Different types of reuse models

Reuse models can be broken down into two large buckets. In the first and most prevalent category, the consumer fills and supplies their own bottles/jars/containers. In the second bucket, the consumer returns the empty bottles/jars/containers and brands fill them. Let’s take a closer look to understand the pros & cons of each.

Consumer Fills & Supplies Bottles

1. Refill Pouches/Pods

• Products sold to refill separate bottles/jars
• Consumer reuses existing bottles/jars at home
• i.e. Plastic refill pouch to pour into a permanent bottle (hand soaps, dish detergent, etc), plastic refill pod to drop into a permanent outer jar (face lotion, deodorant, etc.)

2. Bulk Refill

• BYOB to fill from bulk containers
• Consumer cleans existing bottles/jars from home and brings them to stores
• i.e. Refill shops in your neighborhood, bulk aisles at the local grocery store

Consumer Returns Bottles & Brands Fill

3. Pre-fill

• Return used/empty bottles/jars and buy new product. Instead of brands purchasing new bottles/jars to sell their product to consumers, returned bottles/jars are sanitized and used again to end up at your retailer of choice
• Brand reuses bottles/jars returned by consumers
• i.e. Beverages, pasta sauce, wine, skincare products, beer, etc.

What’s Happening In The Market

Of these three models, the refill pouch/pod model is the one most widely used by consumers today. There are many brands offering refill pouches/pods that can be put into an existing bottle or jar at home. While this model is effective at reducing new heavier bottles/jars being sold (leading to less energy required during transportation), it still produces significant waste since 99% of the refill pouches/pods are in plastic. These plastic pouches or pods are often types of plastic that can’t be recycled and end up going directly into landfills. The new bottle of soap in a plastic bottle may have actually been a better option, since those are usually manufactured in higher quality plastic containers, which may have been recyclable at least once.

Refill pouches are made out of thin plastic that’s harder to recycle

Bulk refill is gaining popularity and more zero waste/refill shops are opening across the country. This is a great option to reduce pollution & waste. Limitations come from limited product choice for the consumer — let’s say you want to buy your favorite brand of organic trail mix. It may not be available since most brands do not allow their products in bulk shops due to liability concerns (i.e. risk of contamination and lack of quality control). Consumers typically will not be able to find their favorite brand or product at bulk stores or aisles and must purchase from the selection available.

Consumers bring their own bottles to refill shops

The two models above all rely on the consumer to supply their own bottle/jar. Pre-fill is different in that the consumer purchases the products as if it were any new product. The consumer then returns their empty bottle so that the brand can use it again. Think of the milkman delivery days in the ’60s and ’70s — milk was delivered to you, and when you finished it, you left the glass milk bottles outside for the milkman to pick up as new milk bottles were delivered.

Remember the good old milkman deliveries?

This model is new and gaining more traction since it provides the traditional purchase experience consumers are used to, effectively minimizing the barriers for consumer adoption. The benefit in the pre-fill model is that consumers have access to their favorite brands and products while still being able to eliminate waste and pollution.

Even as pre-fill is gaining traction, brands currently do not have the infrastructure needed to implement a pre-fill reusables program at scale. There are a handful of companies now that are tackling this challenge — some are DTC brands, rooted in a pre-fill model; others work directly with brands.

At OOM, we’ve focused our efforts on a pre-fill model by creating a proprietary reuse platform for brands so that they can offer convenient and effective reusables initiatives to customers. Our mission is to help brands of all sizes implement reuse programs and allow consumers to participate at scale in their daily lives as easily as possible. Visit our website to learn more about our platform.