The debate is open
Refill systems have been discussed as a driver for optimising the sustainability of household care and personal care products. The thought of the consumer refilling bottles in store ate the point of sale or at home is promising with regards to reductions in the number of trucks needed for distribution, a reduction in the CO2-footprint and also in water consumption.
Legislators in the EU have started debate around how to regulate refill solutions to ensure product safety while also delivering a maximum in sustainability.
We take today a look on the pros and cons of POS refill versus at home refills systems of liquid household care or personal care products. And this is open for debate. if you feel we misjudged some points or even missed some, please feel free to contact us so that we can get the facts straight.
The criteria up for debate are
- cost: which system has cost benefits over the other at which point
- sustainability: the stregnthes and weaknesses of each system with regards to CO2-footprint, water consumption, energy consumption
- product safety: which system is safer for the consumer, excluding potential misuse
- convenience: a make or break criterion for every product.
- complexity: how easy is the system to install and maintain at the point of sales
For POS we will be looking at refill systems that refill the liquid product and also apply the corresponding label to the product container. Some of these systems are discussed with an additional cleaning system in place to make sure the container to refill is clean and free from contaminants.
For at home refills we consider the consumer buying a bottle and refill packs that can come as liquid, powder or tablets. All of these will then be topped with water to reach the desired product concentration.
Costs
The cost per refill is the main driver for attractiveness for the consumer. As discussed prior to this post, consumers are not willing to pay more for an innovation that they are used to. Especially that refill means a higher involvement of the consumer in the product life cycle. Thus any refill system needs to come with a price benefit.
For POS refills producers needs to factor in the cost of the product and label costs. For refill stations with an integrated cleaning system the washing water needs to be factored in. The water used to produce the products can be neglected in the light of label and chemical costs.
For at home refilling producers need to deliver a packed concentrated form of the product in a separate container. Thus these costs needs to be factored in.
Also here the consumer expects a cost benefit since he needs to use the own water to create the finished product.
Verdict: both models come with a potential cost benefit and need to do so in order to be attractive to the consumer.
Ecological impact
For POS refills the liquid for refill can be delivered either as a liquid concentrate and be diluted at the POS or it can be delivered in its final diluted form in bulk container. In either way there is a significant reduction of packaging material involved compared to the amount of individual bottles.
For at home refills the concentrated form needs to be packages individually and delivered to the store. This delivers a benefit over individual traditional bottles of product however the scale of sustainability is reduced versus the POS refill.
Verdict: The POS refill seems slightly better with regards to ecological impact due to the scale of sustainability.
Product Safety
This is where the industry and the regulators see a strong case for the POS refill. At the POS it can be made sure that the right products is filled into the right bottle and labelled with the right label. Also additional cleaning steps can make sure that the container is clean prior to refill.
For at home refills producers needs to add preserving agents to avoid contamination through containers that were not cleaned well enough prior to refill. Also there is a chance that the consumer refills the wrong product into the wrong bottle or with the wrong dilution. Any product that would reduce such misuse would improve the product safety of at home refills.
Verdict: This is a strong point for POS refills.
Convenience
Convenience is the second larger driver of product use next to the price and the performance. A product with an overall convenient usage experience is by far more favoured by consumers over a product that is tedious/ complicated to use.
For the POS refill the big debate is whether consumers are willing to take their empty containers back to the POS. While in countries like Germany it seems less of an issue, because consumers are used to take empty beverage bottles to the store for refund. In other countries without such systems it is something new for the consumer to learn. Taking into account that cleaning products and personal care products are rather low involvement products it is hard to believe that POS refills can drive such a change.
At home refills are more convenient in the acquisition since the consumer buys a concentrated, lighter version of the product and thus has less weight to carry home. The inconvenient part is the refill process at home. As we discussed previously dedicated refill products can overcome this barrier.
Verdict: With a dedicated solution at home refills are the more convenient option.
Complexity
This is a big topic for retailers since retail space is scarce and needs to be allocated carefully.
A refill station at the POS requires a significant investment in space and infrastructure. Also we need to keep in mind that such a station would be branded and not universal. Consumers would need to use the appropriate station for their product. Having a station for each an every product and brand seems unfathomable at the moment. Significant efforts by the producers/ the industry would be needed to overcome this.
At home refills on the other hand pose a very low level of complexity. The refills would be much smaller than the existing products and while this may also exceed shelf space, solution could be found on a brand level rather than an industry level.
Verdict: This is a strong point for at home refills.
“Und die Moral von der Geschicht?” (And the moral of the story?)
It is definitely too early to make and definite predictions. Both approached have pros and cons. It is in the hand of the industry to use this leverage towards one or the other side. In the end it is a win-win situation – no matter which approach prevails in the long run, there is a significant benefit with regards to sustainability.
