• Login
    • Join
  • Subscribe Free
    • Magazine
    • eNewsletter
    Checkout
    • Magazine
    • News
    • Formulary
    • Exclusives
    • Top Companies
    • Raw Materials
    • End-User
    • Packaging
    • Directories
    • Events
    • Jobs
    • More
  • Magazine
  • News
  • Formulary
  • Exclusives
  • Top Companies
  • Raw Materials
  • End-User
  • Packaging
  • Directories
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Current / Back Issues
    Features
    Columns
    Editorial
    Digital Edition
    eNewsletter Archive
    Our Team
    Editorial Guidelines
    Subscribe Now
    Advertise Now
    Top Features
    Shape Up!

    Connecting To The Consumer

    Enhancing Cosmeceuticals Via Phytonutrients

    Building on Its Strength

    Pardon the Disruption
    Online Exclusives
    Association News
    Breaking News
    Financial News
    Industry News
    International
    Marketing News
    New Products
    News Front
    Packaging News
    Patents
    Personnel
    Regulations
    Snapshots
    Top News
    Live From Shows
    Top News
    Revitalash Promotes CMO To President

    Clorox Leads CPG Firms on Barron's Sustainability 100

    Symrise Expands Cosmetics Team

    Croda Recognized for Deforestation-Free Supply Chain

    Charkit Names Lang President
    Blog
    Online Exclusives
    Infographics
    Podcasts
    Whitepapers
    Videos
    Expert's Opinion
    Surveys
    International Top 30 Report
    Top 50 Report
    Top Companies
    32. WD-40

    9. Coty

    22. Nu Skin

    12. Diversey

    28. Markwins International
    Actives
    Functional Ingredients
    Pigments
    Polymers
    Preservatives
    Surfactants

    Gattefossé Launches W/O Emulsifier

    Symrise Expands Cosmetics Team

    Kline Takes Deep Dive into HI&I

    ACI Cleans Up in Orlando

    A Thing of Beauty in Panama
    Air Care/Environmental Fragrance
    AP/Deo
    Color Cosmetics
    Disinfectants
    Fine Fragrance
    Hair Care
    Household Cleaning
    I&I Marketplace
    Laundry Care
    Oral Care
    OTC/Medicated
    Packaging
    Personal Cleansers
    Skin Care
    Sun Care
    Testing

    Revitalash Promotes CMO To President

    Clorox Leads CPG Firms on Barron's Sustainability 100

    Gattefossé Launches W/O Emulsifier

    Symrise Expands Cosmetics Team

    Croda Recognized for Deforestation-Free Supply Chain
    Lab Equipment
    Mixing
    Packaging
    Testing

    Method Unveils Spring Limited Edition Line

    More Eco Options Roll Out in Laundry Space

    The Art of Working with Artists

    Lush Gets Naked

    Henkel, P&G Founding Members of New Alliance to End Plastic Waste
    Contract Manufacturing / Private Label Directory
    Buyer's Guide
    Add New Company
    Corporate Profiles
    International Buyers Guide Companies
    Siltech Corporation

    Croda

    Ashland

    CIE

    Sabinsa Cosmetics, a division of Sabinsa Corporation
    Live From Shows
    Meetings
    Webinars
    Snapshots
    • Magazine
      • Current / Back Issues
      • Features
      • Editorial
      • Columns
      • Digital Edition
      • eNewsletter Archive
      • Subscribe Now
      • Advertise Now
    • Breaking News
    • Formulary
    • Directories
      • Buyer's Guide
      • Contract Manufacturing / Private Label Directory
      • Corporate Profiles
      • Add Your Company
    • Raw Materials
      • Actives
      • Functional Ingredients
      • Pigments
      • Polymers
      • Preservatives
      • Surfactants
    • End-User
      • Air Care/Environmental Fragrance
      • AP/Deo
      • Color Cosmetics
      • Disinfectants
      • Fine Fragrance
      • Hair Care
      • Household Cleaning
      • I&I Marketplace
      • Laundry Care
      • Oral Care
      • OTC/Medicated
      • Packaging
      • Personal Cleansers
      • Skin Care
      • Sun Care
      • Testing
    • Packaging
      • Lab Equipment
      • Mixing
      • Packaging
      • Testing
    • Top Companies
      • International Top 30 Report
      • Top 50 Report
    • Online Exclusives
    • Experts Opinion
    • Slideshows
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Infographics
    • Blog
    • Whitepapers
    • Surveys
      • R & D Salary Survey
      • Sales & Marketing Salary Survey
    • Job Banks
    • Events
      • Industry Events
      • Live from show Events
      • Webinars
    • About Us
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Use
    Online Exclusives

    A Sporting Chance

    Raw Athletics is entering the competitive consumer laundry detergent space with a new line of pods.

