Brands across beauty, cleaning, wellness, and food and beverage categories are adopting refill models as part of broader sustainability efforts and evolving packaging strategies. According to Towards Packaging, the global refillable packaging market was valued at nearly $47 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $70 billion by 2035.
Part of that growth reflects consumer interest in sustainability. A Blue Yonder survey in 2025 found that 78% of consumers consider sustainability at least somewhat important when purchasing products, and more than 45% are willing to spend more on sustainable products.
In this article, you’ll learn about the top categories for refillable products, along with the key operational considerations that support adoption, customer retention, and a lower environmental footprint for the planet.
What are refillable products?
Refillable products are designed to be replenished without discarding the product’s primary container or more durable external packaging. Instead of repeatedly purchasing a fully packaged replacement, customers buy refills separately and transfer them into the original container. Refills may come in aluminum bottles, bulk plastic pouches, refill pods, or tablets or powders that dissolve in water.
Many brands use sustainable solutions like biomaterials and recycled plastic (also known as post-consumer resin, or PCR) in both refill packaging and reusable primary containers.
Refillable products differ from reusable and single-use products:
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Reusable. Designed to be used repeatedly without needing replacement elements, like a stainless steel water bottle or washable snack bags.
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Single-use. Designed to be discarded once the product is finished, like tubes of toothpaste or plastic soda bottles.
Benefits of refillable products
As the Blue Yonder survey and other consumer research illustrate, many shoppers are increasingly looking for products with more sustainable practices and environmentally friendly packaging. Refilling products can help reduce waste with their repeat-use durable containers and fully packaged replacements.
For ecommerce businesses, refillable products can also provide operational and financial benefits. Refills are often lighter than full-size replacements, which can reduce shipping costs and the carbon footprint associated with each order. If you choose to offer a subscription model, refills can help generate predictable revenue and longer-term customer relationships.
Coffee concentrate brand Kloo provides two glass jars of its product for first-time orders, followed by refill pouches for subsequent ones. Refills weren’t always the plan—they were motivated by early customer feedback.
“We were surprised to learn that our subscribers didn’t necessarily want to get the nice glass bottles with every order. A lot of them offered to ship them back to us to recycle and reuse,” says cofounder Claudia Snoh on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “We ended up introducing low-impact refill pouches that are recyclable—and much lighter. That really helped us on our margins, and meant we could offer our subscribers a much better price.”
4 categories of refillable products
Anything customers repurchase can be a candidate for a refill model, but refillable products are common in categories built around repeat purchases, routine use, and ongoing replenishment. Here are four categories that employ the refillable model:
Beauty and personal care
Beauty and personal care brands are among the most visible adopters of refillable products, including across skin care, makeup, fragrance, and oral care categories. Sonsie and Fluff, for example, offer beauty refills for products like moisturizer, lip oil, and blush, Bite offers refill pouches of toothpaste and mouthwash tablets, and Wild offers refillable deodorants.
Beauty packaging is especially well-suited for refill systems as brands: According to Pact Collective, 120 billion cosmetic packages are produced every year, but only a fraction are properly recycled. Most beauty industry packaging is too small to be caught by materials recovery facility (MRF) machinery, while some beauty waste includes multiple types of material that must be separated manually.
For makeup brand Fluff, refillable beauty products are a core part of its business model. “Our compacts are designed hopefully to last a lifetime or for a long time,” founder Erika Geraerts says on Shopify Masters. “You buy that once, and that’s your entry into the brand. And then it’s about refilling and trying different colors and shades.”
Cleaning and household
Cleaning and household products are another common category for refill systems, particularly for products like hand soap, surface cleaners, laundry detergent, and dish soap. Brands like Blueland and Element Brooklyn have built their businesses around refillable cleaning products designed to reduce reliance on disposable plastic bottles.
Most households have a huge collection of cleaning supplies, all regularly replaced and held in plastic bottles or jugs that will be thrown away once empty. Refillable cleaning products can also save money for both the business and the customer, especially concentrated versions that are diluted simply by adding water.
Blueland CEO and cofounder Sarah Paiji Yoo shares on Shopify Masters that the popularity of refillable products has made their marketing more cost-effective. “Today, you walk into any mass retailer, and there are many different refill options available in the cleaning section,” she says. “It means we don’t have to be educating as much on why you should be refilling your original bottle, and can focus on things like efficacy, and the ingredients profile of our products.”
