Today we’d like to introduce you to Shreya Patel, founder of hyve, a probiotic-powered cleaning products company.
Hi Shreya, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hello! I would love to share where I am today: I am on a mission to redefine what clean means and how we clean the spaces around us! And I do it by going back to the basics with something mother nature has been using for eons, but we’ve forgotten. Probiotics, a.k.a. good bacteria.
If I asked you to make a salad for yourself and said that you could either make it in your kitchen sink or on your toilet seat, which would you pick? For years, I disliked doing dishes because of the kitchen sponge and all the yucky things that lurked in the sink. I knew it contained much more harmful bacteria than our bathrooms. During this time, a couple of things were happening: I was trying to DIY my cleaning products to decrease the amount of toxicity in my home, and I was also growing more connected to the environment and increasingly frustrated by the amount of waste being created. I had all these problems running through my head but no solution.
Until that day that I wondered why I was leveraging beneficial bacteria in my garden and my gut, but not in my home. Why couldn’t I use good bacteria to help eliminate bad bacteria instead of the harsh chemicals that are known to be toxic to our skin and lungs?
After months of research and talking to friends, the idea of hyve was born. A company that will redefine clean by harnessing the power of biology, not chemistry; and do it in a way that would be mindful of our planet.
I am a firm believer that we can do better when we know better. We know a better way forward in cleaning and the time is now to create the tsunami to make a substantive change in our health and the health of our planet.
I also know that we are blessed to live in a place where we are most concerned about harmful bacteria on our inanimate surfaces. There are millions around the world who ingest the same harmful bacteria in their drinking water on a daily basis. Every 2 minutes a child dies from a water-related disease. I want to change that. With hyve, we are starting in our homes and with our surfaces. What I would like my legacy to be, however, is to impact lives all over with clean water technology. I don’t know what that means right now but discovering that along the way is part of my journey.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been challenges along the way. First, launching a CPG company while working full-time has been part of the learning process. I had to learn how to balance being a professional, a mom, and a founder while giving each the attention it deserves. My goal is to be able to transition to hyve full-time, sooner rather than later, to more quickly achieve hyve’s goals and my personal goals. Second, launching a CPG company during the covid pandemic presents a new set of challenges. Getting word out about the company has been more difficult, especially during 2020. And third, building the right team around me has been a challenge, and I think this is true for all companies, regardless of stage in the growth of the company.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Hyve is producing a new generation of cleaning products using the power of good bacteria to clean more naturally and more effectively at the microscopic level. We are using a plant-based formulation to protect our bodies and our earth from harmful, toxic ingredients. And that formulation is packaged up in 2 oz concentrates that get diluted in reusable bottles to minimize our carbon footprint.
What’s the underlying magic of hyve, you ask? First, our custom blend of beneficial bacteria can significantly reduce and eliminate harmful bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, listeria, and so on by competitive inhibition as shown by our lab testing. Second, our bacteria can reach harmful bacteria hiding in places where traditional cleaners can’t get to. Third, our products provide you with a protective shield against these harmful bacteria for up to 5 days. Now that’s something traditional or natural cleaners can’t do. Fourth, we value transparency of the handful of non-toxic ingredients we use. Fifth, we offer a convenient for you subscription model. And finally, we support clean water initiatives by giving back through 1% for the Planet. This is a cleaner cleaner, no make that the cleanest cleaner, and Hyve is a name you can trust.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I have grown up in an entrepreneurial family, and that is where the itch of building from scratch to solve real-world problems began.
I was born in London and immigrated to the US with my parents and sister. We came with very little, but we’re blessed to have family who helped my parents settle in the US. Together, they purchased a small motel built in the 1950s that had a 2 bedroom home integrated into the motel.
My parents worked hard to put food on our table and to give us the opportunity to build a better life. It was a 24-hour operation. In the morning, they cleaned rooms; in the afternoon they washed the room linens / did maintenance work, and in the late afternoon, evening, and overnight, they rented the rooms out. When my sister and I were about 8 or so, we were able to begin helping with room cleaning, laundry, answering the motel phone, and even renting rooms. That lived experience helped to create the basis of my work ethic, which I still carry today.
I eventually got a BS in biology and chemistry and a master’s in healthcare administration and have worked within and consulted hospitals for the last 21 years. Leveraging what I learned from my parents with what I learned in corporate America, the foundation for my journey with hyve was laid.
Pricing:
- 6.99
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@hyveclean.com
- Website: https://hyveclean.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/hyveclean
- Facebook: facebook.com/hyveclean
