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* Britons becoming more aware of plastic use
* Supermarket chains increasingly testing refills
* Asda to add four more stores to trial
* Has partnerships with Unilever and Kellogg's
* Asda says trial store refills outsold packaged goods
By James Davey
LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - British supermarket group Asda
is to extend its trial of a refill scheme that allows shoppers
to replenish their own containers after sales of several
products in an initial pilot store outsold packaged
alternatives, it said on Wednesday.
Asda, Britain's third-biggest grocer by sales after market
leader Tesco and Sainsbury's, said it would
expand its refill proposition to four more stores by the end of
the year, having launched the concept last year at its store in
Middleton, Leeds, northern England.
Britons have become increasingly aware of the amount of
plastic they use in recent years, with television documentaries
such as David Attenborough's "Blue Planet II" particularly
highlighting the dangers of plastic pollution to marine life.
In response supermarket chains and consumer goods groups are
increasingly testing refills as part of a drive to cut
single-use plastics.
Earlier, this month Marks & Spencer extended its
packaging-free refillable grocery concept "Fill Your Own" to 11
stores. Waitrose sells refillables in four stores.
Morrisons has been trialing refills for ambient and
frozen products in three stores since 2019. A spokesperson for
the chain said it was looking at how to bring refills to more
stores, whilst thinking about how to make the format COVID
secure.
Last year Tesco started trialing reusable containers for its
online groceries service, while Sainsbury's is looking at a
variety of options for refillable stations.
Asda's Middleton store trial launched with 30 household
staples sold in refillable format, including Unilever's
PG Tips tea bags, Persil laundry detergent and Radox shower gel;
along with Kellogg's cereals and PepsiCo's Quaker
Oats.
The Middleton store is Unilever's biggest refill trial in
Europe.
"The rollout follows the successful launch of the Middleton
refill zone last October, with several products outstripping
packaged sales and many customers travelling from outside the
local area to shop sustainably," said Susan Thomas, Asda's
director of commercial sustainability.
The four additional stores will feature an increased range
of core products and partnerships with household brands
including Yorkshire Tea, an increased range of Kellogg's
cereals, new own-label and Nestle cereals, Napolina
pasta, and Tilda rice alongside new "prefilled" trials of Radox
and Persil that will utilise stainless steel reusable bottles.
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by David Evans)
