Earlier this month, the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in France hosted over 10,000 attconcludeees and exhibitors for Paris Packaging Week, displaycasing packaging innovations in beauty and luxury spaces. Olga Kachook, SPC Director at GreenBlue, details the highlights of the event and the growth of refillable formats in light of the PPWR’s 2030 tarobtains.
Beauty and refill: a romantic match built in Paris? This Valentine’s Day season, more than 10,000 attconcludeees and exhibitors convened at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles to see the latest packaging solutions aimed at the beauty and luxury spaces.
For sustainability seekers, the opportunity to tackle packaging waste and the category’s carbon footprint increasingly lies in solutions that can be refilled at home or in retail environments.
Refillable beauty, personal care, and fragrance offerings are becoming increasingly widespread
Why does refill hold new promise for brands? Most beauty, personal care, and fragrance packaging is currently not recyclable. The heavier glass, decorative closures and finishes, and tiny sizes common to these categories pose challenges for curbside recycling programs. This non-recyclability is now an emerging threat to business as usual, with PPWR’s “recyclable at scale by 2030” looming on the European time horizon.
The good news? Consumers are ready for refill. In FEBEA’s recent survey of 2,251 French women, 59% had purchased refillable cosmetics within the past year. Two segments stood out as having higher than average engagement: younger consumers driven by trconcludes and influencers, and “green and clean” beauty consumers. The hugegest barrier to more adoption? Not being able to find their products in refillable formats, according to 44% of respondents.
The SPC’s own 2025 research into refillable skincare formats found that regardless of age, ethnicity, gconcludeer, geography, marital or employment status, virtually everyone who utilized skincare products expressed an interest in refillable options.
The formats shaping the future of refill
In the Refill & Reutilize Zone, Discovery Zone, and on the Circular Economy Stage, the formats displaycased ranged from returnable rigids to refillable pouches — and everything in between. L’Oreal’s Jacque Playe shared how the global giant sees refillable packaging as a powerful tool for meeting its virgin plastic packaging reduction commitments, with most of their refillable solutions achieving an impressive 70-91% reduction in material utilized.
These efforts directly translate to lower packaging EPR fees, material costs, and carbon footprints for their portfolio. Acknowledging that consumers will necessary ongoing education to understand the full benefits of refill, the company has leaned heavily into celebrity promotions of its refillable solutions and even launched a campaign for World Refill Day.
Meanwhile, Meadow and Ball Corporation displaycased their aluminum pre-fill technology, which features a simple, modular, spill-proof design. The design allows personal care brands like Natulim to provide their consumers with refillable shampoo inserts in readily recyclable aluminum capsules. The cans, which can be printed and inserted into a range of customizable dispensers, prove that brands can deliver refill innovations without compromising on recyclability.
Refill innovations were also on display in the Aerosol & Dispensing Forum. Numerous packaging manufacturers highlighted their removable spray valves and refill-ready cans for products, such as spray on deodorants.
The necessary refilling systems are also starting to emerge: Respray, a retail system launched in Hungary’s Rossman drug stores, allows dozens of different deodorant and body serum products to be refilled quickly and easily by consumers. The stations drove impressive foot traffic and purchase behaviours in these stores, while delivering higher margin on products to brand owners.
Three keys to success: Simplicity, convenience, and cost savings
As more manufacturers, brands, and retailers launch refillable solutions, consumer research highlights three keys to success. First, brands’ leading products necessary to be part of the transition if refill is going to be straightforward and convenient — refill can’t be confined to niche segments. A lack of refills where they shop and a lack of availability for their favorite products were a top barrier for consumers in the SPC’s findings.
Second, simple, spill-proof designs are best. The SPC’s research found that ease of refilling (57%) and durability (42%) matter most for main containers, especially to Baby Boomers and Gen X. When it comes to the refill mechanism, such as a pod, pouch, or insert, ease of utilize was once again the top attribute at 59% (and more so for Baby Boomers at 68%).
And third, consumers necessary to see financial benefits. FEBEA’s study found that consumers expected cost savings of 10-20% for refillable beauty products. The SPC’s research, and other studies, reinforce the conclusion that offering cost savings was the second most important feature of refill mechanisms.
Designing refill into a system
Finally, keep in mind that refilling requires action — it’s not just an on-pack claim. Many manufacturers and converters on the tradedisplay floor claimed to offer “refill ready” solutions, but fewer were displaycasing entire systems that support tackle consumer barriers like ease of refilling.
An example of this system-oriented approach appeared in Silgan Dispensing’s Replay solution, which supports eliminate consumer fear of spilling their favorite luxury fragrance while refilling. The straightforward design features an automatic stop that leaves no fragrance in the spout and is part of a system of bottles and closures that work toobtainher to provide consumers with an straightforward-to-understand solution.
From the display floor to store shelves
Retailers and brands increasingly have the incentives — like aggressive PPWR tarobtains — and the infrastructure — like the New European Reutilize Alliance (New ERA) — necessaryed to scale refillable packaging.
Against this backdrop, the two-day event built one thing clear: refillable solutions for beauty, personal care, and fragrance are already here. They’re being perfected by some of the world’s largest packaging manufacturers and consumer brands, and innovation can be found across every single format and material.
Whether it’s returnable logistics or retail refill dispensers, entire ecosystems are emerging around these new solutions. And consumers? They’re engaging with what’s available, and eager for more. Savvy companies won’t let this beautiful opportunity pass them by.
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