Long established in the beverage industry, the PET deposit bottle is now also finding its way into cosmetics and drugstores. At this year’s CosmeticBusiness, the start-up Sea Me presented the 300 ml returnable PET bottle for cosmetics, which was developed together with the Technical University of Hamburg.

The first products in returnable PET bottles have recently been launched on the market. A pioneer from the very beginning is Speick Naturkosmetik GmbH & Co. KG from Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart. Shower gel and body lotion from the Speick Organic 3.0 range have been available in PET deposit bottles since October. Franziska Moltenbrey, Team Lead Marketing and Product Management at Speick Naturkosmetik, visited CosmeticBusiness 2024 in Munich and made final arrangements on site for the planned launch with Sea Me.

From idea to realisation: A partnership with a sustainable goal

However, the collaboration between Speick and Sea Me already began during the development phase of the returnable PET bottle. “The collaboration became more concrete when the reusable PET bottle made of monomaterial for the cosmetics industry was finalised and retailers signed up to the project,” says Franziska Moltenbrey. The response from retailers to the forward-looking cooperation with the start-up Sea Me has been consistently positive. It all started with Müller Handels GmbH & Co. KG. In the shops, Speick Organic 3.0 products and products from other participating brands are available on the shelves in returnable deposit bottles.

“The process works according to the familiar beverage deposit system. When the products are purchased, a deposit of €0.50 is charged which can be redeemed when the zerooo bottles are returned to retailers or our Speick shops,” explains Franziska Moltenbrey.

Forward-looking solution for retailers

The concept of the 300 ml zerooo returnable deposit bottles follows the principle of “reuse before recycling”. The bottle bodies are made of plastic monomaterial (PET) and circulate as empties in a closed, multiple-use loop. Labelled with a traceability code, they are returned to the bottling plant of the original company after cleaning. Bottles that can no longer be reused are 100 per cent recycled without any sorting effort.

Sustainability firmly anchored in corporate values

For Speick Naturkosmetik, the introduction of the returnable PET bottle is a further step in the implementation of its sustainability strategy. “Due to the fact that our products are associated with the Speick plant and therefore with nature, sustainability has always been a very high priority for us in the company and is firmly anchored in our corporate values,” explains Franziska Moltenbrey, adding “The implementation of new, environmentally friendly solutions has always been part of our work and the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) did not give us our first push. Our team has even been strengthened in this area of activity in order to accelerate the realisation of new projects.”

CosmeticBusiness connects the cosmetics industry with suppliers

As a trade fair, CosmeticBusiness offers a platform for innovative packaging solutions, such as the PET deposit bottle from Sea Me, and promotes partnerships that can have a lasting impact on the retail and cosmetics industries. On 4 and 5 June 2025, the cosmetics industry will once again meet with its suppliers from the areas of development, manufacturing, packaging and marketing in Munich to jointly coordinate new projects.