Hi! We currently use plastic bottles at my juice bar. I’d like to make the switch to glass bottles. We’re trying to become more eco friendly so wed love to switch and begin running a promotion where if customers bring a certain amount of bottles back they get a free juice. I know we can’t reuse the caps but if we wash the bottles in our high temp dishwasher could we reuse them? Or would they need to be done in a 3 bay sink?
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Either method is allowed. It is treated the same as standard ware washing. We take back our bottles for customers all the time.
What has been successful for us is find the exact landed cost of what your bottle costs (minus lids and stickers) and give a small portion of that back to the customer where they return it. So if my bottle costs 55 cents, the customer can get a 25 cent discount for every bottle they bring back, as you are now making a small “profit” on your packaging or COGS. I’m sure there are other models the community uses as well, but I can tell you that one of our competitors stopped doing their bottle buy back and it has been a BIG boon for us.
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Have you actually found glass bottles that only cost .55 cents, or was that just an example. We have found the cost of glass so prohibitive 
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Berlin Packaging can get the price pretty close to 55 cents if you buy at least 10 boxes. We are buying several palettes at a time, so it is not an issue and occasionally they have great deals in the deal room.
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Thanks for the heads up, i will check them out !!
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@TheJuiceBoxLV what labels do you use on your bottles? After you wash them does the bottle remain or do you have to apply a new one?
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We use labels from Avery.com. We use the clear film labels, so they are strong enough to go through a 3 comp sink wash and still be reused often. I don’t know if they can go through a high temperature machine wash.
The retention rate is not 100%, but a high number which saves us a few cents per bottle.
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@TheJuiceBoxLV so I was just looking on Berlin packaging website and finally going to place an order but the shipping is the same cost as the bottles!! any other recommendations?
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All American Containers in Northern California was able to have about 55 cents a bottle, but yes the shipping can make it double. I drove a couple hours with a trailer to grab a couple pallets. It might be worth having them deliver and just charging the $1 deposit or return 10 bottles, get a free juice. Maybe a stamp card so they don’t have to return all at once.