Unilever and Co-op partner on refill packaging trials in convenience store setting
09 Nov 2021 --- Unilever and Co-op are partnering to launch two refill packaging store trials, with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of consumer behavior toward refillable and reusable packaging in a convenience environment.
The move is Unilever’s first within a small-scale convenience store as opposed to a larger sized supermarket.
The trial will test two refill models: “Refill on the go” and “Return on the go,” and include some of Unilever’s best-known brands, including Persil, Simple, Radox and Alberto Balsam.
These brands will be available in reusable stainless-steel bottles, giving shoppers the option of cutting plastic consumption.
Unilever’s “Return on the go” scheme allows customers to conveniently pick up the pre-filled stainless-steel bottles and return in-store once used.
The “Refill on the go” approach – trialled in a larger Co-op store in West Yorkshire, UK – allows customers to purchase and refill reusable stainless-steel bottles using a standalone refill machine in-store.
Innova Market Insights identified “Reusable Revolution” as a top trend for 2021, noting reusable packaging is increasingly recognized as crucial to waste reduction, with wide-ranging support from NGOs, regulatory bodies and consumers.
According to the market researcher, the majority of global consumers (52%) believe reusability is the most environmentally sustainable packaging model.
Facing the climate crisis
The partnership says its efforts to trial reusable and refillable packaging models are a step toward tackling the global climate crisis.
Unilever says its trial could make big difference to envirronment issues.“We are continually working to develop new ways to provide added services and choice conveniently. The refillable packaging trials with Unilever are designed to test and learn from consumer behaviour, while providing easy and quick ways for shoppers to cut their plastic consumption,” says Co-op’s head of format development Ian McCutcheon.
“We are facing a climate and environmental crisis, and we need to act now to support consumers in making ethical purchasing decisions. By making it easier for shoppers to make small changes to their lives, together, we can make a big difference to our environment.”
The trials will help the company further understand how refills work in different store sizes, locations and shopping situations.
“There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ for reuse and refill. We continue to test different models, store formats and locations across the UK to see how shoppers respond, what works best, and what we need to adapt and change,” says Unilever UK & Ireland general manager and executive vice president Sebastian Munden.
Reusable revolution
Last year, Unilever launched a refill trial scheme with Asda in what it pegged as the largest such trial in Europe to date. The company expected 30,000 water bottles worth of plastic to be saved in the first year alone.
This year, the company began expanding the trials in Asda and Co-op stores around the country after a UK survey found 81% of Brits want the UK government to make refillable products easier to buy and more widely available, as a priority for reducing plastic pollution.
Co-op also announced its ten point climate change action plan this year, in which the retailer pledged to radically reduce the carbon impact of its products and operations. The retailer aims to become a net zero business by 2040, including selling fully carbon neutral own-brand food and drink by 2025.
The retailer already sources 100% renewable electricity to run its stores. The business also worked to end the price disparity of vegan food by price-matching its plant-based range, branded Gro, to meat and dairy equivalents in store.
By Louis Gore-Langton
