Brits increasingly enthusiastic about unpackaged food, GlobalData

GlobalData research shows that 71.3% of UK consumers would be willing to use food refill services as Morrisons and Waitrose take leading roles in this space.

Hannah Thomson, Retail Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Amid growing awareness of the harmful effects of single-use plastics on the environment, retailers are keen to prove that they are acting responsibly and responding to consumers’ concerns. After initial set-up costs, retailers could benefit from selling certain goods unpackaged and removing packaging costs. Waitrose has said that its Unpacked trial resulted in cost savings from goods arriving in-store in re-usable containers.”

GlobalData’s monthly survey of 2,000 UK respondents found that 44.1% of 16-24 year olds who had purchased food and grocery products in July had used a refill station in the last 12 months, compared with 35% of 25-34 year-olds and just 25.4% of 35-44 year-olds.

Of those who said they would not use a refill shop, the main reason cited was an unwillingness to take containers to a store. The solution could be to provide shoppers with recyclable paper bags or to offer a discount as an incentive for bringing re-usable containers, as is now common in coffee chains for customers with re-usable cups. Such a discount could also help convince the 19.2% of consumers who believe it would be more expensive to buy goods unpackaged.

Thomson concludes: “Encouragingly for retailers, the least cited reason for not wishing to buy unpackaged items is a preference for branded products. This leaves retailers free to switch suppliers in search of the best margins, and should give them the confidence to use suppliers which are able to deliver in bulk instead of in packaging, and not worry about customers’ brand loyalty.”