When Ryan Lupberger was an undergraduate at Babson College—the private business school in Wellesley, MA that specializes in entrepreneurship—he sought to follow in the footsteps of its trailblazing alumni.

These included Akio Toyoda, former CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation; Arthur Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons; Roger Enrico, former chief executive officer of PepsiCo and chairman of DreamWorks; and C. Dean Metropoulos, co-owner of Hostess Brands, to name just a few. 

Lupberger set his sights on revolutionizing the cleaning products industry.

In 2019, while municipal governments around the US were adopting single-use plastic bans to help put a dent in eliminating plastic waste, Lupberger was putting together a business plan for a company named Clean Cult that would take on plastic waste. In the laundry category, that meant ditching the cumbersome plastic jugs.

Clean Cult houses soaps and detergents in patented 100% recyclable, paper-based cartons with a refill system using aluminum bottles. The venture purportedly cuts single-use plastic waste by a reported 90%. The New York-based company has also introduced a ready-to-use aluminum bottles for dish soap and all-purpose cleaner in mass retail, providing a refillable alternative to traditional plastic packaging.

Since its launch six years ago, Clean Cult’s bestsellers include concentrated liquid laundry in Juniper Sandalwood, liquid dish soap refill in Lemon Verbena, and liquid hand soap refill in Wild Lavender. The brand’s dishwasher tablets in Fresh Scent and laundry detergent sheets in Fresh Linen are also popular, and are available at Whole Foods. 

“This isn’t just a brand, this isn’t just a product,” Lupberger told Happi. “It’s how do we fundamentally convert and change the way people shop for cleaning products.”

Joining the ‘Cult’  

Last month, Clean Cult announced it had secured $5 million in financing from JPalmer Collective, a customized asset-based lending solutions provider founded in 2023 by Jennifer Palmer, a commercial finance veteran and former president of SFNet.

Palmer supports the brand’s efforts to eliminate plastic and advocate for ingredient transparency. Clean Cult’s formulas feature essential oils and biodegradable ingredients, all of which are listed on cleancult.com. 

“Clean Cult is a nimble, innovative and sustainable CPG company that aligns with JPC’s values,” Palmer said in a news release. “We support their mission to eliminate single-use plastic and bring transparency to cleaning, and we’re proud to partner in advancing their vision for a cleaner, more responsible future with less plastic waste.”

The funds will go towards scaling and accelerating Clean Cult’s next growth phase and distribution at Costco, Target, Amazon and Kroger. 

“This funding from JPC will help us strengthen our operations to meet the millions of consumers looking for sustainable home care products that are effective, beautiful and better for the planet,” said Lupberger.