Reusable and Refillable Packaging is a Global Opportunity

ThePackHub’s Innovation Zone has tracked the latest packaging innovations over the last six years. The platform now has more than 6,500 initiatives listed, and new ones are being added at a rate of 25 new weekly entries. This lets ThePackHub team assess current trends and quickly determine where changes to the packaging innovation market might be starting and evolving.

According to the examples published in our Innovation Zone, the year to date has seen more than three-quarters of innovation launches specifically delivering sustainable packaging as their primary focus. This is respectable growth compared to a like-for-like dataset from the same period in 2019, where 62.5% of entries were considered as sustainability-driven. Recycling and recyclable content initiatives have the lion’s share of sustainable initiatives reported. The Innovation Zone also tracks many substrate substitutions, plastic reduction strategies, bio-material developments and single-use packaging reductions. The desire to deal with the latter as well as frustrations with inadequate and stagnant recycling success rates has been a shot in the arm for refillable and reusable packaging. It is now an important constituent part of this dominant trend, with a documented 17.2% of all sustainable packaging initiatives during the period in focus.

Reusable bottle return station.ThePackHubAt the time of writing, the Innovation Zone had tracked 569 initiatives tagged as ‘refillable’ and or ‘reusable’. This is 8.9% of all entries listed. The calendar year of 2022 so far has seen 134 refillable and reusable initiatives, 14.8% of all entries or one in seven. This clearly demonstrates growth and a higher percentage share of sustainable examples. ThePackHub believes that this trend will continue into 2023 and beyond, with a growing higher share of refillable and reusable initiatives coming to our attention.

Consideration about the consumer and their role in refill and reuse is something that is discussed early in any conversation on the topic. One particular area cited regularly is the need to acknowledge the role that convenience has on consumer adoption levels. More broadly, improving consumer convenience has been something that marketers and packaging professionals have striven to deliver for many decades for packaging generally. Single-use packaging helps to bring more convenience and has, of course, become the norm. It is easy to use and easy to dispose of despite lack of viable recycling options in many cases. It has been driven into consumers that a lack of convenience is something to be avoided and also something of value that might come at a price premium. For refill and reuse solutions that require more effort from consumers, this can be a challenge.