Isle of Harris

The Harris Refill Bottle / Source: Isle of Harris

AluminiumEuropeFood & BeverageGlassPackaging

3 MINUTE READ

Kaltrina Bylykbashi

WHAT WE SAY:

We love this very human example of a small, artisan brand trying to do the right thing.

On its own it will hardly make a dent in the universe, but we would love to see bigger beverage brands adopt the same creative thinking, when it comes to empowering their customers to make small, energy-saving changes that will add up across millions of customers. And this is one to inspire you.

KEY FACTS:

In April 2022, Isle of Harris Gin made its Aluminium refill bottles available for sale online and in-store.
While its original glass bottle is recyclable, Isle of Harris said that it found customers often wanted to keep it rather than put it in the recycling.
This resulted in enabling customers to purchase refills in aluminium bottles, due to their light-weight, higher recycling rate and lower carbon footprint.

DIVE DEEPER:

In July 2021, Isle of Harris originally offered an annual gin subscription, with members receiving a 500 millilitre aluminium bottle every month to top up their Glass bottle. The cost of this service was GBP 346.50 (USD 416.67) annually.
The distillery has now opened up the initiative to one-off customers, with a 500 millilitre refill being available for GBP 29.50 (USD 35.47), an equivalent cost to buying new glass bottles.
The company says its aluminium bottles are nine times lighter than glass bottles, meaning transporting the refills is more carbon-efficient than glass.
The aluminium is sourced at Tinware Direct, Bedford, UK. The bottle is made up of 70-80% recycled aluminium and virgin aluminium.
The brand also offers customers a downloadable ‘Time To Top Up’ measuring guide, ensuring that they never miss a refill.

Key Design Considerations:

Could you incentivise customers to go down the refill route?

The refill bottles are priced equivalently to buying the glass bottles. Offering customers a discount for buying the refill bottles is a sure-fire way to nudge more people in that direction.

Make it specific and personal

The distillery told us that its bottles were made from 70-80% recycled aluminium, although this is not communicated to customers. Given the dramatic reduction in energy and GHGs – 95% and 97% respectively – when using recycled aluminium, this feels like a missed opportunity. And while as a small distillery, Isle of Harris might not be able to go this far, we would love to see bigger brands communicate the impact of what buying a refill bottle has at the individual customer level. For example, is it the equivalent of not driving for a month?

Every journey begins with a single step

Isle of Harris positions its Refill Project as “the first step as we begin to experiment with new ecological ideas”. This is a powerful message, highlighting to customers that the brand is on a journey, and that journey will see successes and setbacks. Could you be as honest and vulnerable when experimenting with your business model?