Under the name Baula, the start-up Midas Clean, based at the Barcelona Science Park, has launched to market a new family of effervescent tablets that mark the start of the 3.0 era in the cleaning sector by combining efficacy (1.0) with ecology (2.0). These are 'first in class' –products developed by means of a highly innovative processing technology and under social, economical and environmental sustainability criteria– thereby offering an equal or superior performance to that of high-end equivalent proposal based on a non-ecological formulation. 

Midas Clean is a technology-based start-up committed to the environment that bases its business project on R & D + i. It was founded in 2015 by Jordi Caparrós, an entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in the chemical industry, based on a business idea he had first conceived in 2009. After 6 years of product development, Caparros materialized his idea to bring the scientific and technology knowledge he had acquired as a manufacturer of cleaning products in the form of innovative, healthy and sustainable solutions for the professional cleaning sector.

Baula is the first product line the company brings to market. The range consists of four proposals -Baula Baños (Baula Bathrooms), Baula Suelos (Baula Floors), Baula Multiuse (Baula Multi-purpose cleaner), and Baula Desengrasante (Baula Degreaser). All four products were developed through an innovative chemical and physical process technology under patent in Spain (P201031477) and worldwide (201530321P) – and aacquired know-how after extensive experience in R + D + i applied to the design of sustainable  production models and eco-products for the cleaning and home care sector.

In a first stage, Baula has been thought out for use in the professional and industrial sector: cleaning services companies, schools, health and leisure, commercial distribution channels (retailers, supermarkets, shopping centers, markets, etc.) and for the hotel, restaurants and catering sectors. In the short term, the company is also planning to enter the domestic market.

“In Spain, the sector of professional cleaning products generates a turnover of about 500 million Euros and the offer is basically for liquid products, according to data from the association ADELMA. Baula´s commercial strategy focuses on convincing the industry that spending resources in the transportation and shipment of liquids is neither economical nor environmentally friendly when the active material can be concentrated in a tablet that dissolves quickly in the place the product is to be used. There is substantial cost savings in transport and storage that currently the professional customer is being charged for, be it a cleaning company or a hotel” says Jordi Caparrós, founder and CEO of Midas Clean. “Worth mentioning is also the impact this has on the environment, transporting large volumes of liquids and plastics, when instead only the active ingredient could be shipped in a concentrated form to be diluted at the time of use, that is, at the time of effective cleaning. “
 

The new 3.0 era of cleaning: effective and ecological

Both because of its concentrated form, in the form of compact tablets, and the characteristics derived from its formulation, Baula provides high performance – equal or higher than the high-end lines without ecological formulations, but at a much lower cost, while minimizing impact on human health and the environment.

One tablet is equivalent to a 1 liter bottle of conventional product and represents between 20 to 30% of direct savings and up to 90% reduction of indirect costs in the way of packaging, transport and storage. Thanks to its high degree of effervescence, the product is the fastest to dissolve in the market. It dissolves immediatedly with no shaking- which facilitates preparation, handling and use by the cleaning professional. The company offers a permanent all-year 24/7 round the clock delivery service.

The benefits for health are also very relevant. Baula considerably minimizes occupational hazards as a result of the reduction of 90% of the weight load of the product, in a sector characterized by an average frequency of 27 accidents per 1000 hours, where the average length of sick leave is 30 days (according to data provided by AC-Mutual).

In addition, with its product Baula, the start-up also aims to contribute to sustainable development and respect of the environment in the field of cleaning services. All its products are water soluble and 100 per cent biodegradable  (0% of organic waste) and meet the highest standards of environmental quality (Cogep, Hera, Reach, Ecolabel, Save Energy & Water), contributing to a, 85% reduction in CO2 emissions in transport and over 90% in the manufacturing of plastics and packaging  materials (bottles, containers, etc).

“Baula is a true revolution in the cleaning products sector, as it initiates what we call ‘the 3.0 era”. This means that it allows us to offer the highest levels of market efficiency using the latest technological innovations in hydrophilization with a fully sustainable, environmentally-friendly and socially-conscious approach.  It also is a patented product and therefore significantly reduces potential competition” explains Jordi Caparrós.