Reusable container retail model, Loop, launching in May; Tropicana on board

Tropicana, Häagen-Dazs and Hidden Valley Ranch are among the companies partnering with a new e-retailer that wants to eliminate disposable commercial containers.

Loop, which has been featured by CNN and Forbes, is a new service where consumers purchase products in reusable containers, rather than buying a new container each time. Using UPS, Loop delivers the filled containers to the consumer and then, once depleted, the container sent back to be cleaned and refilled.

Loop is the creation of TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company dedicated to recycling the “non-recyclable,” such as pens and plastic gloves.

“The cheaper, easier, and more convenient we make (Loop), the more people will adopt it,” TerraCycle CEO Tyler Szaky told Forbes.

Loop will launch in New York and Paris in May, with plans to launch in Canada later this year. The Canadian version will be with a yet-to-be-named “major retailer,” reported CBC. 

While Loop’s early list partners includes several food and beverage suppliers, including Pepsi and Nestle, the array of companies is quite diversified. Loop partners also include Dove, Oral-B, Tide, Crest and Clorox, among others.

Loop’s business model is still in its infancy and is no guarantee to catch on. However, he introduction of reusable packaging for consumable food product is worth watching for any food producer or packaging maker.