Category Failure, Diagnosed
Cleaning products are a mess.
And not the kind you are trying to wipe up.
The industry default is plastic bottles, toxic smells, and designs so unattractive that we hide everything under the sink. Refills barely exist, and nobody thinks about what happens after you throw the bottle away.
Less than 10% of the world’s plastic actually gets recycled.
The rest ends up in landfills, oceans, or gets burned.
Most eco-friendly brands respond with guilt.
They use recycled plastic, which is still plastic, or expect you to change your entire routine.
The trade-off is always the same.
Better for the planet. Worse on your counter.
And most of them still use chemicals you shouldn't breathe in.
Jackie Prince saw a different problem.
Not just environmental.
Aesthetic. Structural.
The category assumed nobody cared what they cleaned with.
And it assumed sustainable products had to look clinical.
The Strategic Bet
Prince spent over a decade in New York working at Meta and top ad agencies.
She moved back to Toronto in 2020.
Then came lockdowns, two toddlers, and a front row seat to her own plastic pileup.
She also hated the smell of conventional cleaners – the Lysols and “kill everything” sprays that felt like they were poisoning the room.
She did not launch another natural cleaner.
She built a concentrate system you mix with tap water.
And she put it in aluminum.
She also rebuilt the formula from scratch.
No phthalates. No parabens. No synthetic fragrances.
Instead: aloe vera, coconut, corn, and apple. Biodegradable. Cruelty‑free.
Actually clean – not just “free of visible dirt".
The move was simple.
Make the bottle the product.
Most brands sell liquid in disposable packaging.
Guests on Earth sells something you actually want to leave out.
Aluminum vessels instead of plastic.
Heat transfer labels with no residue.
Fragrance-level scents, not chemical ones.
Desert Dawn with citrus and mint.
Dunes at Dusk with a woody base.
The refill comes in a small vial.
You mix it with water, and you shake it, and you use it.
Less weight. Less shipping. Lower emissions.
She cold called manufacturers.
Tested over 20 competing products.
And spent months speaking to sustainability experts.
Her bet was clear.
People who care about how their home looks will pay for products that match it.
And people who care about their health will pay for products that don’t poison them.
She built the company with Liz Drayton, a former colleague from New York.
The name is intentional.
A reminder that the Earth was here before us, and will be here after us.
Capital, Not Campaigns
Guests on Earth launched in March 2022 with two products.
Foaming hand soap. $36.
All purpose cleaner. $32.
You buy the vessel once.
And the refills separately.
Their microfiber cloths sold out immediately.
Where did the money go.
Materials. Aluminum that is infinitely recyclable, and labels that actually break down.
Supply chain. Smaller refills mean lower shipping costs and stronger margins.
Carbon strategy. External consultant to offset first year emissions.
Retail. Direct to consumer and select retail like Coco Market. No heavy discounting.
Ingredients. Aloe, coconut, corn, apple. Biodegradable and cruelty free.
No influencer trips.
No inflated brand communities.
No performance theatre.
The investment went into the product’s logic – the materials, the supply chain, and the ingredients that won’t trigger a headache.
Even the packaging is 100% recycled and compostable.
Here’s where the market validates the bet.
In 2024, over 800 brands applied to sell at The Detox Market. They accepted six. Guests on Earth was one of them – and the only cleaning brand in the group.
The Detox Market doesn’t mess around. They screen for genuinely non‑toxic products. No greenwashing. No loopholes. Getting in is hard.
Being the only cleaner in that cohort is a signal:
The Guests on Earth formula isn’t just “less bad.” It meets a standard most cleaning brands don’t even try to reach.
Likely Next Chapter
Right now, the product line is small—just a few core items like hand soap, all-purpose cleaner, dish soap, and laundry detergent.
But the challenge isn't demand. It's scale.
Aluminum costs more than plastic.
Refill systems require behaviour change.
Retailers want volume.
And direct to consumer has limits.
Best case.
A larger home or wellness brand acquires them for design and positioning.
Or they remain small, profitable, and premium.
Both paths work.
The risk is competition.
Brands like Blueland and Grove Collaborative have more capital and distribution.
But they do not have the look.
And that matters.
Prince understands digital growth. She has worked inside Meta and TikTok ecosystems.
But this is not scale for the sake of scale.
The goal is different.
Build a brand that changes behaviour by changing the object.
The BFT Take
Jackie Prince did not make cleaning fun.
She made it worth leaving on the counter.
Most sustainable brands compete on guilt.
Guests on Earth competes on taste.
The bottle says keep me.
The scent says enjoy me.
The refill says you are thinking differently.
She did not ask you to change.
She changed the thing you use.
That is not positioning.
That is redesign.
And that is why this brand does not belong under your sink.
Built For This
The business of womanhood.
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