Reusable packaging in grocery retail
Exploration of circular packaging solutions for E-commerce
Date: 2024 – 2026
Client
Orkla Foods Norway and Circular Packaging Cluster (CPC)
Industry
Grocery retail and food packaging
Partners
Orkla Foods, Fjordland, Meny/NorgesGruppen, GRIN, Nofima, Mepex, Zonic
Funded by
Handelens Miljøfond. Budget total NOK 5 million incl. co-funding from the partners
Introduction
Norwegian grocery retail generates significant volumes of packaging waste. The EU’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) introduces mandatory reuse and refill targets that the industry has no established systems to meet. The project “Reusable Packaging in Grocery Retail” was set up to answer a question the industry had not yet been able to answer: can reuse of food packaging actually work in a modern grocery supply chain, and if so, under what conditions?
What we set out to solve
The project was built around four core questions:
Can reuse of food packaging be made technically viable, meeting food safety, hygiene, and logistics requirements in a real grocery context?
What does a reuse system actually cost across packaging design, return infrastructure, washing facilities, and in-store operations; and who bears those costs?
At what scale and under what conditions does reuse become economically viable for producers and retailers?
How do consumers respond, and what is needed to make reuse a natural part of their shopping habits?
The project set out to learn through experimentation, working with real products and real partners across the supply chain to build the knowledge needed to take reuse from ambition to practice.
Approach
The project was structured as a Design Thinking process, bringing together a cross-functional team from across the value chain. Using the Double Diamond model as a framework, the process alternated between broad exploration and focused development, with repeated cycles of design, prototyping, and testing.
Two products were selected as cases: Idun Ketchup (Orkla Foods) and Fjordland Rice Porridge. For each case, the team conducted material flow analysis, environmental impact calculations, and a full circular business model analysis covering packaging design, return logistics, washing infrastructure, and financial viability.
Outcome
The project demonstrated that reuse of food packaging is technically feasible, but that economic viability requires shared infrastructure costs across multiple producers.
For Idun Ketchup, the analysis showed a potential CO₂ saving of more than 4,500 tonnes per year at five reuse cycles.
Rather than a traditional written report, the findings were published as a dedicated website, built to make results accessible and shareable across the industry: ombrukidagligvare.report
My role and contrubution
Project Manager and Circular Economist
Together with Orkla Foods Norge and Circular Packaging Cluster, I initiated and wrote the funding application to Handelens Miljøfond, and defined the project scope and brief.
As project manager throughout, I was responsible for process design, partner mobilisation, methodology, and progress across a cross-organisational team. I led the external communication, including the webinar series “Circular Breakfast” and had full responsibility for final reporting on both content and financials.
As part of the finalization, I conceived and produced the project’s final report as a public website rather than a traditional document, making the findings directly accessible to the industry at ombrukidagligvare.report
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