Virus diary: New disinfectant company catches COVID wave
BOULDER — Boulder-based eco-friendly cleaning product startup Clean Republic LLC officially launched in January. Two months later, COVID-19 reached Colorado and the demand for disinfectants catapulted the young company’s growth.
Clean Republic began development in 2019 focusing on providing spas and hotels with hypochlorous acid-based (HOCL) cleaning and disinfectant products. It’s a subsidiary of Plant Aid LLC, an agriculture cleaning company with the same HOCL structure.
The startup attended the LIVE LOVE SPA trade show in Austin, Texas, in early March. After that, the sales chart resembled a hockey stick.
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“I sold every single bottle that I had. My supply chain completely broke. I had demand up to my ears, and frankly, I couldn’t fill it fast enough,” said Jake Piccoli, COO and co-founder of Clean Republic. “The whole business kind of cracked overnight because what had happened is we were set up to do very low volumes — as any startup would — and all of a sudden we’re seeing massive, massive demand.”
Clean Republic stocked “tens of thousands of bottles,” before the sales spike, Piccoli said. Now there are millions in its inventory.
Clientele expanded past the company’s target customer base of spas and hotels, he added. Individual households, property managers, grocery stores and nursing homes are among its buyers, according to Piccoli.
The Clean Republic Disinfectant+Sanitizer recently received an official stamp from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Information on the Clean Republic website describes the approval: “OFFICIAL EPA STAMP: Clean Republic Disinfectant+Sanitizer has demonstrated effectiveness against viruses similar to COVID-19 on hard, nonporous surfaces. Therefore, Clean Republic Disinfectant+Sanitizer can be used against COVID-19 when used in accordance with the directions for use against Norovirus and Rhinovirus type 16 on hard, non-porous surfaces.”
It’s registered under EPA Reg. No. 92108-1 on List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2. There are currently seven disinfectants on the list with HOCL as an active ingredient.
The company doesn’t want to price gouge during the coronavirus health crisis, Piccoli said. Frontline workers are offered wholesale prices with an additional 15% discount on disinfectants.
The Clean Republic team is small, with seven people between the Boulder headquarters and a fulfillment center in Tennessee. Piccoli gives a pep talk to the staff every week.
“I tell my team every Monday, ‘You know what, you’re giving frontline workers the ability to do their jobs, to help people. And you’re giving consumers and just the general public the tools necessary to protect themselves and their families,’” Piccoli said. “‘So understand that you’re not capitalizing on a bad situation. You’re helping a bad situation.’”
Clean Republic teamed up with the Colorado Hospital Association on a rural hospital initiative. The startup pledged to donate 100 gallons every week and CHA distributes the disinfectant to various rural hospitals.
The initiative began two to three weeks ago, Piccoli said. So far, CHA distributed the Clean Republic disinfectant to eight rural hospitals throughout the state.
