by Freedonia Industry Studies
September 3, 2020
In a time of heightened awareness of hygiene amid a global pandemic, there were those who stepped back from reusable options. Starbucks is one high profile firm that did so as it temporarily halted its program allowing customers to get a discount for bringing their own cups for their beverage orders (although it did resume that program in the UK in August). Additionally, many grocery stores and other retail outlets asked customers to keep their reusable shopping bags in the car or at home. Some states and municipalities also took a brief step back from their programs limiting or barring the use of single-use plastic shopping bags during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the movement toward circularity has not ended. In fact, it is rapidly on the rise as innovative companies are seeking to engage packaged consumer goods companies (notably those in food, beverage, household cleaning, and personal care product areas) to rethink the distribution and packaging of their products.
Key companies participating in this area include TerraCycle’s Loop program, Algramo (which recently entered the NYC market with hopes to expand in the US), and Miwa (operating in Europe).
This is a trend that big packaged consumer goods companies like. Not only can these companies reach more customers, but they save money on packaging and are better able to achieve their green pledge. Plus, these dispensers, apps, and shipping programs allow them to gather customer data, such as how much customers really want to buy at a time, the demographics of shoppers, and the time of day purchasing.
For more information and discussion of opportunities, see The Freedonia Group’s extensive collection of off-the-shelf research including a variety of packaging industry topics, including Global Foodservice Single-Use Products, COVID-19 Economic Impact Report: Retail Bags, Global Single-Use Plastic Packaging Regulations, Foodservice Single-Use Products, and Retail Bags. Other related titles available from Packaged Facts’ food- and beverage-related reports, including US Food Market Outlook 2020: Home Cooking, Grocery Shopping & Food Trends in the Age of Coronavirus, US Beverage Market Outlook 2020: Grocery Shopping & Personal Consumption in the Coronavirus Era, and Food Carryout & Delivery as well as the companion report with timely consumer insights from our in-house survey capabilities. Freedonia Custom Research is also available for questions requiring tailored market intelligence.