Wonderfil, PBC is a women-owned, certified CA small business based in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 2021 in Santa Cruz by Amelia Eichel, a sustainability leader with a circular economy background, and UCSC Alum Shiloh Sacks, an electrical engineer with EV and hardware expertise, Wonderfil's mission is to systematically reduce plastic waste by enabling college students to refill their daily-use products on campus.
Wonderfil began developing their autonomous refill station technology after receiving a Carbon Fund grant from UCSC and a Tech For Social Good Grant from CITRIS & The Banatao Institute in 2021. In 2022, the company launched prototypes at UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, and Ethos Low Waste Store, testing hardware reliability and gathering user feedback. These pilots attracted further funding from Berkeley SkyDeck, Dr. Bronner’s, and The Westly Foundation which fueled further product development and testing.
In January 2024, Wonderfil became the first company to achieve Weights & Measures certification for a container- and viscosity-agnostic refill device. This milestone enabled a five store retail launch with Whole Foods Market in the Bay Area and the deployment of Wonderfil’s autonomous refill vending machines. Wonderfil has also been supporting refills for the UCSC community at Redwood Free Market for two years.
With >99% uptime, Wonderfil Refill Stations have prevented over 10,000 plastic bottles from entering the waste stream. As the market leader in refill technology, Wonderfil offers 100% circular liquid and cream product distribution through its innovative intermediate bulk pouch solution. These bulk pouches are compatible with existing supply chains, enable fast restocking of the Wonderfil machines, and are 93% cheaper than single-use plastic bottles. These operational efficiencies enable Wonderfil to pass cost savings to users and make refilling more affordable than purchasing single-use alternatives.
Watch Wonderfil's demo video