Precycling is continuing to grow in prominence in Europe, with the confirmation that a supermarket of this variety will soon open its doors in the Netherlands.
Unverpackt in Berlin and Robust in Antwerp will soon be joined by the Dutch outfit Bag & Buy, which, it is anticipated, will begin trading next year. Wim van Dijk, its founder, wants to push nuts, cereals, beans, spices, grain, as well as wine and oils. These goods will be dispensed from receptacles, as is the practice in packaging-free supermarkets.
With the city of Utrecht being the most generous benefactor, van Dijk has accumulated €75,000 in crowd-funding for his project.
"Less packaging is less pollution," says the entrepreneur. "It's a kind of movement; people find that they are constantly being lied about products and have had enough of this."
Though packaging-free retail has shown steady (albeit slow) growth in Belgium and Germany, the central obstacle remains the organisation the consumer must adopt in order to make the concept really accelerate: one cannot pop into a store one a whim, but rather, must be equipped with a linen bags, preserving jars etc. in advance.
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly
