Jessica Norton Replenish Refills, formerly Frank’s Market + Refillery, continues its mission of sustainable, low-waste shopping under a new name and new ownership. The store, located inside The Shoppes at the Arcade at 658 Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park, is built around a simple yet impactful idea: making it easier for people to cut back on single-use plastics by refilling everyday household and personal care products rather than buying new packaging. It’s a BYOC (bring your own container) shopping experience that has meaningful environmental and economic impacts by reducing waste and lowering packaging costs. The Jersey Shore Girl talked to owner Liz Grogen about the importance of accessible sustainability practices and what shoppers can expect when they visit her store. Read on to learn more about Replenish Refills in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
What is a “refillery”?
Replenish Refills is a new, woman-owned refillery that provides low-waste, reusable, and refillable essentials designed to make sustainability an easy choice. To replenish something is to refill it, and a “refillery” is a retail store that helps reduce single-use plastic waste by allowing customers to refill their own containers with household, personal care, and bulk goods. Customers can bring empty, clean containers (of any size and material) to fill with products like laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, and dry foods. Replenish Refills even has a small stash of donated and sanitized containers that customers can use for free if they don’t have anything available to start with, or if they stop by the store unexpectedly and are unprepared with no containers.
Refillery shops support a circular economy by eliminating the need for single-use plastic packaging. Whether ready to go fully zero-waste or simply curious about how to get started, Replenish Refillery is an affordable and no-fuss local resource. The containers are weighed before shopping, and customers are charged only for the product by the ounce. This way, there’s no waste or excess, just exactly what’s needed, which often makes refilling the more cost-effective choice.
All About Replenish Refills
During the COVID-19 pandemic, owner Liz Grogen started to recognize how much everyday choices affect people and the planet and admitted that she became hyper-aware of climate change. But rather than spiral into anxiety and despair, she looked to find attainable and affordable solutions.
“Little by little, I started swapping out what was in my kitchen, bathroom, and pantry. Refill stores became part of my routine. I’d grab my containers, pop in, and leave feeling good about what I was bringing home,” Liz said. “When I moved back to Red Bank, New Jersey, I didn’t have access to a nearby refill store, and seeing aisle after aisle of bulky plastic packaging left me frustrated.”
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Ultimately, the lack of refilleries and sustainable shopping options here at the Jersey Shore is what inspired her to open Replenish Refills. “Before I opened the space, another well-loved refill shop called Frank’s Refillery and Market was here. Frank was someone I knew from the refill community,” she said. “When he told me he was closing his shop at the end of December, I didn’t want to see that space, and everything it represented, disappear from Asbury Park. We worked together to make sure I could take it over and keep the refill mission alive in the community.”
Why is Refilling Important?
At a refillery, customers reuse containers and only refill what they need, which directly cuts down on landfill waste and helps reduce the demand for new plastic production, which is tied to pollution and fossil fuel use. But there’s also a practical side. Because products are sold by weight, people can buy smaller amounts, try something new without committing to a full-size product, or avoid overbuying. Over time, that can be more cost-efficient, even if the upfront prices sometimes seem higher.
“On average, Americans use over 160 plastic bottles a year, but only recycle about 40 of them,” Liz told us, “That means one person has the power to keep over 100 plastic bottles out of landfills or oceans every single year, just by refilling and swapping. When you multiply that by a neighborhood, a state, or a country, the numbers suddenly become much larger. Every sustainable swap diverts a plastic bottle from ending up in a landfill or the ocean, and most of the products I carry are made with natural, regenerative ingredients, meaning they actually have a replenishing effect by promoting things like soil health. When you replenish your home or pantry with sustainable swaps and refills, you also replenish the earth. The two go hand in hand.”
Even occasional refilling, like hand soap, laundry detergent, or cleaning products, can significantly reduce household waste without requiring a major lifestyle shift.
What can be refilled?
Replenish Refillery has everyday household and personal care staples available for refilling. The idea is that anything you regularly run out of, like cleaning products or personal care items, that typically come in disposable packaging, can be refilled at Replenish Refillery instead of being purchased at a big box store whenever they run out. During her visit, Jessica from the JSG team filled a glass container (that previously held vitamins) with lavender hand soap and a mason jar (that previously held bone broth) with rosemary and mint shampoo. Replenish Refillery’s refill menu has everything from toothpaste tablets to jasmine rice and gummy candies.
Other goods at the refillery
The shelves are lined with familiar essentials like cleaning supplies, body care, and pantry items for refill opportunities, but Replenish Refillery also carries sustainably-minded products like shampoo and conditioner bars, handmade soaps, reusable paper towels, metal razors, and dryer balls. Refill stores are often known to sell smaller brands that offer higher quality ingredients and higher quality products, often made with non-toxic or recycled materials.
Liz revealed that she is truly her own customer and that her personal values drive every single buying decision. There is nothing on the shelves at the store that she wouldn’t use herself.
Recycling Programs + Partnership with Un-Waste Movement
Every Thursday, customers can bring their food scraps into Replenish Refills for composting using Un-Waste buckets, which are available to be picked up in-store. The Un-Waste Movement is a New Jersey-based organics recycling and microhauling business that collects food scraps from residents throughout Ocean, Monmouth, and Mercer Counties. They convert food waste into energy and compost, helping to divert waste from landfills and reduce methane emissions.
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“We’re making it easier for our customers to recycle organics, hard-to-recycle plastics, and more by turning our store into a local drop-off center,” Liz said. “We’ll also offer zero-waste bags through Terracycle for sale, which customers can fill and return to us anytime with materials like Styrofoam, food pouches, and film plastics, items that are typically tough to recycle. I want Replenish Refills to be more than just a place to shop. I want it to be a community hub where you can learn about and actively participate in meaningful, planet-positive initiatives.”
For store updates and information about events + recycling initiatives, follow the storefront on Instagram @replenishrefills_nj
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