Amcor Research Shows Price, Recyclability and Convenience Are Key to Refill Packaging Adoption

Refill packaging is becoming a more familiar part of the personal care market, but consumers still expect it to deliver on price, convenience, and sustainability before changing their purchasing habits at scale.

New consumer research published by Amcor, the global packaging company, examines attitudes toward refillable packaging for personal care products across six major European countries. The study surveyed 2,749 consumers and focused on categories including haircare, liquid soap, shower products, and bath products.

The findings suggest that refill formats, particularly refill pouches, are no longer limited to early adopters. According to the research, 66% of consumers surveyed said they had purchased a refill pouch within the previous 12 months. Amcor argues that these points point to growing familiarity with refill systems and indicate that consumers are open to packaging models that combine a reusable primary container with a lighter refill pack.

For brands, retailers, and packaging suppliers, the research highlights a practical point: sustainability can help drive adoption, but it is unlikely to be enough on its own. Consumers want refill products to be cheaper, easier to find, less messy to use, and clearly better from an environmental perspective.

Price Remains the Strongest Adoption Driver

The most important barrier identified in the research is affordability. Amcor found that 86% of respondents expect refill products to cost less than the original product. Nearly 70% said they would buy more refill products in the future if prices were lower.

This matters because refill systems often require consumers to make an extra decision at the point of purchase. Instead of buying a familiar bottle, jar, or dispenser, they need to understand the refill mechanism, trust that it will work with the original container, and believe that the switch is worthwhile. A lower price can make that decision easier.

For manufacturers, this creates a clear commercial challenge. Refill packaging must reduce material use and support circularity goals, but it also has to compete in highly price-sensitive personal care categories. If refill products are positioned as premium sustainability options rather than everyday alternatives, adoption may remain limited.

The findings also suggest that refill strategies need to be integrated into mainstream product lines rather than treated as separate sustainability experiments. Consumers are more likely to repeat the behavior when the refill is linked to a product they already buy, priced clearly, and placed where they naturally expect to find it.

Recyclability and Recycled Content Influence Consumer Trust

Sustainability remains a major factor in consumer interest. Amcor’s research found that 81% of respondents would be more likely to buy personal care refill pouches if they were recyclable. Around two-thirds said they would be more likely to purchase refills made using recycled plastic.

These figures are important because refill packaging can face scrutiny if consumers perceive it as simply adding another packaging layer. In some refill systems, a durable outer container is paired with a disposable inner pack or pouch. The environmental case depends on several factors, including how much material is saved, whether the refill pack can be recycled, how many times the original container is reused, and how the product performs through transport, storage, and use.

For the packaging sector, the message is that refill formats need credible design choices and clear communication. A pouch that uses less material but is not recyclable may still be viewed skeptically by consumers. A refill made with recycled content may strengthen the sustainability case, but only if performance, safety, and product protection are not compromised.

Amcor has been investing more broadly in packaging circularity. In its FY25 sustainability reporting, the company said it had achieved its target of using 10% post-consumer recycled plastic by 2025, equivalent to 218,000 metric tons of recycled plastic. It also reported that 72% of its packaging production by weight was designed for recyclability by the end of FY25, with higher recyclability in rigid packaging than in flexible packaging.

That distinction is relevant for refill pouches. Flexible packaging can reduce material use and transport weight, but it is often harder to recycle than rigid formats because of multi-layer structures, contamination risks, and limited collection infrastructure. Progress in refill packaging will therefore depend not only on brand design, but also on recycling systems, material innovation, and local waste management capacity.

Visibility and Convenience Remain Practical Barriers

The research also shows that availability is still limiting growth. Amcor found that 45% of consumers would buy more refills if they were easier to find in stores or added to online orders. Nearly half of the respondents who do not purchase refill products said they cannot find their preferred products in refill formats.

This suggests that retailers have a significant role to play. Refill pouches may perform better when placed next to the original product rather than in a separate sustainability section. Online retailers can also support adoption by offering refill prompts, bundle options, and subscription models that make repeat purchases simpler.

Convenience extends beyond availability. Consumers identified product waste, spills, and messiness as key concerns with refill systems. This creates a design challenge for packaging suppliers: refill packaging must be lightweight and lower impact, but also easy to open, pour, close, store, and dispose of responsibly.

For personal care brands, the user experience is especially important. Products such as shampoo, shower gel, and liquid soap are used frequently, often in bathrooms or wet environments where spills and handling problems are more noticeable. If the refill process feels inconvenient, consumers may try it once but fail to repeat the purchase.

Implications for Packaging and Net-Zero Strategies

Refill packaging is often discussed as part of a wider transition toward circular packaging models. In theory, refill systems can reduce the need for repeated production of rigid containers, lower material consumption, and cut transport emissions if refill packs are lighter and more space-efficient.

However, the climate and waste benefits are not automatic. Companies need to assess refill systems through life cycle analysis, considering material production, recycled content, refill weight, transport, consumer behavior, product loss, and end-of-life treatment. A refill model that is rarely reused, difficult to recycle, or poorly adopted may deliver less impact than expected.

For net-zero strategies, the most important lesson is that consumer behavior and packaging design must be aligned. Brands cannot rely on sustainability claims alone. They need packaging that performs technically, reduces material demand, supports recycling or reuse systems, and fits normal shopping habits.

Amcor’s findings point to a practical roadmap for wider adoption: make refills cheaper than original packs, ensure they are visible in retail channels, improve recyclability, use recycled content where feasible, and design refill systems that avoid mess and product waste.

The refill market is likely to remain an important testing ground for circular packaging. For consumer goods companies, it offers a way to reduce packaging intensity and respond to regulatory and consumer pressure on plastic waste. For packaging suppliers, it creates demand for materials that combine durability, recyclability, product protection, and convenience.

The research also shows that the transition will be shaped by ordinary purchasing decisions. Consumers may support lower-impact packaging in principle, but adoption will depend on whether refill products are affordable, accessible, and easy to use. For refill packaging to scale, sustainability has to be built into a product experience that feels simple rather than exceptional.

Source: sustainabilitymag.com