A GOOD CORN SCRUB

HARVEST BRIGHT MANUFACTURERS HOPE TO CAPTURE
HOME-CLEANING MARKET
WITH AG-BASED, ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND PRODUCTS

By Dan Lemke

North Oaks, Minn. — Kevin Lewis knows Harvest BrightTM really cleans up in the house; now he hopes it will do the same in the marketplace.

Lewis is chief operating officer for Producers Renewable Products, LLC, now rolling out a full line of household and personal care soaps made with renewable, biodegradable ingredients like ethanol, corn and soy oils. The Harvest Bright line includes a glass/surface cleaner, tub and tile cleaner, all purpose cleaner, wood oil soap, liquid body soap and hand sanitizer gel. There’s more to come, Lewis says.

“Our products have to be equal to or better than national brands in both quality and price,” Lewis says, “or they won’t be competitive and reflect the image we want for our products and organization.”

Scouring the market for ag opportunity
Established in 1994, Producers Renewable Products’ mission is to commercialize agricultural technologies that put money back into producers’ hands. PRP owner-investors include the Minnesota, North and South Dakota Corn Growers Associations; Colorado Corn Research, Inc.; Consolidated Co-ops of Worthington, Minn.; Co-op Country Farmers Elevator of Renville, Minn.; Glacial Grain Spirits, an association of three central Minnesota ethanol plants; South Dakota Wheat Growers; South Dakota Soybean Processors; and Watonwan Farm Service of St. James, Minn. The cleaners are mixed and packaged by Diversified Manufacturing Corporation of Newport, Minn.

“We see (PRP) as a way to improve farm income and increase the value of our product,” says Director Henry Mertens of Easton, Minn. who has been involved with PRP since its inception. “We saw the potential in a line of top-quality cleaning products that utilized agricultural inputs, with the initial market being the farmers who produce the ingredients.

“From that base, we plan to expand to non-rural markets.”

Soaping Up
AURI began working with PRP in 1994, helping to develop Harvest Bright’s distinctive corn cob-look packaging.

By late 1995 and early 1996, 250 cases of cleaner samples were manufactured and sent to member organizations, funding agencies and congressional offices.

Feedback from that distribution led to product refinement and full-scale marketing, which began in mid-July with 9,000 direct mailings to member-owners. Lewis expects more feedback will help PRP fine tune its advertising strategy. Also in July, AURI approved funds to help PRP with its first major production run this summer to bring the products into full-scale commercialization.

“We’re moving toward marketing through conventional channels like farm supply and convenience stores,” Lewis says. “It’s efficient, it’s cheaper than direct mail order, and that’s where the growth is.”

While Harvest Bright cleaners are largely ag-based, Lewis says environmental friendliness alone won’t sell the product.

“The ag content and environmental nature are nice plusses,” he says. “But only if our product has good performance and price going for it.”

AURI tested the products in its Marshall laboratory and in homes. “Countertops, glass and ceramic tiles were soiled with grease, grime and just plain dirt to assess cleaning ability, non-streaking or film forming on surfaces and ease of use,” says AURI scientist Max Norris. “The products performed well.”

“They can compete with others already on the market,” says Lisa Gjersvik, manager of AURI’s Waseca office. “And PRP’s timing is good because the market for bio-based, renewable products is growing.”

More downstream
Harvest Bright cleaners are the first products commercialized by PRP, but those involved hope they won’t be the last.

“Farmers must be innovative businessmen, investing in the downstream future of their commodities and seeking to make profit out of that,” says PRP secretary Harold Smedley of Englewood, Colo. “Ideally, they reach the point where their profit stream comes from the value-added commercialization more so than the raw material.”