    Related CONTENT
    • In Full Bloom
    • Competition Heats Up in Amazon Beauty Space
    • LAST CALL: Take Part in Happi’s R&D Salary Survey
    • Health Is Wealth
    • Working Overtime
    Christine Esposito, Associate Editor10.01.18
    If a college-age kid knows his hockey gear stinks, it must be really, really bad. University of Maryland club hockey player Stephen Steinberg was in that predicament back in 2008, and when he couldn’t find anything to keep his hockey pads from smelling up his dorm room, he formulated his own solution—a natural spray that effectively removed the smell.
     
    Steinberg began to send samples of his formulation—Vapor Fresh Sports Cleaning Spray—to college equipment managers, and received some good feedback and even few purchase orders, marking the start of his company, Raw Athletics.
     
    “In general, I thought the lack of green cleaning products for the athletics market was a huge hole in the market that was desperately needed,” he told Happi.
     
    Raw Athletics later added a powder laundry detergent, which seemed to be faring well online—not just in the commercial marketplace for which it was initially developed.
     
    “Even though it was never designed for the consumer market from a packaging perspective, it performed well on Amazon, so we always knew we wanted to make a more concerted effort to enter the consumer market eventually,” Steinberg said.
     
    Raw Athletics recently accomplished that goal, rolling out new high-performance, eco-friendly, free and clear laundry detergent pods that are sold on Amazon, VaporFresh.com and at select grocers ($13.99 for 30 pods).
     
    “With pods being the fastest-growing segment of the consumer laundry market, it made sense to launch our own free & clear laundry detergent pods to try and get ahead of trend,” Steinberg said, noting that Raw Athletics spent two years developing the pod.
     
    Like many start-ups that run lean, Raw Athletics relies on a “wide support network of knowledgeable contract manufacturers” and “chemists on staff at chemical distributors and labs” to develop finished products that carry its name.
     
    “Because we get industry insights and innovations from a number of difference sources, we test a lot of assumptions and samples before bringing something to market and continually tweak to remain ahead of the curve. Everything is very methodical,” said Steinberg.  His company works with contract manufacturers that specialize in each respective product; its detergents and wipes are made in Wisconsin, for example, and its spray is made in Indiana.
     
    The Raw Athletics portfolio also includes specialty products like a shoe and glove powder and disinfecting gym wipes, which Steinberg described as being a step ahead of every other gym wipe on the market as it combines cost-effectiveness, green chemistry and better efficacy.
     
    Looking forward, Steinberg has high hopes for Vapor Fresh pods, “because not only is it vastly different than all other laundry detergents, it has broad appeal in a very large market.”
     
    Still, he recognizes that Raw Athletics is the underdog and needs to make some smart moves—or dekes as hockey players call them—to have an impact in a market that’s dominated by Procter & Gamble and Henkel.
     
    “It’s difficult to go up against behemoths that overwhelmingly own a large segment of a large market.  But our laundry pods focus on benefits that seem to have slipped under the radar of other brands that we know will catch the eyes of consumers.  From there, it all comes down to execution in making sure the right people know you exist and building a relationship with our wider network of retailers, distributors and consumers,” he said.
     
    This Washington, DC-based company isn’t shy about taking on the varsity players in household care. In fact, Steinberg told Happi that Raw Athletics is “gearing up for launching two to three new products within the next six months to really round out our product offering for both the consumer market and the commercial market.”
    Related Searches
    • care
    • spray
    • contract
    • household
    Related Knowledge Center
    • Household Cleaning
    • Laundry Care
    Suggested For You
    Seasonal Style Looks Abound Seasonal Style Looks Abound
    In The Know In The Know
    Revitalash Revamps Website Revitalash Revamps Website
    HABA Sales Soar in Q2 for Amazon HABA Sales Soar in Q2 for Amazon
    ABBA-Solutely Successful ABBA-Solutely Successful
    Amazon Amazon's Beauty Sales Soar in Q2
    The Power of Preservatives The Power of Preservatives
    Two-Man Crew Two-Man Crew
    Top Shampoo Brands Appearing on Amazon Top Shampoo Brands Appearing on Amazon
    Register Now for Cleaning Products USA Register Now for Cleaning Products USA
    Register for FounderMade Register for FounderMade's Show Today
    What What's Leading In Digital Beauty?
    2018 R&D Salary Survey 2018 R&D Salary Survey
    It It's The Craze!
    Working  Overtime Working Overtime

    Related Online Exclusives

    • Functional Ingredients | Household Cleaning | Polymers | Surfactants | Testing
      Innovation, Re-Imagined

      Innovation, Re-Imagined

      Nouryon’s Imagine Chemistry returns for a third year and promises to mine more innovative ideas—a promise that’s captured the imagination of Unilever!
      Tom Branna, Editorial Director 01.10.19

    • Household Cleaning | Laundry Care
      The Critical Role of Fragrance

      The Critical Role of Fragrance

      Fragrance Creators Association CEO Farah K. Ahmed on the role of scent in home care and what her association has planned for 2019.
      01.01.19