Supplements and wellness
Supplements and wellness products, such as those from microbiome-focused Seed, are another strong fit for refill systems because customers often purchase them on a recurring schedule as part of daily routines. Vitamins, probiotics, hydration mixes, and other wellness products align with subscription models and repeat replenishment behavior.
The wellness category is also closely associated with sustainability, making refill systems a natural extension of many brands’ broader positioning and packaging strategies.
Seed pairs compostable refill packets with glass jars, and packs first-time orders in biodegradable boxes and “paper foam” trays formed with starch, natural fibers, and water that can be recycled or composted.
Food and beverage
Several food and beverage brands use refill systems for products customers use regularly, like coffee (Kloo), olive oil (Citizens of Soil), shelf-stable pantry staples, and even the carbonation for sparkling water (Aerflo).
Food and beverage packaging is often cited as one of the worst offenders in creating plastic waste; bottles, wrappers, containers, and cutlery are the most common litter items found in rivers and oceans worldwide. A recent Packaging World survey found that 78% of consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands cite cost as the biggest barrier to adopting sustainable packaging. Lightweight refill packaging can help reduce shipping weight and material usage compared to repeatedly shipping glass or other heavy-duty containers.
Citizens of Soil’s primary packaging resembles a 500 milliliter bottle of wine; it sends monthly refills to subscribers in lightweight plastic pouches that produce 15 times less carbon than glass bottles. Founder Sarah Vachon drew inspiration from refillable beauty brands and subscription coffee companies while developing her model. “Olive oil is something everyone is using in their kitchens,” she says on Shopify Masters, “and it’s the sort of product that needs a restock because people use it every day as they cook.”
Special considerations when selling refillable products
- Inventory management
- Subscription models
- Product merchandising and customer experience
- Transparent sustainability practices
Adding refill products to an ecommerce business often requires more operational planning than simply changing the packaging. Brands may need to manage separate inventory for refill products, support recurring purchase behavior, and create a purchasing experience that clearly distinguishes first-time purchases from refills.
Here’s what to keep in mind:
Inventory management
Refill products and original containers often have different demand patterns, fulfillment workflows, and purchasing behavior. Shopify’s built-in inventory management tools can help you track containers and refills as separate items and monitor your stock across multiple sales channels. If you plan to offer in-store fill stations, Shopify provides multilocation inventory visibility and data on refill demand by location.
Subscription models
Refill products are often well-suited for subscription models because they support predictable replenishment cycles for frequently used items. Subscriptions can simplify repeat purchases for customers while helping brands generate more consistent recurring revenue and strengthen customer retention. Shopify stores can use the Shopify Subscriptions app or third-party apps available through the Shopify App Store to help automate billing, customer management, and recurring fulfillment workflows.
As Kailey Bradt, CEO of skin care brand Sonsie, says on Shopify Masters: “People aren’t gonna buy something just based on sustainability.” Refillable products still need to fit naturally into customers’ routines and deliver a high-quality experience beyond their environmental positioning.
Product merchandising and customer experience
Not all customers will want to sign up for a subscription immediately. Appeal to this audience segment by making one-time refill purchases easy to understand at checkout. Shopify’s product variants feature can help separate refill options from full-size starter kits or original containers while still managing inventory under a single product listing.
Provide clear instructions for how refillable components are used, stored, mixed, or disposed of. Whether customers are refilling a reusable moisturizer container or dissolving cleaning tablets in water, the refill process should feel intuitive and convenient.
Transparent sustainability practices
Many consumers are familiar with greenwashing—when brands make misleading or false environmental claims about their product line—and may be skeptical of sustainability-focused marketing without clear evidence. Clearly communicate how your refillable food, wellness, or beauty products impact the environment, along with details about ingredients and formulas, sourcing, and fulfillment practices. Some brands pursue third-party certifications like B Corp, Cradle to Cradle, or Leaping Bunny to reinforce environmental claims.
Refillable products FAQ
What is a refillable product?
A refillable product is one that can be replenished without discarding the primary container. Refillables are designed as an alternative to single-use products, allowing consumers to continue using the original, durable outer container and purchasing refills of the product itself.
What are the common refillable products?
Common refillable products include beauty and wellness products like makeup, perfume, body wash, and supplements, household cleaning products like hand soap and detergents, and food and beverage goods like coffee and spices.
What is a refillery business?
A refillery business offers refills for a range of products. Customers bring their own refillable containers (or make one-time purchases from the business) and typically pay based on the weight of the product.
