After a scare when her toddler locked herself in the bathroom, Michelle Perkins began to think more deeply about the chemicals she was using in her home. Not impressed with the green cleaners currently available, she set out to find a better way. That journey led to probiotics, and now Counter Culture, her growing range of home care products found in West Coast organic food stores and Whole Foods, is out to change the conversation about cleaning house.

There is always an “A-ha!” moment for a new brand—so what was your moment? My ah-ha moment was finding my toddler locked in the bathroom with bleach spilled down her dress— it made me rethink the toxic chemicals I was bringing into my home—at first I switched to green cleaners, but was frustrated by how poorly they worked and questioned how “clean” these products really were. I thought there has to be a better way—my learning journey led me to discover the power of probiotics for safe, effective and sustainable cleaning.

Counter Culture’s hero SKU is: Geranium All Purpose Cleaner, it leaves my counters clean and my kitchen smelling fresh.

Dr. Tony Nakhla (founder of Eighth Day, our April 2019 Indie Inc profile) wants to know why is your brand different than others in your category?  We are radically different to all the other products in the category—staking the opposite claim—we proudly don’t kill 99.9% of bacteria! To us, sterile is not the goal. No other products work like ours using probiotics to actively enhance your surface’s microbiome while using bio-surfactants created during the fermentation process to break down dirt and grease.

As an independent cleaning brand, the biggest issue we have had to overcome so far has been: Raising consumer awareness on the shelf and communicating concisely why our product is better for you. It’s a work in progress, but working with a team of great communicators and designers has definitely helped!

Who in the business world inspires you—and why? Elon Musk. He thinks big and outside the box—it’s always exciting to see what he’s going to try next. He has made a huge impact on ongoing sustainability with the Tesla and in South Australia, he has created the world’s largest battery to capture solar and wind energy.

What can we expect from Counter Culture for the rest of the year and beyond? We’re launching a tranche new products over the next year including wipes, and other products designed to make a positive impact on your ‘MicrobiHome.’