Aldi is ending an in-store trial of banks of dispensers where shoppers can fill their own containers as an alternative to single-use packaging.
The pilot was launched in its Solihull store in 2023 and expanded to Leamington Spa early last year, as Aldi’s part in the Refill Coalition – a collaboration between retailers and sustainability experts to develop a scalable alternative to single-use packaging.
The Refill Coalition was formed in 2020 by refill and reuse consultants GoUnpackaged, using funding from Innovate UK. It counts Ocado as its only other retailer member, having seen Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Lidl, M&S and Waitrose come and go since launch.
The coalition said Aldi’s trial was coming to a close in line with the planned end of funding from Innovate UK.
Aldi said it had always intended the trial to run for a limited time. It said it was still an active member of the Refill Coalition, and the learnings would be used to inform future projects.
Ocado is continuing with its online version of the pilot, which it launched last year, offering a small number of staples such as pasta in reusable containers, which are collected by delivery drivers once empty.
The coalition said it had not been possible to achieve its vision of testing a standardised solution across multiple retailers during the course of the funded project.
It claimed it had nevertheless “proved the viability of its refill and reuse solutions” and said it would share learnings in a white paper with accompanying independent LifeCycle Assessment in May.
It said Aldi’s pilot was positively received by customers, with refills consistently achieving 30% share of sales compared with single-use packaged versions, and on some weeks up to 50%. Customers showed high levels of satisfaction with the hygiene, speed and ease of use, all challenges with previous refill solutions.
Ocado’s reusable containers had achieved a sales share of 16% compared with single-use packaged equivalents. Its customer research also showed high levels of satisfaction with hygiene and ease of use, with 96% saying they were likely to buy again.
“We are extremely proud of our collective work to design and launch these new reuse and refill systems, which form a key part of the solution to tackling the single-use plastics crisis,” the coalition said in a joint statement.
“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”.
Innovate UK challenge director Paul Davidson said: “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.”
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