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These Canadian-made products let you refill your cleaning products with just pods and tap water.
Like most successful innovations, Brain Wash came from a stroke of inspiration. For Robert Corbin, founder and CEO of Brain Wash, that inspiration was his son, Henry. In 2021, during the height of the pandemic, Corbin was watching Henry, four at the time, grow up in a confusing climate. A worldwide illness was crippling economies, researchers were waving warning flags about the planet’s increasing temperatures, and landfills were full of unfettered waste. It got him thinking about what kind of world his son was going to grow up in.
Rather than wait around to find out, Corbin decided to make a positive contribution to Henry’s future. In November 2021, he launched Brain Wash, a line of sustainable cleaning products designed to reduce the use of plastic bottles.
“Henry is the backbone of the brand,” Corbin says. “I’m doing this for him and for all of the younger generations.”
When deciding what type of product to create, Corbin landed on cleaning solutions because he wanted a fun and colourful family-oriented brand. Same goes for the company name. It’s a melding of two ideas that popped into Corbin’s head as he was driving home from the Montreal airport. “I wanted a strong name,” he says. “Brain is the intelligence behind the product, because it’s a waterless product, and Wash because we are in the cleaning category.”
How does a waterless cleaner work? Consumers buy a spray bottle that comes with water-soluble pods. At home, families place a pod in the bottle, fill it with water from the tap, and then they’re ready to clean. When consumers need a refill, they buy more pods rather than a new bottle with cleaner in it.
The environmental benefits are twofold: the product reduces its transportation footprint by not shipping water; and there’s no need to buy another plastic bottle when it’s time to refill. Corbin says it’s difficult to calculate exactly how many bottles Brain Wash has taken off the market, but the company’s mission is resonating with consumers. The company has already sold close to a million pods.
At home, families place a pod in the bottle, fill it with water from the tap, and then they’re ready to clean.
The product’s cleaning solution is a closely held secret, but Corbin says it doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals, such as ammonia, bleach, phosphate, phthalate, parabens, or pesticides. In fact, Brain Wash is Green Seal certified, meaning the product meets global non-profit Green Seal’s high benchmark for sustainability, health, and environmental leadership.
Part of Brain Wash’s success is due to Corbin’s background in retail. He’s been in the industry for 30 years. When he was younger, his family managed grocery stores near Montreal. Later, Corbin founded his own company, Fluid Distribution Inc., which handles the development, distribution, marketing, and financing of consumer packaged goods.
Brain Wash also got a brand-awareness boost in 2023 when Corbin appeared on Dragon’s Den. After his pitch, Corbin received offers from all five Dragons. “We were the only company in two or three years that received five offers,” he says. Corbin agreed to partner with businessman David Côté, receiving a $150,000 investment for 10 per cent of the company.
Since its 2021 launch, Brain Wash has added dish soap and hand soap to its line of products. Both use the same method as the cleaning solutions: pods with liquid concentrate that dissolve in water. The products are stocked across Canada in Walmart, Metro, and Canadian Tire. (If you'd like to try out their products, use code BLUE-BW15 for 15% off of any purchase from the Brain Wash online store until Dec. 30, 2025.)
Moving forward, Corbin hopes to expand Brain Wash’s presence on e-commerce platforms. But his main goal is still to reduce plastic consumption.
For other entrepreneurs trying to break into the sustainability space, Corbin’s one piece of advice is to start small and scale up from there. “When you're trying to get big at the start, it can complicate your brand,” he says. “Start small and support it.”
Read about another Canadian-made product that is reducing single-use plastic use for takeout food.
