Refillable Beauty 2023 - part 1 - Introduction & Definitions

From regulatory constraints to market demand, refillable beauty products are invading the market. They require a shift of paradigm from sourcing, supply chain with production and logistics, as well as retail all the way to recycling.

The legal definition of refillable is available in Chapter 4. Jump here.

The most common ways products are developed to be refillable are:

• Recharge or Refill in-store
• Deposit Scheme
• Eco-refill or Eco-recharge

1 - Recharge or Refill with in-store Refill Fountains

With two components: 

• clean packaging 
• fountain for bulk formula delivery

Clean packaging is offered in-store for a fill or refill of the products. Often times this involves a cleaning procedure for the packaging, or a few examples with Reposit by Beauty Kitchen in the UK for personal care cleansing products, refill stations at the Body Shop in Europe for body and hair cleaning products, or L’Occitane for beauty care or even Cozie bio for skincare in France for instance, or Mugler or Guerlain fragrances refill station (more details in the case studies later).

These often include a deposit scheme for packaging, where consumers will pay and get money back when packaging is returned, or can just exchange used packaging with a new version.

The idea is often to use the packaging 3 to 4 times at least before it is replaced by new packaging.

This system requires a full change of paradigm from supply chain to retail and consumer journey. The supply chain needs to deliver in bulk to the stores. The retail stores need to train employees to refill and clean stations (or the brand owner). Consumers need to bring back their packaging.