Businesses that offer refillable drinks can differentiate themselves from their competitors , giving them a competitive advantage and helping to attract and retain new customers
• Retail environments – where space is at a premium , retailers are looking to install bulk-refill machines which take up less space yet supply their customers with a wide variety of products . Retailers need easy and low-costto-maintain equipment with quick and simple methods for product replenishment .
• Offices – large offices can save money on the cost of individual bottled drinks by providing refillable flavoured water dispensers for employees . This can also help the office to reduce its waste and appeal to employees who are concerned about the environment .
• Educational establishments – schools and universities can help to reduce their waste and educate
students about the importance of sustainability by offering refillable flavoured water dispensers and other refillable drink options .
Top 10 Business Benefits
There are many business benefits of offering refillable drinks or bulkrefill , however , we ’ ve condensed our list to the top 10 :
1 . Reducing environmental impact – meeting sustainability goals is high on the agenda for a growing number of businesses . By using refillable drink containers , or eliminating individually packaged goods with refill machines , companies are reducing the amount of single-use plastic waste produced , which is good for the environment .
2 . Reducing plastic consumption for health – throughout the world , single-use plastic is having a detrimental effect on the planet and our health . Not only is plastic pollution a huge problem in our oceans and rivers , but as the littered plastics are breaking down into smaller and smaller particles ( or ‘ nanoplastics ’), it is becoming a widely reported health concern . This publicity is causing a rise in the popularity of plastic waste-free options .
3 . Materials cost savings – refillable drinks can save businesses money in the long run as long as machines can be low-cost and easy-tomaintain . Whilst setting up the system takes initial investment , the elimination of the ongoing cost to purchase single-use containers / bottles / cups will amortise this capex over time and turn into savings .
4 . Machine footprint and shelfspace savings with more consumer choices – by not having to provide single-use cups inside a machine , the machine size can reduce dramatically . Similarly , by using bulk-refill where one large bag replaces individually packaged bottles or cartons , the shelf-space required for each product line can be reduced . Furthermore , where ingredients such as flavours or fragrances can be mixed with base products at the point of dispense , more choice can be offered to the consumer with less SKUs and reduced shelf-space . Lastly , and perhaps most significantly , dispensing also provides the opportunity to use higher concentrations of products and mix with water at the point of dispense , which , for certain products is a viable way to reduce footprint per product line .
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