Imagine going to the grocery store and buying pickles, jam, or pasta sauce—but instead of each brand having a single-use disposable package, all these products come in standard reusable containers that are shared across brands and companies. This idea is called standardized, pooled packaging in a “packaging-as-a-service” model.
Circulr is launching a collaborative new food packaging reuse project to investigate how such a “packaging-as-a-service” model can work at scale for in-aisle grocery food packaging.
Building on successes in its core grocery packaging reuse program, and in collaboration with key industry partners, Circulr recently completed a feasibility study exploring the potential for a large-scale, cross-category food packaging reuse system. With positive results during the feasibility study, Circulr will be launching the design phase of the project in Q1 2026.
“Shared pool reuse models allow brands to access a stock of standardized reusable containers, which are filled and sold like normal, then returned by consumers rather than being thrown away. The containers are cleaned, checked, and reused again and again by different companies,” said Tyler De Sousa, Co-Founder of Circulr. “The benefits are clear: less single-use waste, lower costs over time as a result of shared resources, and more convenience for consumers as there’s a system to return empty containers easily.”
Circulr’s food packaging reuse project is supported by Reposit. Reposit are leading the Canada Reuse City Ottawa Project, with support from Circulr, that is launching in Q3 2026 with 70 personal care & home care products in standardised pooled packaging-as-a-service in 76 stores.
The establishment of such a large-scale reuse project presents a major opportunity to add additional product categories and retailers, including food.
The design phase for the food packaging reuse project will begin early Q2 2026, with a goal of launching the program in Ottawa by Mid-2027 to build on the personal care & home care launch in Q3 2026
Circulr’s feasibility study was generously supported by several industry partners, including Filsigners Organic, Massily North America, Reposit, Sobeys Inc., and an additional national brand. For more information on the results of the feasibility study or to get your company involved in the design phase, please contact Info@circulr.ca.
