Three years ago, founders Ami Bateman and Sian Murray were crowd-funding for Pleasant State’s first orders in Noosa.
Now, Pleasant State products are in over 25,000 homes across Australia and New Zealand and the brand is celebrating a major milestone – launching its non-toxic and sustainable cleaning products into White’s IGA stores across the Sunshine Coast on Thursday 11 July, just in time for Plastic Free July.
Ami and Sian founded Pleasant State after they realised that everyday cleaning products are making us sick.
Following two years of daily headaches, Ami’s doctors advised her to eliminate plastics and harsh chemicals from her life and almost overnight her headaches disappeared.
Ami realised she wasn’t the only one suffering from this, so the pair set out to create Australia’s first range of concentrated cleaning bars that dissolve to make refillable cleaning products that are free of toxic chemicals and single-use plastic.
Since Pleasant State began shipping its innovative just-add-water cleaning products in 2021, the business has gone from strength to strength.
Scaling quickly through its online store while staying true to its focus on ethics and proving that doing good is good for business.
Community-focused since day one, Ami and Sian have bootstrapped and crowdfunded the business to date, raising $1.1 million in investment from over 700 customers and community members during a crowd-sourced funding campaign last year.
As Australia’s first certified B Corp cleaning brand and a proud one per cent for the Planet member, Pleasant State has stopped over 280,000 plastic bottles from being made and going to landfill, donated and gifted more than $71,000 to charity partners and generated over 140,000 litres of toxin-free cleaning solutions.
The brand has also been recognised by several prestigious awards, including marie claire’s 2024 Sustainability Award (Home and Lifestyle), the 2023 Queensland Telstra Best of Business Promoting Sustainability award, and the Sunshine Coast Business Award (Retail – Small) 2021.
After cementing themselves as the leaders in ethical home care, launching Pleasant State into retail throughout 2024 is an exciting next step.
“Pleasant State wouldn’t be where it is today without the support of the Sunshine Coast community. So we thought where better to take our next step, and launch into retail,” Ami said.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing our products to the shelves of White’s IGA, a retailer that shares our commitment to supporting local and prioritising community.”
Over the next 12 months, Pleasant State plans to roll out its retail strategy nationally. Starting locally with the Sunshine Coast before setting their sights interstate.
“Before launching into retail, it was really important to us that we nurtured our community through our digital channels and online store. This allowed us to build brand love and ensure our customers understand the value of our just-add-water concept,” Sian said.
“Now, we’re confident that the market is ready, our products are the best on the market and because of this, they will resonate with an even broader audience. We’re excited to partner with White’s IGA to make our products more accessible and scale our impact.”
White’s IGA owner Roz White said, “At White’s IGA we’re proud to have a diverse range of locally made, sustainable goods on our shelves including this new and exciting range of cleaning products from Pleasant State.”
“They’re easy to use, planet friendly and, most excitingly, their cleaning bars are made locally in Gympie. We’re the first retail provider of Pleasant State and we’re thrilled to be able to bring this range of local goodies directly to our local community,” she said.
