Reframing Reuse as a Business Opportunity
Undeniably, the reuse movement is gaining momentum. Both around the world and in the US, we are increasingly seeing reusable foodware gain popularity at large, closed-loop venues like stadiums and arenas — and gradually, in open-loop, takeout style settings as well.
Reuse for consumer packaged goods (CPG) in retail and grocery settings has been a little slower to take off — though we’re encouraged by a few big projects underway. The slower uptake in retail is mainly due to a larger degree of complexity, as well as hesitancy from big brands. They want to know that consumers are ready for reuse, and that they will like the new system that shakes up the norm of buying packaging at a store and throwing it away at home.
But while they hedge, businesses are missing a critical chance to lead. Now is their time to lean into the inevitable future of packaging and seize a priceless branding and marketing opportunity. It’s an opening to lead the way in packaging and design innovation that will elevate the consumer experience and catalyze widespread adoption and normalization of reuse. Who doesn’t want that in their tagline?
Nicole C. Cerroni, VP of Sustainability at L’Oreal, couldn’t have said it better:
When it comes to reuse, we know we have a role to play in leading consumer behavior. As L'Oreal, we're one of the most gifted marketing companies — and consumer-obsessed companies — in the world, and a lot of what we do is help consumers understand what they want. We can use that expertise and talent to help consumers understand that refills are what they want because they're more affordable… more convenient… and more sustainable. But [we are not waiting] for the consumers to tell us they want refillable formats. I think what's really exciting, though, is that we're finding that they're well received by our consumers. Some of the marketing content we've done around our refills garners higher engagement and higher impressions than our “non-sustainable” content.
When a brand sets out to spark interest in a new market, and then realizes their consumer base is ready and willing, they couldn’t be better positioned to succeed.
No Reason to Wait
It is well established that consumers are ready for reuse. And data and case studies show a consumer base overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the reuse systems they’ve encountered thus far. While it’s always been the responsibility of brands to lead the way rather than waiting for consumer demand, the evidence is too strong for them to hesitate any longer.
What’s more, the change is coming regardless. Regulation across Europe, and now starting to sweep the US, is mandating that companies take responsibility for their packaging. Many of these regulations include reuse provisions. France’s Extended Producer Responsibility laws, for example, have led to the first nation-wide CPG reuse system launching just last year. And both Canada and the US are launching major pilot programs for reuse in retail within the next year.
This regulatory pressure is reflected in growth projections for the reusable packaging market. By 2035, the global reusable packaging market is projected to grow almost 120% from 2020 levels, reaching a value of $258 billion. As Fact.MR reports, “reusable packaging systems have evolved from an alternative packaging option to an essential supply chain component enabling reduced environmental impact, improved asset utilization, and cost-effective multi-cycle packaging operations…”
In reuse models, packaging becomes an asset to the company and part of its very infrastructure. As a value creator rather than a cost center, reusable packaging contributes to a business' competitive advantage. The sooner they get on board, the better positioned a business will be for this inevitable transition to reuse. As Scott Schimming, VP of Sales at Tosca, put it, in reference to their reusable packaging for pet food:
At Tosca, we see packaging as an enabler of resilient supply chains. In fast-growing, perishable categories like fresh pet food, packaging is infrastructure. It shapes quality, efficiency, and sustainability — and our reusable model is built for that future.
An Enhanced Experience
Consumers who have participated in reuse systems often describe it as an “enhanced experience” far preferable to single-use. When the Vancouver-based concert series Bard on the Beach, for instance, ditched single-use plastic cups for reusable cups resembling wine glasses, patrons responded enthusiastically about this more “sophisticated” way of enjoying their wine. Similarly, a PRIDE event in Toronto offered custom-designed cups that enhanced the customer experience by expressing shared values while also offering sponsorship opportunities (via logos on the cups). In short, consumers were drawn to fun designs that they related to.
Intriguing design that connects to values certainly appears in single-use packaging as well. But trends are pulling in a different direction. Consumers are increasingly demanding more sustainable options, so that enhanced packaging experience also brings an enhanced brand image.
Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Mark Perryman, Director of Product Management at Mastercard, called out this brand boost in their article about the reusable cup program at Blenheim Palace outside of London. They noted the number of people who specifically cite their appreciation of the cup program in visitor surveys: “This alignment with consumer values represents an increasingly important competitive advantage for organizations across sectors.” It doesn’t hurt that Blenheim Palace reported a 50% cost savings in the second year of implementation.
