Scrubbed to Success Monica Nassif Brings Class to Cleanliness
Store aisles across the U.S. are filled with cleaning supplies that get the job done but leave your home smelling like a chemical factory. While many consider these harsh scents an unavoidable reality, Midwestern entrepreneur Monica Nassif decided enough was enough — and built a fresh- smelling empire.
After jotting down a one-page business plan on the flight home, Nassif soon launched Caldrea, a high-end line of sprays and soaps to provide elegance and sophistication to common household tasks. The chic spin on everyday cleanliness became an instant hit among retailers nationwide, with the brand’s soap selling for $10 a bottle. However, one critical potential consumer wasn’t having any of it, and the wake-up call literally hit home for the growing business owner.
FROM UNPLEASANT TO UPSCALE
MARKETING TO MOMS
In 1999, Nassif — whose eclectic professional experiences included a stint in nursing, serving as a speechwriter for the Dayton’s department store chain, and running her own marketing agency — stepped into a Linens N’ Things in Atlanta while on a business trip and stood aghast at the unsightly array of cleaning supplies available. As she recalled in a 2020 Twin Cities Business magazine interview, she thought, “Gosh, that is so pathetic. What if the bottles looked like machine guns and didn’t smell like bleach? What if it could be like Aveda?”
Before Nassif was a jet-setting soap magnate, she was one of nine children in a working-class family in rural Iowa. She knew the value and pride of a hard-earned dollar, lying about her age as a teen to secure her first-ever job. When her mother, Thelma Meyer, remarked one day that she loved using Caldrea but couldn’t afford it as an average consumer, Nassif realized it was time to create a variant that appealed to her family roots. This led to the 2001 debut of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. This wholesome-branded, budget- friendly alternative line appealed to Midwestern sensibilities and quickly became a hit that rivaled Caldrea’s success. In 2008, Nassif sold both brands to SC Johnson for an undisclosed amount.
ACCOLADES ABOUND
Nearly a quarter-century after its creation, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day remains a cultural favorite among the cleaning contingent. A May 2025 New York magazine article on budget hand soaps praised the brand’s “vast range of garden-inspired scents, non- drying formula, affordability, and refill options,” adding that its all-natural ingredients “clean effectively while leaving hands soft.” In 2020, Nassif was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. By following her instincts of what she didn’t like in traditional household products, Nassif created the brands she wanted to see — and became one of the most celebrated soap specialists in the nation. Although her days of overseeing Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day are over, her keen sense of what works and what doesn’t on store shelves remains in full effect. She told Twin Cities Business, “When I walk into Target and Whole Foods, I’m still straightening out the bottles.”
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