Reuse trial report finds consumers prefer refillable systems across UK supermarkets

GoUnpackaged, a reusable packaging consultancy, has indicated in its refill and reuse trial report that Ocado Retail’s returnable vessels had a 86% return rate and Aldi’s refill products accounted for a 30% sales rate compared to single-use packaging options.

GoUnpackaged released the results of an in-store and online refill trial featuring Aldi UK and Ocado Retail. The trial aimed to prove the viability and scalability of refill and reuse systems across multiple product categories.

The trial was organized by the Refill Coalition, an initiative convened by GoUnpackaged in 2020 that includes Aldi, Ocado, and supply chain solutions company CHEP. 

“We are extremely proud of our collective work to design and launch these new refill and reuse systems, which form a key part of the solution to tackling the single-use plastics crisis. The trial demonstrates the solutions’ operational efficiency, clear environmental benefit, and scalability, critical steps toward industry transformation,” says the Refill Coalition. 

Trialed and tested

Two types of refill and reuse systems were tested in the trial. Aldi ran two in-store trials over 16 months at its Solihull and Leamington Spa, UK, stores. Ocado trialed reuse products to customers from three of its Customer Fulfilment Centres, which cover 65% of its customer base. 

The in-store refill system tested by Aldi saw a reusable supply chain “vessel” filled, shipped, and fitted into an in-store refill fixture from which customers refilled using their packaging, During the trial, 97% of the 600 Aldi customers surveyed said the process was hygienic, and 89% of customers found the refill station easy to use.

In the online returnables tested by Ocado, the online returnable is prefilled with product, shipped to customers alongside the rest of the order, and then returned to the Ocado driver when empty. The report indicates that 100% of the 490 trialed Ocado customers found the packaging clean, and 96% were likely to buy again. 

Packaging preference

The report highlights that another aim of the trial was to demonstrate consumer demand for scalable reuse and refill systems. 

Packaging Insights spoke to Catherine Conway, director and reuse lead at GoUnpackaged, in February about consumer preferences for refillable systems. 

“Our Refill Coalition real-world trials show that for both solutions (in-store and online), sales shares are about 30% — i.e., where the products are available in refill or reusables, 30% of the sales come from these products compared to single-use,” said Conway. 

“This shows a huge latent demand among mainstream UK consumers to purchase goods this way, which most UK retailers are not serving.”