16 February 2024 , 10:17
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Aldi will be launching refill stations across more of its UK stores over the coming months.
The discount supermarket chain launched its partnership with The Refill Coalition in October last year which saw an in-store refill system at Aldi's Solihull store. This allowed customers to bring their own packaging which they could fill up with Aldi branded cereal which cut out the single use packaging.
The Refill Coalition confirmed to the Grocer Magazine that the partnership was set to continue and that Aldi would be trialling the refill station in a "small number" of stores in the next six months. The refill station in Aldi's Solihull store took the form of a pre-filled vessel which could be easily added and then removed from the shop floor. Customers then have the choice of either filling a paper bag, or the “preferred” option of buying a container from Aldi, or bringing one from home.
When the vessels are empty, they are removed from the dispenser, collected and thoroughly cleaned, before being sent back to food manufacturers for refilling and distribution back to stores. The life span is expected to be at least 60 cycles.
The Refill Coalition, which was created in 2020 by the company GoUnpackaged, is also formed of Ocado and supply chain solutions company CHEP. GoUnpackaged director Helen Clements told The Grocer that initial sales had “exceeded” store expectations at Aldi and that feedback from the store staff had been positive. She said the further expansion of the scheme was a "thumbs up" and more importantly there had been "no reports" of equipment failure.
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She added: "That is massive because typically in these refill trials equipment fails. And if the equipment isn’t working for the day, customers will be unlikely to make the effort again.”
Aldi has not confirmed which stores will see the trial or how long the expansion trial will last telling the Mirror that it would share further details on this update in due course. We will update this article when we know more.
Since the group launched in 2020, founding members of the project, which include supermarket giants Lidl, Sainsbury’s M&S, Morrisons and Waitrose, have since left the partnership. Waitrose was the most recent grocer to have left, however a spokesperson for the upmarket retailer said in October that it remains in “close contact” with The Refill Coalition and it will be looking into other ways that it can have a “big impact on reducing packaging.”
The Mirror has approached GoUnpackaged for comment.