in the morning and deliver in the afternoon.

Fruit and vegetable boxes may not be for price-conscious shoppers. I did a detailed price comparison between my Foodbox and Countdown's online prices. My Big Bang box was slightly more expensive than Countdown but the delivery, the freshness and the experience made up for the slight price difference.

My comparison for this article was with full-price supermarket fruit and veges. I rarely buy produce at full supermarket prices.

I buy from large fruit and vege shops or the Takapuna market, so in reality I wouldn't have paid anywhere near the Foodbox or Countdown price.

It's not fair to compare prices from the Ooooby box with the supermarket because organic fruit and veges cost more.

Readers would be better making their own comparisons between Ooooby and other organic vegetable box deliveries, such as Allgoodfood.co.nz, Justorganic.co.nz, Organicboxes.co.nz or one of the many others operating throughout the country.

One thing I have liked when I have ordered organic box deliveries in the past was being forced to try new vegetables or find uses for ones that I don't like much, such as parsnip.

But the companies that deliver fruit and veges now allow customers to swap one or two of the items.

They also offer add-ons of fresh herbs, free-range eggs, bread and other groceries.

A lesson I've learned from this exercise is to choose a box with plenty of variety. My Ooooby box for $48 had seven varieties of fruit and veg in it, which wasn't enough for my family.

Veg'd Out is offering $5 off this week to new customers who mention the Buy Crikey column. One lucky reader will also win a bunch of flowers.

More deals

• Produce Delivered Company. $80 for four fruit and vege boxes. 4 Sets of Delivery (value $160). Tomorrow at GrabOne.co.nz.

• Fresh produce deals on TradeMe

• Riverside Orchards. 9kg apple/pear selection. $20. riverside.myfoodlink.com.

• TheHonestyBox.co.nz. Free Classic fruit box trial for Auckland CBD businesses.