    • Color Cosmetics | Functional Ingredients | Hair Care | Household Cleaning | Laundry Care | Personal Cleansers | Surfactants
      Oxiteno Makes a Big Bet on the US

      Oxiteno Makes a Big Bet on the US

      A $200 million alkoxylation plant is on-stream in Pasadena, TX.
      12.06.18


    • Functional Ingredients | Household Cleaning | Polymers
      There

      There's Cash in Clogs

      Zep invests in the consumer drain cleaner segment with the launch of its Advanced Drain Care line.
      10.29.18

    • Actives | Air Care/Environmental Fragrance | Disinfectants | Functional Ingredients | Household Cleaning | Insect Control | Surfactants | Testing
      The HCPA Annual Meeting: Join the Collaboration

      The HCPA Annual Meeting: Join the Collaboration

      Annual meeting set for December 3-5 in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
      Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, Household & Commercial Products Association 10.26.18

    • Actives | Color Cosmetics | Functional Ingredients | Hair Care | Household Cleaning | Skin Care
      September’s Top News

      September’s Top News

      See the headlines your customers and competitors were reading online last month.
      10.02.18


    • Color Cosmetics | Household Cleaning | Personal Cleansers | Skin Care

      Hot Headlines from August

      Before you jump full throttle into Fall, catch up on news you may have missed during the dogs days of summer.
      09.04.18

    • Functional Ingredients | Laundry Care | Surfactants
      A Rising Tide

      A Rising Tide

      Sustainability is a critical issue, but not the only one, at Procter & Gamble.
      Tom Branna, Editorial Director 08.30.18

    • Air Care/Environmental Fragrance | Household Cleaning | Laundry Care | Skin Care
      Maine Made

      Maine Made

      Two moms create their own home care line that has grown from farmers markets to Whole Foods and beyond.
      Christine Esposito, Associate Editor 07.24.18


    • Air Care/Environmental Fragrance | AP/Deo | Color Cosmetics | Disinfectants | Fine Fragrance | Hair Care | Household Cleaning | Insect Control | Laundry Care | Oral Care | OTC/Medicated | Personal Cleansers | Skin Care | Sun Care
      Enter, China

      Enter, China

      Need access to the fastest-growing consumer base in the world? VIP.com has you covered.
      07.09.18

    • Functional Ingredients | Household Cleaning | Laundry Care | Personal Cleansers | Skin Care | Surfactants
      Meet the Imagineers of 2018

      Meet the Imagineers of 2018

      Here are the winners of AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals’ Imagine Chemistry competition.
      Tom Branna, Editorial Director 06.21.18

    • AP/Deo | Color Cosmetics | Fine Fragrance | Hair Care | Household Cleaning | I&I Marketplace | Laundry Care | Oral Care | Personal Cleansers | Skin Care | Sun Care
      2018 R&D Salary Survey

      2018 R&D Salary Survey

      We asked chemists about the money they make and much more. Here's what they had to say.
      05.15.18

    • Hair Care | Household Cleaning | Laundry Care | Packaging | Packaging | Personal Cleansers | Polymers
      TerraCycle US Seeks Investors

      TerraCycle US Seeks Investors

      SEC approves $25 million offering.
      01.19.18

    • Functional Ingredients | Hair Care | Household Cleaning | I&I Marketplace | Laundry Care | Personal Cleansers | Polymers | Skin Care | Surfactants | Testing
      AkzoNobel Casts a Wide Net in Search of Innovation

      AkzoNobel Casts a Wide Net in Search of Innovation

      Invites startups and trailblazers to enter the 2018 Imagine Chemistry Challenge.
      Tom Branna, Editorial Director 01.11.18

    • Household Cleaning | Packaging | Packaging
      Great News for Fishes & Dishes!

      Great News for Fishes & Dishes!

      TerraCycle and P&G are making waves in plastic recycling.
      10.05.17

    Breaking News
    • IFF Acquires The Additive Advantage
    • Karl Lagerfeld Dies
    • Revitalash Promotes CMO To President
    • Biotone Adds CDB Oil To Lab+Blends Pro Line
    • Clorox Leads CPG Firms on Barron's Sustainability 100
    View Breaking News >
    CURRENT ISSUE

    February 2019

    • Shape Up!
    • Connecting To The Consumer
    • Enhancing Cosmeceuticals Via Phytonutrients
    • View More >

    Cookies help us to provide you with an excellent service. By using our website, you declare yourself in agreement with our use of cookies.
    You can obtain detailed information about the use of cookies on our website by clicking on "More information”.

    • privacy policy
    • term and condition
    • about us
    • contact us

    follow us

    Subscribe

    magazines

    Image
    Image
    Image
    Image
    Image
    Image
    Image
    Image
    Image
    Image
    Image

    Copyright © 2019 Rodman Media. All rights reserved. Use of this constitutes acceptance of our privacy policy The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media.

    AD BLOCKER DETECTED

    Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
    Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.


    FREE SUBSCRIPTION Already a subscriber? Login