Pay for the product, not the packaging. Start filling bottles, not landfills. These are just a few of the value propositions Algramo, a Chile-based company, has introduce in recent years. In business for a decade, Algramo is a circular economy game-changer … and still very much on the rise.
Algramo provides a self-service, cashless way to buy big brand cleaning products in a more sustainable way. Algramo stations – which are smart dispensing systems, sort of like vending machines – are set up at retail locations, including Walmart, throughout Chile. The process is simple: users download an app, charge their account, bring their reusable bottle to an Algramo dispenser and then select how much of the cleaning product they wish to buy.
Having just secured $8.5 million in funding from Mexico’s Dalus Capital, with participation from Angel Ventures, FEMSA Ventures, Volta Ventures, Impact Assets, University Venture Fund, Century Oak Capital and Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group, Algramo says it will launch pilot stations around the world.
Projects are already underway with retailers and distributors in Mexico, Jakarta, London and in New York locations to set up new stations. Algramo’s supply chain management initiative requires careful handling to promote its sustainable, bulk-refilling solution while also not upending existing supplier-retailer relationships.
Algramo’s initiative and distribution model captured the attention – early on – of some consumer packaged goods (CPG) giants, like Unilever, Nestlé and Colgate-Palmolive. As reported in a recent TechCrunch article, Algramo, in its early stages, had to make the business case to the big retailers and consumer grands of the world to provide bulk products in refillable containers to help consumers, the planet and these companies’ bottom lines. Recently, these large corporations have started to listen and respond at a local level – and have partnered with other companies to launch similar services in the process.
In the interview with Techcrunch, Algramo CEO José Manuel Moller said, “…we’re integrating into their supply chains, working with the retailers and the brand[s] so they don’t disrupt existing relationships. And actually, ordering the product in bulk saves them about 60 percent of the space.”
In addition to saving space by offering reusable bottles, any packaging costs, which can range from 10 to 30 percent of the product cost, are removed.
The result is a scalable way to bring together big brands and big retailers while saving customers money and mitigating single-use plastic waste. When customers refill their “smart reusable packaging” at an Algramo dispenser, they are rewarded with increased savings.
To date, Algramo’s total funding amount has totaled $11 million. This invested capital is supporting three key socially responsible investment themes: Climate innovation through mitigating plastic waste; business productivity by offering a true circular economy solution; and improving consumer accessibility by promoting inclusion and enabling consumer access to better priced, big brand products.
Once the latest pilot stations launch and if they operate successfully, Algramo can will be able to prove that its circular economy model performs well – even within the well-established, albeit ripe for disruption, retail and CPG sectors. The success of these global stations will increase Algramo’s valuation and should help to attract significant addition funding in the near future. Then, perhaps within the next several years, Algramo stations will become more prevalent – making access to consumer products, while eliminating plastic waste in the process, far more accessible to more consumers. This could be a likely win for everyone involved.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
