Hindustan Unilever recently placed a 'Smart Fill' machine in Mumbai's Reliance Smart Acme Mall. The refill station allows consumers to refill any bottle with a number of Unilever's local brands, including Surf Excel washing detergent, Comfort fabric softener and Vim dishwashing soap.
Customers can purchase a Smart Fill bottle or bring an empty container from home. The refill station includes a UV sanitizing unit to clean bottles before refilling. Products on tap are up to 20% cheaper than the bottled version grabbed from a shelf — in line with Unilever's 'reuse, refill and reward' approach. A similar set-up is being trialed by Asda in the UK.
