Old habits die hard. That’s a fact about human nature which makes the switch to reuse and refill models in packaging particularly challenging.
In a fireside chat at Plastics Recycling Show Middle East and Africa (PRS MEA&A), Waseem Jeenah, Head of R&D Personal Care at Unilever, shared what the consumer goods multinational is doing to improve uptake of these models.
Since 2018, Unilever has launched over 50 pilot reuse and refill pilot projects across personal care, beauty, laundry, home, hygiene, and food applications.
The key finding, Waseem said, is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, a range of refill and reuse models need to be designed, developed, and tailored to different consumer segments and geographies.
For example, small amounts of powdered soap to be diluted at home have proven popular in Africa, where households often lack the economic means to buy large quantities all at once. Instead, Unilever has found that customers prefer to buy small amounts throughout the month to fit their pay frequency. In the Gulf States, on the other hand, consumers have expressed preference for large formats which reduce trips to the supermarket, like concentrated formulas.
Unilever has found that communicating the benefits of refilling to shoppers who are used to conventional purchasing options is vital to changing their behaviour.
What’s the best tool to successfully spread the message? Tiktok and its influencers, Waseem said. The impact of the social media platform on behaviour change should not be underestimated, he added.
One of Unilever’s reuse and refill pilots had some of the best results after a promotional TikTok campaign went viral in Turkey. An influencer used Cif ecorefill spray to create a visual spectacle of colourful water swirls that wowed the digital audience. With their attention captured, the brand then had a platform to explain why buying this trendy product would be beneficial for them and the planet.
Unilever has been doubling down on its TikTok presence. In 2023, the brands launched a partnership in 10 countries to promote the #CleanTok community. The hashtag brings together content creators, from seasoned cleaners to novices, to swap helpful hacks, share transformations, learn professional tips, and find top cleaning product recommendations on TikTok. The #CleanTok hashtag has been viewed nearly 98.5 billion times.