M&S to expand scheme where shoppers bring their own containers to fill with coffee, rice, pasta and cereal – after eco-friendly offerings outsold packaged products
- Marks and Spencer announced plan to expand ‘fill-your-own’ container scheme
- The news follows a popular trial in a Southampton branch of the supermarket
- Found 25 of 44 ‘fill-your-own’ products outsold the pre-packaged alternatives
- Come as eco-friendly shoppers turn away from throwaway plastic packaging
Marks and Spencer have announced plans to expand an eco-friendly refill scheme which allows shoppers to fill their containers with food from dispensers in their stores after the offerings outsold packaged products.
The retailer’s initial ‘fill-your-own’ shopping scheme at it’s Southampton store has proved so popular with customers that it’s now set to be expanded to further stores around the UK.
Announcing the news, M&S said that 25 of it’s 44 ‘fill-your-own’ products were outselling the pre-packaged alternatives at the store, including porridge oats, basmati rice and milk chocolate raisins.
The efforts by M&S are evidence of a major shift across all the major supermarkets – and other retailers – to reduce the use of throwaway plastic packaging, which is seen as wasteful and a threat to the environment and wildlife.
Marks and Spencer have announced their eco-friendly ‘fill-your-own’ scheme will be expanded this month after a popular trial at a store in Southampton (pictured, shoppers using their own containers to purchase dried goods)
Fill-your-own schemes have long-been popular at independent stores, where customers are invited to bring a container to replenish dried-food or pantry-food supplies.
However in recent years, supermarket chains have taken to testing them in an effort to reduce single-use plastics.
The original trial in Southampton, which launched in December, offered 44 plastic packaging-free products from coffee and cereal to sweets and pasta at the Hedge End retail park store.
It offered free, widely recyclable paper bags for customers who arrive at the store without containers to hand.
The retailer announced they’d be expanding the initiative after a successful trial at a store in Southampton
Bestselling products on the scheme include M&S’s Triple Chocolate Crunch cereal, Whole Scottish Porridge Oats, Basmati Rice, Milk Chocolate Raisins, Single Origin Brazil Coffee and Fiorelli Pasta.
After the success of the initiative, the trial will be extended to the firm’s Manchester city centre store in March, before being rolled out to other shops across the country.
M&S’ move to encourage more sustainable retail practices across more of it stores highlights a clear shift in the UK’s retail landscape towards sustainability as of late.
Will Broome, CEO and Founder of Ubamarket, an app which acts like a supermarket sat-nav, called the move by M&S ‘extremely encouraging’.
The scheme allows shoppers to purchase dried goods, like coffee, pasta and rice, at a reduced rate if they bring their own container
He revealed: ‘It’s extremely encouraging to see retailers such as M&S taking major steps towards creating a more sustainable future for the food retail sector, and retail across the board.
‘Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword; it is quickly becoming a necessity for retailers wanting to prosper and develop into a more environmentally conscious society, as widespread consumer demand and threat of impending legislation suggest that there is no turning back.’
In recent weeks some of Britain’s biggest retailers, including Asda and Tesco, have announced plans to cut down plastic waste, with Tesco removing plastic packaging from multipack tins and the launch of Asda’s ‘sustainability store’.
And in June last year, Waitrose launched a trial at a store in Oxford that involved taking more than 200 products out of their packaging and selling them loose to people who use their own containers.