Sweet smell of success

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day continues to innovate with unique products and fragrances

by ERIK J. MARTIN

While shopping in the late ’90s, Monica Nassif took notice of the array of bland and unimpressive cleaning wares on display. Inspired by her mother, Thelma Meyer—an Iowa nurse, homemaker, gardener and mother of nine—the entrepreneurial Nassif decided to create a line of household products with appealing scents and naturally effective cleaning power.

To that end, she created Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day in 1999, selling a variety of household cleaners and soaps.

In 2010, Nassif sold Mrs. Meyer’s to SC Johnson and moved on to other projects. Since then the company has grown to 290-plus offerings—from hand soap, body wash and air fresheners to laundry detergent, window cleaners, candles and countertop sprays—which are sold in seven countries across the globe. But the inspiration behind the company’s beginnings has remained unchanged.

“The idea of a better way to do the work of cleaning with products that are thoughtfully made paved the way for us to reinvent the cleaning category,” says Pamela Helms, vice president of product experience for Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. “We asked: Why couldn’t cleaning chores be elevated and pleasant, even joyful?”

Points of pride

Initially, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products came in two scents: lavender and lemon verbena. Today, patrons also enjoy popular garden-inspired aromas like rose, fresh-cut grass, lilac and mint.

“We offer these amazing scents across all of our product forms so that a favorite fragrance can be used and enjoyed as a dish soap, a hand soap, a countertop spray or a laundry detergent, creating a signature scent for one’s home,” explains Helms.

“We also pioneered seasonal cleaning offerings, beginning with our small-size kits and moving into full-size gift sets and super-sized seasonal products at Costco,” she continues. “These make great presents that are coveted and cherished.”

The company stands out for using carefully chosen ingredients, including essential oils. It never tests its goods on animals or incorporates animal-derived ingredients, and it follows sustainable practices like using recyclable packaging.

The firm also encourages children to build local community gardens across the country, thanks to its partnership with KidsGardening.org (see “Growing kindness,” below).

Rising to the top of the cleaning crop

“There’s been a perception that efficacy will suffer because we use plant-derived and other thoughtfully chosen ingredients. But our performance has been evaluated to industry standards, and our products stand up to conventional and green competitors. Our dish soaps, for example, effectively clean with just a squirt, cutting grease and rinsing clean to leave dishes sparkling,” notes Helms.

Mrs. Meyer’s core goal—to bring the best of Mother Nature and the outdoors inside, with effective, conscientiously made products—persists.

“Our mission remains to create uncompromising products that look good, smell good, work good and are good,” says Helms.

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COMPANY INFO

• Name Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day
  
• Founded 1999
  
• Employees 300
  
• Headquarters San Francisco
  
• Website mrsmeyers.com
  
• Products sold in Costco warehouses Limited Edition Hand Soap (four-pack, Item 1624455) and Limited Edition Multi-Surface Cleaners (three-pack, Item 2308572)
• Comment about Costco “We appreciate the strong collaboration in putting together the product offerings that stop Costco members in their tracks while shopping.”–Pamela Helms, vice president of product experience

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Erik J. Martin is a Chicago area–based freelance writer.