●●○ medium
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
Algramo: ‘By the gram' refills that end the ‘poverty tax'. Households in poor areas, able to buy only in small packets, are forced to pay a “poverty tax (impuesto a la pobreza)” of up to 30–50% more per gram. Meanwhile single-use plastic piles up as trash where collection networks are scarce. José Manuel Moller, drawing on his experience living in a low-income district, founded Algramo (“by the gram,” 2012). It delivers daily goods — rice, beans, detergent, pet food — at bulk prices by weight in reusable containers, with a deposit system, reverse logistics, and recycling. It offers in-store dispensers, electric-trike delivery, and an app. It reaches about 2,000 mom-and-pop shops and about 350,000 people in Santiago, supporting local commerce and cutting about 2 kg of waste per family a month through container reuse. It also piloted in New York, with Unilever, Nestlé, and others joining to scale it. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q2; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
Households in poor areas, able to buy only in small packets, are forced to pay a “poverty tax (impuesto a la pobreza)” of up to 30–50% more per gram. Meanwhile single-use plastic piles up as trash where collection networks are scarce.
José Manuel Moller, drawing on his experience living in a low-income district, founded Algramo (“by the gram,” 2012). It delivers daily goods — rice, beans, detergent, pet food — at bulk prices by weight in reusable containers, with a deposit system, reverse logistics, and recycling. It offers in-store dispensers, electric-trike delivery, and an app. It reaches about 2,000 mom-and-pop shops and about 350,000 people in Santiago, supporting local commerce and cutting about 2 kg of waste per family a month through container reuse. It also piloted in New York, with Unilever, Nestlé, and others joining to scale it.
One person’s story (N1)
+ before → after
A mother in a poor district of Santiago used to buy detergent in small packets, paying more per gram and throwing away empty bags. Now, at an Algramo dispenser in a neighborhood shop, she refills detergent by weight into a container she brought. At bulk prices it's 30–40% cheaper, and the container is reused. The money saved goes to food and children's school supplies, and the shop keeps its regulars.
Source nature: World Economic Forum / Circle Economy / P2 major media/international body. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- Founder José Manuel Moller was named an Ashoka Fellow, the Schwab Foundation's Chile Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2017), a WEF Young Global Leader (2019), and to MIT Solve (2019), and was on Fast Company's “Most Innovative Companies in LATAM” (2015, 2020). The Ellen MacArthur Foundation features it as a circular-economy case, and the WEF has reported on it.P1 international body/award / MIT Solve / Schwab Foundation / Ellen MacArthur Foundation
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
- Independent verification of consumer savings/net environmental effect; business-model sustainability; alignment of big-company partnerships with the original mission
A second look
“Ending the poverty tax (up to ~40% savings),” “2 kg less waste per family a month,” and “2,000 shops / 350,000 people” are company/partner figures, with limited independent evaluation of consumer savings or net environmental effect (LCA). A standalone model competing with big producers is financially hard, and the business model has recently shifted toward partnership with Unilever, Nestlé, etc., and use for producers' collection targets (EPR), so the change from the original “mom-and-pop-shop-centered” model bears noting.
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the story an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q2 | Back to top