Fill-to-order, label-per-household, closed-loop container swap
#00021
A central facility fills standardised containers to order, labelled per household; a carrier delivers full units and collects empties on the same stop for cleaning and refill. Filling only on order closes the contamination window and the swap removes dispensing friction.
#00024The central cleaning loop's per-cycle cost is unproven
The closed-loop swap shifts reverse-logistics cost onto the operator, who must collect, sanitise and refill containers. Whether the model beats plastic rests on the measured per-cycle cleaning cost (water, energy, detergent, wear, reject rate) and the number of reuse cycles.
#00025Container standardisation conflicts with brands' reliance on the bottle as a differentiator
The closed loop is far cheaper with standardised, interoperable containers, but the bottle is a core branding asset and brands have real reasons to resist a shared container they do not control. The question is how to win standardisation without erasing brand differentiation.