Trial learnings & next steps from the refill coalition in the UK

Following a successful trial period, the Refill Coalition has proved the viability of its refill and reuse solutions and is looking forward to sharing the extensive learnings with industry through an Industry Webinar and White Paper with accompanying independent LifeCycle Assessment (LCA) to be published in May. 

The Refill Coalition includes Ocado Retail, Aldi UK and the supply chain solutions company CHEP and was convened in 2020 by GoUnpackaged, the UK’s leading refill and reuse experts, as part of an Innovate UK-funded project that ends in March 2025. 

The Coalition collaborated to co-design two innovative reusable packaging solutions in order to reduce the 90 billion units of single-use plastics sold annually by UK grocers : 

• The online consumer sized vessel tested with Ocado is pre-filled with product and delivered to customers alongside the rest of their order, then returned to the driver when empty. Each consumer sized vessel replaces up to 5 single-use plastic packs.
• The in-store solution tested with Aldi has replaced current standard bulk dispensers with reusable vessels located at a refill station. Customers bring their own packaging to refill at the station, using an improved easy weighing system. Each reusable vessel replaces up to 24 single-use plastic packs. 

The online Ocado reuse offering has been available to 65% of its customer base since August 2024 with positive reception - high customer satisfaction scores (pasta 4.9, rice 4.8) and a sales share of 16% compared to single-use packaged equivalents. The unique online model contributed to the overall success of the Refill Coalition’s trial, and Ocado will continue to offer all current products to customers following positive feedback.  Customer research shows very high levels of satisfaction with the hygiene (100%), and ease (99%) of the system, with almost all (96%) likely to buy again.

The in-store refill solution was trialled in Aldi‘s Solihull and Leamington Spa branches. The solution was received positively by customers in-store - refills consistently reached 30% of sales alongside their single-use packaged versions and, on some weeks up to 50%. Additionally, customer research showed high levels of satisfaction with the hygiene (96%), speed (93%) and ease (89%) of the system, all key challenges with previous refill solutions.

In addition, early indications from independent Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) conducted by Eunomia indicate that both solutions, once scaled, offer significant environmental benefits compared to single-use alternatives.

The vision for the trial was to test a standardised solution across multiple retailers -  it was not possible to achieve this during the course of the funded project, however all major UK retailers identified this as the ‘next generation’ solution for refills.  

Aldi’s trial of the in-store refill solution is coming to a close, in line with the Innovate UK project planned end date. Aldi UK will take some time to analyse and review the outputs of the trial in order to continue developing its strategy for refill and reuse. 

Meanwhile, UK retailers are collaborating to launch a second major push on reuse and refill in a ‘Plastics Pact Mark II’ being drawn up by WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) who revealed there is a “clear appetite” across the industry to agree on new standardised principles for reuse. The Refill Coalition has high hopes for future implementation of these systems through a new industry-wide focus on reuse. 

The Refill Coalition released this joint statement “We are extremely proud of our collective work to design and launch these new reuse & refill 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 which are critical steps towards industry transformation. Additionally, the sales share and in-depth research provide evidence of the significant consumer appetite for availability of refill and reuse as part of their regular shop. We look forward to seeing other retailers and brands taking up these proven solutions, enabling an acceleration towards a reuse future”.

Paul Davidson, Challenge Director, Innovate UK: Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge: “This collaborative, full supply chain project has successfully developed and trialled an end-to-end solution for refill in the grocery sector, both in-store and online, and we are delighted that the Ocado trial is set to continue. As a result of the innovative approach and hard work of the Refill Coalition partners, we now have a blueprint for retailers looking to mainstream refill within their operations and take action on reducing single-use packaging.”