South Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific Corp has opened a so-called ‘refill station’ – a first for the nation’s cosmetics industry.

The company opened the facility as a trial inside its new Gwanggyo store that opened last week in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

Customers can take an empty container made of coconut shell from the store and fill it with the product of their choice, with 15 different kinds of shampoos and body washes on offer.

After filling the container with the product of their choice and measuring the weight, they pay per gram.

Although the price is different by product, customers can generally fill a container at savings of roughly 50 per cent compared to pre-packaged cosmetics products.

The contents for refill will be limited to those with a manufacturing date of less than 100 days prior. Returned empty containers will be sterilised before being released to be refilled.

“We decided to run the refill station to better meet the demand of the times requiring a wider variety of sales methods and the promotion of refill products,” the company said.

• This article originally appeared on Korea Bizwire.