San Francisco, CA
415.901.6300
www.methodhome.com
Sales: $110 million
Sales:
$110 million (estimated).
Key Personnel:
Drew Fraze, chief executive officer; Adam Lowry, co-founder and chief greenskeeper; Eric Ryan, co-founder and chief brand architect.
Major Products:
Laundry detergent; home cleaning products including all-purpose cleaning sprays, dish soap, bathroom cleaners, floor cleaners and antibacterial cleaners; and personal care, mainly in form of gel and foaming hand washes.
New Products:
All-purpose natural surface cleaners, bathroom cleaning spray and glass + surface cleaning spray, laundry detergent and dish soap refills, antibacterial orange zest spray and wipes, Mickey and Minnie foaming hand wash.
Comments:
There clearly has been a method to Adam Lowry’s and Eric Ryan’s madness, as Method celebrates it 10th anniversary this year. Company executives maintain that sales rose 20% last year, excluding comparisons to products such as air fresheners, which Method discontinued.
During the past decade, consumers have come to love the company for its stylish design as well as its commitment to good-for-you/good-for-the earth principles, packaging and products, like its latest laundry detergent and dish detergent refills. These pouches, according to Method, provide consumers with a more affordable alternative; it offers an 80% savings in plastic, water plus energy production; and has an innovative, space-saving package design with an easy-to-pour handle.
Also on the packaging front, Method is partnering with Terracycle to give the spent refill pouches a second life (read more about this in our June issue, Thinking About the Box, p. 97).
Product wise, Method has rolled out new all-purpose cleaning sprays, bathroom cleaning spray and glass and surface cleaning spray fueled by “powergreen” technology, which is said to deliver a powerful clean using plant-based solvents and surfactants. The technology comes via Method’s alliance with Segetis, Inc. Levulinic ketals—the cornerstone of what Segetis calls its “Javelin Technology,” are a broad family of bio-based compositions. Enabled by the development of selective ketalization of levulinic acid esters, these compounds have broad solubility enabling their use as cleaning solvents or coupling agents in liquid formulations.
In addition, Method now sports a line of botanical household disinfectant sprays and wipes that are registered by the Environmental Protection Agency. On this launch, Method partnered with CleanWell Company, which makes thyme-based disinfecting technology that kills 99.99% household bacteria including E.coli, salmonella enterica, influenza A and H1N1 virus on hard, non-porous surfaces.