Tesco has reported that its reusable packaging pilot received positive reviews from customers who purchased over 80,000 products over the two years.
According to the Big 4 grocer, the most popular products in reusable packaging were big brands such as Coca Cola as well as own-label essentials like granola, basmati rice and olive oil.
The pilot reuse initiative included year-long online shopping and nine month in-store trial set to end next week.
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Customers paid refundable deposits on each piece of reusable prefilled packaging, which was returned through a courier once empty to be cleaned, refilled for the next shopper.
To ensure the trial ran on an effective scale, the supermarket stocked 50 big brands products alongside 35 own-brand products.
The grocer asserted that results indicated the prefill model of reuse had “strong potential and can be set up to offer customers the ease and convenience they expect.”
While the new model disrupts usual ways of shopping, Tesco said it would be possible for supply chains to adapt and work in partnership to maintain quality and availability.
Part of the resistance is the need of cultural and behavioural shift from customers, the grocer said.
Industry, policymakers and supply chains would have to work collectively harder to incentivise customers to adopt new shopping behaviours – without an extra cost.
Tesco remains optimistic to its sustainability goals, pressing ahead with its wider packaging strategy to remove five billion single use plastics by 2025.
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