Giant Food to Launch Loop Packaging in D.C.

Giant Food will bring Loop’s innovative packaging solution developed by TerraCycle to its customers. Beginning this fall, customers in the D.C.-metro area will be able to purchase the products they use every day in durable, reusable containers that can be found in Loop branded displays in participating Giant stores.

“Giant is committed to taking sustainable actions that reduce plastic waste from our landfills and improve our environment,” said Diane Couchman, vice president category management, non-perishables at Giant Food. “We are excited to partner with LOOP, a global leader in eliminating waste, to offer our customers a program that allows them to shop their favorite products and help our environment.”

Loop is the first platform to partner with brands and retailers to offer consumers a way to go from single use to reuse with their purchases. Through the platform, customers can purchase their Loop-ready products in refillable, reusable containers found in branded displays in participating Giant stores.

After consumers finish the products, they return the empty containers to a Loop Return Point at Giant. From there, the containers are sent to Loop to be sanitized, then returned to brands to be refilled and returned to the store for future purchase.

“Loop’s goal has always been to grow, scale and be accessible to consumers around the world,” says Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop. “With world class retailers, like Giant, bringing Loop to their physical brick and mortar locations, we are giving consumers what they’ve been asking for since Loop was introduced in 2019 – the ability to purchase the products they use every day in durable, reusable containers, with the convenience of shopping at their local market.”

To ensure that all the reusable containers used in the Loop process maintain advanced cleaning and sanitization, Loop consults with Ecolab Inc., a global leader in cleaning and hygiene solutions and services, for on site design and equipment, as well as the chemistry of the cleaning processes.

Loop’s movement to an in-store retail model began in Paris with Carrefour in December 2020. In May 2021, Loop launched in-store at AEON in Japan and in-store at Tesco in September 2021.

Loop launched in-store at Kroger-owned Fred Meyer stores in the Portland metro area in February 2022. Loop launched a reusable packaging partnership with McDonald’s in the United Kingdom and with Burger King and Tim Hortons in select restaurants in the United States and Canada, respectively.

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