I recently visited the Constantia Pick n Pay in Cape Town after I had heard that they have set up a small package free station in the shop. As I got there, (the shop being sooo big) I looked around and initially could not see it. Immediately my heart sank and I thought “ahh who lied to me!” :p But then after a bit of walking around I found the package free section and I got pretty excited.
The package free section operates and look similar to other package free shops like Shop Zero or Nudefoods in Cape Town. It would be good if they can expand and include more toiletries, cosmetic and cleaning products.
The section is not that big but it is a wonderful start and there is a lot of variety with many products to choose from. There are paper bags available as well as reusable containers that you can buy, or alternatively you can bring your own and fill them up. You then just weigh it and everything is charged per weight (usually per 100grams).
Apparently Pick n Pay is testing this out in their Constantia store and if it becomes popular, they will hopefully implement across a few more stores. It is such a great initiative that Pick n Pay is doing with this, as if a chain of stores this big can lead the way, many will hopefully follow.
Check out some videos of it on this instagram post (swipe right on the post):
In terms of the prices, most things were the same or a bit more expensive than their packaged counterparts. There were a few things that were cheaper and a few things that were significantly more expensive for some reason. I think it just depends on the product, and as this expands hopefully the prices will even out.
