Kai Clarke

Do It Yourself All Over Again

February 16, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Loose dry goods have long been available in supermarkets. Bringing your own containers and filling them with liquids may be a more 21st century activity.... Are consumers ready for such re-usable packaging or has self-service gone too far? How viable a green solution is a refillable option?      [more...]

In theory this is a great concept that unfortunately is not quite retail ready. Just to initiate this would require the use (and purchase) of standardized containers for each product sold, along with increased store personnel to stock and clean-up after each item is used (there is almost always spillage of the item sold). Add to this the risk issues of product going bad because it was not properly sealed or handled, either in the store, or on the way home /or in the home, along with homogeneity issues with the purity of product at the bottom of the dispenser compared with the top of the dispenser, light and heat issues on product that is stored in clear containers vs. colored containers (in-store as well as in the home), topping off issues and the costs aligned with this, container lifecycle issues and container failure needs, etc. The list is tremendous, and the savings (if any) are small to none.