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Lidl has become the first supermarket in the UK that gives customers access to an on-shelf smart refill machine with ‘smart’ pouches for their laundry detergent, which will feature in Lidl’s Swadlincote, Lichfield and Kingswinford stores.
The news of this trial is said to meet Lidl’s commitment to being “big on quality, Lidl on price” by saving customers money, while also helping to reduce single-use plastic.
It is reported that the compact machines, which have been designed by Chilean sustainability start-up Algramo, will be located on-shelf in the store’s laundry detergent section. They will take up space equivalent to 66 standard Formil single-use bottles, with the potential of filling over 245 individual pouches, increasing capacity by nearly 300%.
In addition, refills are said to offer customers the cheapest wash by saving 20p per refill when compared to the equivalent single-use product. The ‘smart’ refill pouches also save 59g of plastic per refill, which is the equivalent weight of a single-use bottle, and minimises CO2 and water usage.
Through the machine’s automated touchscreen, customers can pick up the pouch, choose their detergent and follow the on-screen instructions. “Innovative” ‘closed-fill’ technology has reportedly been incorporated into the pouch cap to allow customers to fill up with the cap still on for faster and less mess and spills.
Mark Newbold, CSR manager at Lidl GB, said: “We are incredibly proud of this latest innovation, which will enable our customers to save money and reduce their plastic consumption.
“We were the first UK supermarket to introduce smart laundry detergent refill stations and now we’re the first to introduce this next generation design.”
He added: “It’s our strong belief that good quality and value should go together. We are committed to providing our customers with cost saving solutions that can help their wallets and the planet.”
Chris Baker, country manager at Algramo UK, said: “At Algramo, we are committed to lowering the cost of products by selling in bulk and reducing the amount of single-use plastic that is discarded, decreasing the environmental impact.
“This launch represents an important evolution of our refill offering and there is still more to come as we explore new ways to further optimise refill both for the consumer and retail staff alike.”
