Meadow and Ball Corporation launch refillable personal care dispenser

Meadow, a Swedish packaging technology company, has partnered with Ball Corporation to release the Meadow Kapsul SleeveLock, a wall-mounted dispenser system for personal care products. 

The refillable solution is designed for hospitality businesses, including hotels, salons, and spas, in line with EU and US regulations to tackle single-use packaging. The Meadow Kapsul technology allows the quick refill of the personal care product, designed to replace miniature toiletry bottles by 2027. 

Victor Ljungberg, co-founder and CEO at Meadow, says: “We created Meadow because we could see that sustainable packaging was failing, not because people did not care, but because the solutions asked too much of them.”

“The Meadow Kapsul SleeveLock applied this to the hospitality industry. It is faster and simpler for housekeeping teams while costing operators no more than the systems they are currently using. It also delivers a premium finish that mid to high-end properties expect.”

Victoria Marletta, vice president of Personal and Home Care Commercial at Ball Corporation, says: “We’re pleased to support the launch of Meadow Kapsul SleeveLock with our aluminum packaging that enables this fully circular system.”

“Our role is to make adoption as straightforward as possible for hospitality businesses, providing a solution that fits existing recycling systems, ensures traceability, and helps customers move faster towards regulatory goals and more circular packaging.”

Last year, Ljungberg told Personal Care Insights that Meadow’s partnership with Ball Corporation aims to reduce the waste produced from personal care and household products.

Facilitating refill

The Meadow Kapsul SleeveLock can be refilled in 22 seconds without the need for a funnel, spout, or decanting, according to Meadow. In comparison, traditional bulk dispensers for personal care products can take up to four minutes to fill. 

The speed of refill is achieved through the use of an aluminum can placed inside the dispenser and replaced directly in the guest room. This system is said to be lighter and easier to carry than large bulk containers. 

Alba 1913, a personal care supplier to the hotel industry, is in talks about an early adoption of Meadow Kapsul SleeveLock. Lukasz Rychlicki, CEO at Alba 1913, says: “Alba 1913 has over a century of heritage in crafting natural, high-performance personal care products.”

“Meadow’s solution shows a way to bring those formulations into the hospitality sector without compromising on sustainability or the experience guests expect. The Meadow Kapsul SleeveLock is the first system we have seen that genuinely solves the operational side of sustainable dispensing.”

The Meadow Kapsul SleeveLock uses a discreet and customizable fill level indicator, allowing quick and straightforward user training. 

The system is “tamper-free as standard,” according to Meadow. The complete product change at each refill mitigated the risk of cross-contamination associated with refillable personal care products. The pump change does not require finger contact, and the exterior does not have water-pooling features. 

Ljungberg recently told Packaging Insights that companies are increasingly shifting from plastics to aluminum due to rising costs, not just sustainability.

Previously, Meadow partnered with Fillsy to open Europe’s first factory for mass-producing refillable aluminum packaging in Poland.