Page 12 - Packaging News magazine Sep-Oct 2022

INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Rising tide of re-use and refill
In 2022, reuse and refill packaging has re-emerged as an increasingly popular option for brand owners looking to investigate alternative methods to cut their consumption of single-use plastics. John Nelson, editor at Smithers, reviews what this means for the industry.
Below and opposite: Macro Whole Living refill concept at Woolworths’ Double Bay, NSW store.
THE MARKET OUTLOOK for the reuse and refill segment, and its potential to supplement the global trend for more sustain- able packaging, is profiled in The Future of Refillable and Reusable Packaging to 2027, the latest expert study from leading con- sultancy for the paper, print and packaging industry, Smithers.
ESTABLISHED AND GROWTH MARKETS
Smithers’ in-depth analysis cov- ers all elements of this market, including the emergence of new consumer models. Total value in re-use/refill packaging will reach at $42.0 billion in 2022, and is forecast to grow 5.0% year-on-year across 2022-27 to $53.5 billion.
This is supporting wider use of closed loop glass bottle deposit recovery for beverages, where recov- ered material is either rendered down into glass cullet, or cleaned and refilled. These established sys- tems are the largest segment of the market, accounting for 69% of the world market by value in 2022. This will be supplemented by organic expansion in another mature seg- ment – re-use and refill packs for transit and industrial shipping.
The greatest potential, however, lies in four other segments – food, home care, non-glass beverages, and personal care & cosmetics – all of which have hitherto made very limited use of the concept. Value for re-use and refill concepts in these four segments is forecast to grow at over 30% year-on-year through to 2027. Combined these will grow from $669 million in 2022, to over $3 billion in 2027.
This will involve designing more durable packaging bases for consumers that can undergo multiple re-use cycles, as well as lightweight refill units for in-store purchase or at-home delivery.
Sustainability is the motivator, but customer convenience is par- amount if re-use packaging is to gain market traction. Smithers has identified four distinct operations models for re-use and refill packag- ing. Each has distinct advantages
depending on the end-use market, and offer different levels of conve- nience to the consumer.
Refill-at-home – the consumer refills the base unit themselves with a refill pack or sachet. These can be bought in store, or deliv- ered to their home, often via a subscription service
Return-from-home – re-usable packaging is collected from the consumer’s home by a dedicated third-party pick-up service
Refill-in-store – the consumer owns a reusable container – nor- mally a bottle – that he or she can refill at participating retailers
Sustainability is the motivator, but customer convenience is paramount if re-use packaging is to gain market traction.”
Return-in-store – the consumer takes re-use formats back to the point-of-purchase or drop off point after use, often combined with financial deposit return payments.
HOME CARE
The home care segment is keen to transition to a more sustainable future. Several options available in the wider market are unsuitable in home care, because cleaning chem- icals require secure, and sometimes tamperproof, plastic packs.
For this reason, home care lines have moved quickly to embrace refill-at-home and refill-in-store models. Unilever reports positive results from a trial installation of in- store refill stations across the UK. For refill-in-store standard polymer format bottles can endure several refilling cycles, and retailers are keen to assign floor space to equip- ment that also demonstrates their commitment to a greener future.
12 ❙ SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2022
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