Reusable Packaging Is a Marketing Opportunity
Fun cup designs that recirculate within a closed loop are one thing, but what about retail packaging that is shared among multiple brands? Upstream’s Policy Director Sydney Harris addressed this question on the Circular Economy Podcast:
Once you start looking at [designing for reuse] as an opportunity, the world opens back up, … and that's kind of how design [works]. You need constraints to get creative. And imagine the constraints you can put on people when you say you have to market your tomato sauce in a standardized glass jar. That can't be a special shape, because you're going to share it with five other brands, which is what's happening in France. It turns out no one stopped buying that tomato sauce. They're still buying it. And the label just got way prettier and more interesting, and the colors got brighter and more interesting. There are so many other ways that aren't the shape and material of the package to market your product.
As Nicole Cerroni noted, consumer brands have some of the best marketing staff on the planet. They are more than well-versed in influencing consumers to buy their products, regardless of what the consumer thinks they like or want. Indeed, consumers never asked for single-use: it was marketed to them as a convenient solution after World War II, when plastic was a novelty and industries wanted to continue ramped-up wartime production of resources like aluminum. Marketers figured out how to sell us single-use, and it is actually less risky for them to figure out how to sell reusables. Thinking about switching to reusable packaging as a “risk” undermines the business potential of building brand loyalty and a better consumer experience.
“Marketers figured out how to sell us single-use, and it is actually less risky for them to figure out how to sell reusables.”
What’s more, we’ve seen countless instances of brands selling us products we never thought we needed. Did anyone dream 25 years ago that we “needed” the small computers we carry around in our pockets today? Companies like Apple, Amazon, and Netflix — to name just a few — have entirely disrupted consumer buying experiences and formats. The result has been consumer conformity and bottom-line success.
While it is true that consumer enthusiasm over novel reuse pilots and projects is likely to come from early adopters, that’s not a new phenomenon. Marketers have always faced the challenge of bringing the rest of us along — as well as the opportunity to leverage the influence of early adopters who help normalize the practice, whether it’s wearing yoga pants to the grocery store or using reusable cups at concerts.
A Designer’s Delight?
On the packaging production end, designers also face exciting opportunities. For years, they’ve been challenged to optimize single-use packaging — through making it simpler, lighter, and more cost effective — in a way that Catherine Weetman of the Circular Economy Podcast calls “soul destroying:”
…And now those packaging designers are being given really interesting, chewy questions that help engage people with the brand, and give them a piece of packaging that feels more in keeping with the brand. It isn’t, you know, cheap… I think packaging designers would find that a more motivating challenge to work on.
Because reusable packaging comes with a tracking code so that operators can locate it within the system, this technology opens the door for gamification. Consumers can scan codes and download apps that have practical uses like locating return stations based on GPS — but they can also help consumers feel like part of a broader solution by displaying impact metrics.
Students at Christopher Newport University, which uses a reusable takeout system, were at first resistant to the change. But once they tapped into the gamification elements like a points system, “Climate Champ” badges, and rewards, students came to embrace reusables on campus. Single-use packaging will never be able to catch up to the digital age in the same way.
Business Savvy? Use Smart Packaging
Impact data and gamification may offer a fun perk for customers, but behind the scenes it can offer invaluable consumer insights to a company. As Matt Bowie of Reusably describes in an interview with Impact Boom:
We gave [our business customers] the data insights to help them answer questions like: How many times are these glass bottles being reused? What’s the actual impact? How many people are engaging with the system? Is it one person filling up 10 bottles each week, or 10 people each filling up one bottle? They didn’t have that visibility before. But now, with those insights, they’re able to scale that enterprise.
Businesses can simultaneously create a loyal consumer base by offering them an enhanced and values-based product experience and constantly improving upon that experience. And they can expand their base with granular, real-time insights that do not rely on cumbersome and costly consumer surveys and focus groups.
It’s Time to Get On Board
While there’s great possibility in consumers being able to digitally interact with a reuse system, even the manual act of borrowing and returning a container connects people with a system that’s part of a greater whole. Research consistently shows that humans are happiest when they feel connected, when we're part of something bigger than ourselves.
Reuse systems don't just reduce waste, they increase the touch points between people. Every reusable item has a story. It's going to be collected, washed, and returned, then used by someone else next week — becoming part of a continuous cycle of care and community. When consumers participate in reuse, they're escaping a throw-away culture they never asked for. They’re not just disposing of an item differently, they're joining a movement — and that feeling of contribution and connection generates something we desperately need more of: joy. Find us a better marketing opportunity than that.
