David Weiss and Lluís Montull are two engineers determined to change the way laundry is done.. Its goal is for consumers to be able to choose a plastic-free option for doing laundry at home. The cleaning industry uses a lot of plastic due to the composition and packaging of products. From the concern to reduce the use of this material, Natulim was born, where Weiss and Montull market biodegradable detergent strips and billed more than five million euros in 2023. They aim to add 10 million worth of sales this year.
Montull assures that they became aware of the plastic waste problem after watching a documentary. “The waste of this material is huge. And the cleaning industry in particular involves a very significant use of plastics,” he notes. Like good engineers, they both began looking for solutions to eliminate plastic from the daily cleaning equation of homes every day.. “We found a patent for detergent in biodegradable strips that has been used in Asia for about 10 years,” explains Montull. Both have worked at companies in other industries, such as venture capital and consulting.
They quit their jobs to start Natulim and set up their first office in the Montull garage. “I left my apartment in Barcelona and we made a change in our lives,” he elaborates. The first step in their adventure was to order detergent strips from Asia and market them in Spain. “We had to change the formulation slightly in order to import it to Europe. We improved the formula after the first orders,” he emphasizes. After receiving the product, they put it in small envelopes and send it to their customers. They closed their first sale in March 2021. “We have found that sending the product through the Post Office is feasible and profitable. Customers receive the product in their home mailbox as if it were a regular letter.”Montull says.
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Detergent strips are not a new format, but most of the existing ones do not have a formula prepared with ecological ingredients. Additionally, a recurring problem with many ecological detergents is the inability to leave clothes clean. However, Natulim has become one of the best sellers in its category on Amazon, where it has received very positive ratings from users.
When placing the order, Consumers only need to report the number of people living in the household and Natulim calculates the quantities needed for laundry.. It is also possible to subscribe and purchase monthly detergent. “We continue to ship with Correos; we believe this is a sustainable way to reach customers’ homes,” adds Montull.
The company took a new step a year and a half ago by opening its own facility to produce laundry detergent and other products such as citric acid, dishwasher tablets and stain removers.. “If we wanted to deliver a truly sustainable product, we had to eliminate all shipping from Asia. We now have a seven-person factory in Vic (Barcelona, Catalonia),” says Montull. Almost 90% of the products they sell are produced in Europe. Natulim is currently distributed in Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Poland and Chile. “We are starting to expand into Germany and Romania. The next step is the Anglo-Saxon world,” the entrepreneur admits. To achieve international expansion, Natulim hires foreign salespeople who reside in Spain and introduce the product to their home countries.
These entrepreneurs are trying to expand their presence in major supermarkets as well as international expansion. The company, which currently distributes through chains such as Alcampo, El Corte Inglés and Bonpreu, is in talks with Eroski and Carrefour to sell in their own businesses: “We hired someone from Unilever to assist us in this process.”
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Natulim’s founders invest a large amount of resources to deliver personalized customer service. “We have a pretty big customer service department. It is important that the consumer can contact us quickly if there are any problems with the shipments.. We realize that word of mouth is very important in our case. Many people heard about us because friends or family recommended biodegradable strips,” explains Montull.
Social networks such as Instagram and Facebook are also an important part of promoting Natulim.. “They became a way to promote ourselves and allow us to connect directly with consumers,” he continues. Natulim’s ads feature its founders explaining their offering in a clear and casual way. “Carrying weight and producing waste are now a thing of the past,” says Montull in one of the videos available on YouTube. “Thanks to this advertisement, people perceive us more closely. Consumers can come face to face with us and know who is behind the company,” he says.