CleanWell Exits Retail Business To Sell Technology to CPG Brands, Contract Manufacturers

CleanWell LLC, a provider of plant-based household cleaning products for nearly two decades, today announced a strategic business shift to focus exclusively on developing custom green disinfecting sprays and wipes for B2C and B2B partners. The company is exiting the CleanWell-branded retail segment of its business. 

The Denver, CO-based company will now concentrate on turnkey product development solutions from concept to finished goods for CPG brands, contract manufacturers and industrial supply companies. The combined reach of these partners will significantly broaden the availability of CleanWell’s better-for-you cleaning technology, according to officials.

Connected to the change, the company has unveiled a new URL—cleanwellinside.com—which it says signifies its dedication providing its proprietary formula in other companies’ products.

The active ingredient in all CleanWell-designed products is thymol, an EPA-approved, broad spectrum plant extract that kills 99.9% of household germs including the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“Our exit from retail was no doubt a tough decision in so many ways given our loyal consumer following and personal connection with the brand. Ultimately, our pivot will enable us to focus on expanding the reach of our technology to a greater audience by focusing our efforts on innovation, as well as strengthening our platform with our current and future partnerships,” said Stew Lawrence, CEO, told Happi.

“We also felt in many cases that we were competing directly with our current partners and creating barriers to pursue future opportunities by offering our own in house consumer brand with CleanWell.  Whether we were competing for shelf-space, consumer attention, or something else, it felt like a barrier to success that we could remove. Lastly, the cleaning and disinfecting space exploded over the past few years with numerous companies entering the space, yet offering no key differentiation from each other,” he said.

By focusing efforts on larger brands with a much larger consumer base (such as club, and conventional retail), Lawrence said CleanWell would have a “greater impact on the ultimate consumer. We find this to be one of many things that sets our business model apart from others that work with you to use their EPA registrations, yet also offer their own brand that is in direct competition.”

Lawrence pointed to CleanWell. “With today’s growing interest in greener cleaning, we have an opportunity to increase that impact exponentially by focusing our efforts on helping other companies offer solutions without the potentially harmful chemicals of conventional cleaners. Cleaner cleaning has been our mission all along, and putting our resources into developing third-party products is the best way for us to advance that mission in today’s market.”

This emphasis on partnerships builds on the success of CleanWell’s longtime affiliations with Seventh Generation, Benefect, simplehuman and other brands that have leveraged CleanWell’s technology to deliver green cleaning solutions using no chlorine or quaternary ammonium compounds, alcohols, hydrogen peroxide or other harsh chemicals.

“Our great alliance with Seventh Generation still exists and we are excited to build on our partnership with such a forward thinking company.  No question, our experience with Seventh Generation has helped us in many ways, both functionally and leveraging their reach to strengthen our technology platform. Fortunately, our team is made up of a passionate group with a wealth of experience from CPG companies of all sizes, from start-up to top global CPG companies,” Lawrence said.

CleanWell says the combination of thymol and its selection of inactive ingredients enables partners to make better-for-you claims that can differentiate their products in the marketplace. That ability and other benefits stem from the fact that all CleanWell formulas include  thymol extracted directly from the plant source rather than using synthetic versions, ensuring that it is truly plant-derived and not just plant-inspired; plant- and mineral-derived ingredients with no alcohol, bleach, ammonia, phosphates, quats, parabens, phthalates or 1,4-dioxane; an EPA Category IV rating, signifying the lowest level of toxicity; and 100% USDA Certified BioBased content, signifying that all ingredients come from renewable sources.