lavera Natural Beauty, together with the start-up reo and other partners, aims to set a new milestone for sustainable packaging solutions: In July 2025, a 12-month research project will launch in Munich, advancing the development of a circular reusable system for individual cosmetic packaging.

The goal is to work together with consumers, retailers, and scientists to find out how a closed packaging loop can succeed in the cosmetics industry, making cosmetic packaging reusable.

The focus of the first phase of the pilot project is on how willing consumers are to return empty cosmetic packaging and thus actively contribute to waste reduction. In ten selected Munich branches of a major grocery retailer and at VollCorner (Munich), customers can return selected lavera packaging at existing deposit machines of participating retailers. The collected, coded containers are inspected, cleaned, and - if possible - reintegrated into the production process.

The first phase of the project aims to use new data and digital tracking to precisely analyze the product flow (technical implementation) and return behavior and learn from each other. The Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) scientifically supports the project and ensures that the findings are thoroughly evaluated for all parties involved.

The core of the research project is the digital platform from the startup company reo, which intelligently connects all stakeholders - from manufacturers to retailers to consumers. Through comprehensive collection and analysis of data, the lifecycle of each packaging becomes transparently traceable. This not only enables the reuse of non-standardized containers but also provides valuable insights for the further development of the system. This creates a flexible, digital, and circular model that could serve as a blueprint for the entire cosmetics industry.

lavera Natural Beauty sees sustainability as an integral part of its corporate philosophy and wants to demonstrate through its commitment to the pilot project that sustainable innovations and new paths in the cosmetics industry are possible—without compromising on quality or consumer-friendliness.

Sabine Kästner, Sustainability Officer at Laverana: "The active involvement of consumers and close collaboration with reo, retailers, and the scientific community are key for us to jointly establish a future-proof reusable system. When we learned about the project, we immediately committed as the first brand. With this, we support a pilot project that essentially gives lavera cosmetic packaging a second life until it ultimately begins its third life as recycled material. It is assumed that a shampoo bottle can be reused about 20 times. If we find a holistic approach here, we could save many valuable raw materials in cosmetics and establish a new disposal system for individual cosmetic packaging—perhaps within two years."

The pilot project is supported by other strong partners. On the retail side, a major grocery retailer and VollCorner support the project, while the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) provides scientific supervision. The brands Kneipp, Logona, and Sante are also involved. "With this project, we can jointly pave a new way for a sustainable circular cosmetics industry, learn from each other, and show that sustainable innovations and new paths can be possible," adds Sabine Kästner.

"Sustainability is deeply embedded in the DNA of our partner brands—and the desire to take responsibility beyond the product is clearly strong," explains Stefanie Rainer, founder of reo. "We are pleased to have bold pioneers like lavera, Kneipp, Logona, and Sante by our side who not only talk but act."