IDEA – Original Unverpackt: A New Package-Free Shopping Experience

We all know plastic is bad for us and for the planet… but it is everywhere! Ever we do BYOB, still, one hardly avoid the wrapping papers, plastic film, polystyrene trays from grocery shopping. (That’s sad.)

Yet, a new supermarket revolution is on its way! (Hurray!!!) Original Unpackaged (Original Unverpackt) from Berlin, Germany, is a new concept of shopping without packaging.

Founders Sara Wolf and Milena Glimbovski’s vision is to redesign Germany’s shopping experience by setting up a nationwide packaging-free supermarket chain. Their successful crowdfunding campaign on the German’s Start Next site means they are ready to go ahead with their plan.

Sara and Milena share their vision on their crowd funding blog:

“When out shopping we find a lot of super colorful items with super colorful packaging. What we tend to forget is that this packaging is only waste at the end of the day.”

“16 million tons of packaging end up as waste every year in Germany alone”

“We need a shopping revolution. We need to move away from wasteful single-use packaging, and instead make zero-waste and unpackaged food available for everyone.”

“This project is there to send a signal to the food industry that different ways of operating are possible. And we as customers finally are able to buy things the way we really want to. We believe that the current way of shopping is not sustainable.”

How does it work?
-Most products will be dispensed in bulk. Customers are encouraged to bring their own containers or borrow some from the store or use recycled paper bags.

-Brands will be carefully selected and local or regional produce will be first choice.

-There will be organic but also more affordable produce so as to open the doors to consumers on any budget.

-Franchise options to their business model will be available.

This idea is not new in Europe. Maybe, we can have one in Hong Kong as well?

Watch video below to discover more: