Bocoloco: rolling out food deposits on a large scale

Bocoloco provides retailers with a collection solution for food packaging.

Let's take a look at what convinced us to invest in this company founded by Alexis Dusanter and his brother Florent.

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The announced end of single-use packaging

Regulations to encourage re-use

The single-use packaging market is being targeted by public authorities, with increasing regulatory pressure on distributors and manufacturers ( cf. the AGEC laws - in particular the 3R decree and the Climate & Resilience law). These regulations include the following constraints:

Distributor side

• 20% reduction in single-use plastic packaging by 2025
• 20% of in-store sales space devoted to the sale of products without packaging by 2030

On the industrial side

• 5% of reused packaging placed on the market by 2023 (10% by 2027)

These regulations provide an incentive, but at this stage are not very restrictive.

We believe (and so much the better!) that the public authorities will progressively tighten up coercive measures, and envisage incentives along the lines of those already in place for the automotive industry and energy-efficient building renovation.

Moreover, Bocoloco has all the cards in its hand to influence future regulations through its network contacts (Réseau Vrac, Réseau Consigne) and its work to raise awareness among political decision-makers.

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The French call for less packaging

According to ADEME, 89% of French people want brands to reduce the amount of plastic packaging they use. 

The first zero-waste solution today is bulk. 

After strong growth in recent years, the bulk trade is stagnating(source) at around 1.3 billion euros in sales in 2021 (out of 243 billion spent on food in 2018, source INSEE). 

Why? 

Bulk is expensive for the store to maintain (food moths, shelf maintenance). 

Consumers are held back by hygiene - even more so post-Covid - and by the lack of information on the product once purchased(what is it? What's the expiration date?).

Bulk packaging is therefore doomed to stagnate, and deposits will become the only alternative that can be scaled up to reduce packaging. This is confirmed by the merchandising project manager of a major retail brand; 

"Regulations are of course part of our motivation, but these laws come from citizens' demands, and it's first and foremost the need expressed by our customers that drives us forward on deposits."

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Bocoloco offers an optimal customer experience for all stakeholders

A turnkey solution for retailers

Bocoloco provides retailers with an ultra-simple and complete mechanism:

• Standardized, reusable containers featuring partner brands. These containers feature a QR code enabling consumers to obtain detailed information on the product (ingredients, expiration date, etc.).

• A modular unit dedicated to deposits, where consumers can find their products and deposit their used jars. A technology identifies the QR of the deposited containers and immediately issues a discount voucher to be deducted by the consumer at the checkout, in order to refund the amount of the container paid when purchasing the deposit.

The Bocoloco technology requires no integration with retailers' IT systems, and does not require consumers to download a mobile application.

It is currently the only player in the deposit market to offer such a system.

The QR code ensures the traceability of each container throughout the supply chain. 

This is how Bocoloco can automate :

• In-store collection of used containers: Bocoloco is informed as soon as the collector is about to be saturated;
• Batch transport of containers to distributors' storage warehouses, then to washers. The creation of storage, washing and transport batches ensures the optimization of reuse costs. ‍

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Benefits for all stakeholders

The Bocoloco solution brings benefits to all stakeholders, namely the customer, the brand and the distributors.‍

Customers: an ultra-smooth process

For customers, the benefits are manifold. Thanks to Bocoloco, they :

- benefit from a returnable product at the same price as the single-package product, with the price of the container advanced and reimbursed via an ultra-smooth process 

- can choose returnable products as part of their regular shopping, and only pay an advance on the amount of the returnable container at the traditional checkout. 

- can bring back their unwashed containers and insert them directly into the collector without going through the store team.

The distributor: cost control and operational simplicity 

The distributor dedicates the space of his choice to the linear meter(s) of returnable products. 

Bocoloco organizes the collection system in phase with the distributor's logistics. Thanks to container traceability, Bocoloco is the only player able to offer a collection system that blends seamlessly into distributors' traditional supply chain processes. Last but not least, costs are kept under control (unlike with bulk), and the system can even generate additional income from containers not returned.

The brand 

The traceability of containers enables a more efficient supply chain, and therefore minimum reuse costs.

Bocoloco offers the brand two container options:

• standard containers: this ensures that the brand's containers are washed more quickly and at lower cost, as they are integrated into the washing batches. The cost of setting up the deposit system is reduced to an absolute minimum.
• a container unique to the brand : Bocoloco, for example, is in discussion with a number of major brands, who are considering whether it would be appropriate to keep the Bocoloco container, which has a strong identity, despite the higher cost of reuse. 

Thanks to container traceability, Bocoloco maintains batch organization and optimal washing and transport costs in this context too.

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Proven positive impact

The deposit helps reduce plastic waste, which pollutes soil, water and air, and takes thousands of years to decompose. The creation of Bocoloco stemmed from a need felt by the two brothers who founded the company: unable to shop in bulk (too restrictive, incompatible with their family lives), they set out to find a simple solution.

Bocoloco's mission is to reduce the 70 kg of plastic waste consumed by the average French person to the bare minimum.
Measuring the impact: the Bocoloco infrastructure makes it possible to quantify, for each product sold, the weight of packaging avoided by comparison with the packaging of equivalent mass-market products. ‍

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In the implementation of the Bocoloco model, environmental issues are at several levels:

• The return of returnable containers to stores is at the heart of the model

The return rate for Bocoloco containers is over 60% (up to 80% for certain products), and is increasing thanks to awareness-raising campaigns;

• The design of the container, which must allow for a maximum re-use cycle

‍15today, but more than 50 eventually: type and thickness of material, label glue suitable for washing, etc.

• Maintaining a distance of 300 km between the container collection point and the washing center,

This helps limit carbon emissions linked to transport. 

Bocoloco's strategy is to establish a regional presence (primarily in the IDF and Rhône-Alpes regions), in conjunction with local players (carwash centers cover the whole of France), and to use carbon-neutral modes of transport.

• High-performance industrial washing‍

Bocoloco works in partnership with industrial washers specialized in primary container washing. 

These comply with strict quality and environmental standards. They reuse over 70% of the water consumed - 1 liter of water can be used up to 300 times.

For all these reasons, we are delighted to have brought together 40 renowned investors around Asterion to enable Bocoloco to finance collectors and containers and accelerate its commercial development.

You can also read thearticle Maddyness dedicated to this event.