An overview
How reuse systems work
This page is a top-level, conceptual guide. For details about Again Again’s container reuse system works, and specifics about joining us, please see here.
All reuse systems need three elements aligned. As you consider any reuse system for your business, you’ll need to address them all.
Containers
Choose whatever fleet best suits your food, drinks, or products.
Your containers need to be:
Fit for purpose
An acceptable cost to your business
In a shared system, customers can benefit from greater convenience if they are:
Interoperable between many cafes
Management
Whether it is a cash-based deposit/return system, a tech-enabled one, or just trust… you’ll need a method of keeping track of your containers. All have merits.
Cash systems are easy to implement. If you are going to take your cafe entirely single-use container free, you will need a cash system to ensure options for all your customers (and not just those who have downloaded an app). Without it, you will lose sales.
Tech systems allow you to loan out more valuable containers, without whopping big deposits for the customer, and still protecting your investment in the containers.
In a close-knit, community environment, trust isn’t a bad management tool. It’s not very scalable, but it is lovely.
Washing
Sanitisation, in line with national food safety standards, is imperative.
For many hospitality businesses, the equipment and workflow for this already exists, and this is easy.
For other businesses, this workflow will need to be designed, either onsite or off-premises. In this case, sanitisation is likely to be the tricky part of the puzzle.
Again Again can not assist businesses to create wash solutions currently.