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§ Private Profile · New York City, NY, USA
Eco-friendly household cleaning products: laundry, dish, hand soap, all-purpose cleaners. Refill system, recyclable packaging reduces plastic.
Cleancult has raised $32.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Key people at Cleancult.
Cleancult has raised $32.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Based in New York, Cleancult manufactures eco-friendly household cleaning products packaged in recyclable paper-based cartons and refillable aluminum bottles. The company formulates biodegradable laundry detergents, dish soaps, and all-purpose cleaners without dyes or phosphates, utilizing a refill system designed to reduce single-use plastic consumption by up to 90 percent. Operating through both direct-to-consumer channels and omnichannel retail distribution, the enterprise currently manages a diverse product portfolio of up to 60 distinct SKUs. Cleancult distributes its physical merchandise through major retail partners including Walmart, Target, and CVS, positioning the brand to reach 30,000 retail doors by 2025. The organization has financed its commercial operations and expansion through Series B equity funding and scalable credit facilities provided by Dwight Funding, while partnering with rePurpose Global for plastic neutral certification. Cleancult was founded in 2019 by Ryan Lupberger.
Key people at Cleancult.
Cleancult has raised $32.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $28.0M Series B in September 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2021 | $28M Series B | — | Justin Timberlake, Whitney Cummings, Anchor Capital, Blue Scorpion Investments, BoxGroup, Kevin Hart, Rachel ZOE, Seth Cohen, Vanterra Capital | Announced |
| Dec 1, 2019 | $4M Series A | — | Craft Ventures, Giza Polish Ventures, Infinite Niches, Kitchen Table Partners, Kreos Capital, White Star Capital, Gaetan Japy | Announced |
Cleancult has raised $32.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Cleancult's investors include Justin Timberlake, Whitney Cummings, Anchor Capital, Blue Scorpion Investments, BoxGroup, Kevin Hart, Rachel Zoe, Seth Cohen, Vanterra Capital, Craft Ventures, Giza Polish Ventures, Infinite Niches.
# High-Level Overview
Cleancult is a sustainable cleaning products company on a mission to eliminate plastic waste and harmful chemicals from household cleaning.[2][3] Founded in 2019 by Ryan Lupberger and Zachary Bedrosian, the company develops ready-to-use cleaning solutions—including hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, and all-purpose cleaners—packaged in patented, 100% recyclable paper-based cartons and refillable aluminum bottles.[2][4] The company serves environmentally conscious consumers and those exploring sustainable alternatives, offering products that reduce single-use plastic waste by 90% while maintaining effectiveness comparable to conventional cleaners.[2]
Cleancult has achieved rapid retail expansion, growing from a direct-to-consumer brand to a multi-channel distributor with over 70,000 points of distribution.[2] The company is available at major retailers including Target (1,800 stores), Walmart (3,000+ stores), Costco, Kroger, Albertsons, and Amazon, alongside its own e-commerce platform.[2][7] This omnichannel growth demonstrates strong market traction in the competitive household cleaning category.
The company's founding emerged from a personal moment of frustration. Co-founder Ryan Lupberger noticed during a laundry cycle that his detergent bottle contained no recognizable ingredients.[3] This sparked research that revealed a troubling reality: many chemicals allowed in U.S. cleaning products are banned overseas, and no regulatory body oversees the cleaning products industry in America.[4] Lupberger discovered that even "natural" alternatives suffered from toxic plastic packaging, unclear ingredients, and weak performance.[3]
Rather than accept this status quo, Lupberger spent a year traveling across the U.S. to develop a solution, ultimately commissioning custom machinery to create patented, recyclable cardboard refill packaging modeled after milk cartons.[4] This innovation—combined with Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper and later refillable aluminum bottles—became the foundation of Cleancult's product line when the company launched in 2019.[4]
Cleancult operates at the intersection of two powerful consumer trends: the sustainability movement and the demand for transparency in household products. The company rides growing regulatory pressure on single-use plastics and increasing consumer awareness of chemical safety in home care products.[4]
The timing is particularly favorable. Major retailers—from Target to Walmart—are actively seeking sustainable alternatives to stock, recognizing that eco-conscious consumers represent a significant and growing market segment. Cleancult's ability to scale through omnichannel distribution while maintaining premium positioning (pricing in line with natural brands) demonstrates that sustainability need not sacrifice accessibility or convenience.[2]
Within the broader ecosystem, Cleancult influences industry standards by proving that sustainable packaging can work at scale. The company's participation in initiatives like the U.S. Plastics Pact and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition positions it as a thought leader pushing the entire cleaning products category toward lower-waste solutions.[4]
Cleancult has successfully transitioned from a digitally native startup to a mainstream retail presence, achieving what many sustainable brands struggle with: scaling without compromising mission or pricing power. The company's $5 million Series B extension (closed May 2025) and expansion to 1,800 Target stores signal continued momentum.[2]
Looking ahead, Cleancult's growth will likely depend on deepening retail penetration, expanding its product line, and maintaining supply chain efficiency as it scales. The company's stated goal of reaching 30,000 retail doors by 2025 suggests aggressive expansion plans.[1] As regulatory pressure on plastic packaging intensifies globally and consumer demand for sustainable alternatives accelerates, Cleancult is positioned to capture significant market share in a category where incumbents have been slow to innovate.
The company's real competitive advantage lies not just in packaging innovation, but in proving that sustainable cleaning products can deliver both environmental and performance benefits without asking consumers to compromise on convenience—a formula that could reshape household cleaning for years to come.
