The "Pharma-Recharge" consortium, comprising Expanscience, Garancia, La Rosée Cosmétiques, Bioderma (Naos) and Pierre Fabre Dermo-cosmétique, has decided to join forces to reduce the environmental impact of cosmetics packaging.
In this context of environmental transition, dermocosmetics and pharmaceuticals must innovate to meet the expectations of the 63 % French consumers who want to buy in bulk the products they usually buy packaged.1.
Aware of the urgency and already committed to eco-responsible initiatives, the brands A-Derma (Pierre Fabre), Bioderma (NAOS), Ducray (Pierre Fabre), Eluday (Pierre Fabre), Garancia, Klorane (Pierre Fabre), La Rosée and Mustela (Laboratoires Expanscience), have decided to anticipate and join forces to offer consumers a refill point which, initially, will be tested in a Paris pharmacy (Pharmacie Carré Opéra de la Chaussée d'Antin), before rolling out the experiment to other outlets.
This virtuous approach has been created by cooperating with players in the French recycling ecosystem, in a spirit of co-construction and iteration. The consortium was supported by experts in the circular economy and by (Re)set, a consulting firm dedicated to environmental transition.
In concrete terms, it's a joint piece of furniture for 15 iconic everyday products. To design it, the consortium chose Mobil Wood, a company specializing in eco-designed furniture made from French wood, for the cabinet structure, and Jean Bouteille, a pioneering impact company in the implementation of bulk and reuse solutions, for the fountains. The consortium also selected a common 500 ml glass bottle for the experiment, compatible with the majority of products.
The user path is simple: the consumer follows the steps in the order module, attaches the bottle proposed for this experiment to the fountain of the product of their choice, a predefined dose is poured automatically, and all they have to do is pick up their bottle and come back next time to refill it.
Each brand is free to set its own commercial terms with the pharmacy, and the pharmacy is free to set its own resale price.
The experiment is being conducted in compliance with pharmacy health standards and dermo-cosmetic product quality requirements (stop drop, no contact with formula, traceability, etc.). Over the next few months, the experiment will be extended to other regional pharmacies, based on feedback from the pilot pharmacy. If necessary, it will be further developed and, above all, made permanent.
1 Source: Réseau Vrac and Nielsen Panel Views, assessment of the bulk market in 2020, survey of 9,900 households.
