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About ProNatural Brands

Our Story of Innovation

Building safer, more effective cleaning solutions since 2012

Our Story

From a single observation in 2012 to industry-leading innovation

The Beginning

Two of the founding members of Idea Boxx met late one night at a major fast food chain restaurant in Rochester, NY. They started observing a young man, behind the counter, as he began taking apart the soft serve ice cream machine. He proceeded to clean each component in the machine by hand. They looked at each other at the same time said, "there has to be a better way, a more automatic way to clean that machine".

Discovery

They subsequently learned that the largest consumer groups of soft serve ice cream were young children and their grandparents. Both groups are significantly more susceptible to serious food-borne illnesses secondary to their underdeveloped, weakened or compromised immune systems. The two members met the next day to explore ideas on designing a device that would retrofit onto the existing soft serve machines. This device, hopefully, would standardize the cleaning process in a simple, quick and predictable manner. They immediately recognized that the engineered device could minimize the human frailty of the current manual cleaning process.

Research

They then began to investigate the health standards for cleaning the soft serve machines and found that the cleaning protocols (method and frequency of cleaning) and monitoring of satisfactory cleaning varied significantly depending on the specific operator’s manuals and local health codes.

Innovation

As they began to design a clean-in-place type device for the soft serve machine, they learned that the most common chemical sanitizers used to clean the machines were based on chlorine compounds. As they pursued a clean-in-place system that would provide a more reliable, standardized cleaning process they started wondering if they could also improve the safety of the chemical sanitizers. They soon ascertained that the chlorine based sanitizers, on a cumulative basis, could become toxic to the employees and consumers as well as the environment. The sanitizers could also be slowly corroding the components of the soft serve machines over time.

Development

They wondered if there was any possibility of developing a food contact sanitizer that complemented the clean-in-place device in improving the physical welfare of both the employees and consumers. They then researched the chemical formulations of cleaning products that claimed they were based on safer “natural" ingredients. They sought out biochemical research scientists hoping to develop a food contact sanitizer based on safe naturally derived ingredients that would have both strong antimicrobial and cleaning efficacy.

Breakthrough

One year later, ProNatural Brands received an EPA registration for a food contact sanitizer using naturally derived ingredients. One of their scientists then began developing other naturally derived formulations intended for the commercial cleaning market. They were told by a facilities director at a major university medical center that the environmental service personnel prefer to use less toxic and more environmentally friendly chemical cleaning products. The facilities director also remarked that harsh chemical cleaning products continually damaged the internal infrastructure (equipment, furniture, floors and walls) resulting in expensive annual replacement costs. ProNatural products were evaluated by the environmental services personnel at the medical center. They concluded that the ProNatural products, namely the food contact sanitizer and cleaner/degreaser, performed as well as their current products.

Leading the Future

ProNatural Brands is actively developing a full line of naturally derived cleaning products for the food service, healthcare, education, home, and hospitality industry sectors.

"It is with great resolve that these products will benefit the physical welfare of workers and the consuming public."
4+
Industries Served
EPA
Registered Products
10+ Years
of Innovation

Meet Our Team

Get to know the dedicated professionals behind ProNatural Brands

Richard T. Aab

Richard T. Aab

Mr. Richard T. Aab is an international entrepreneur and the chief executive officer of Idea Boxx, a company dedicated to conceptualizing, designing, and manufacturing products that improve and make a positive impact on productivity for businesses across industries. Over the last 40 years, his visionary leadership has fueled the success of his 15 companies, spanning a broad spectrum of industries including telecommunication services, software development, wealth advisory and management, energy consulting and resale, payroll, health care, and innovative design and development. Mr. Aab is a passionate spokesperson on behalf of medical research, and remains an active philanthropist committed to educational initiatives and our world community.

David Venturo

David Venturo

David is a CPA and CVA who joined ProNatural Brands in 2013 as the Chief Financial Officer and this quickly expanded to multiple areas of the company including Operations and all Administrative functions.  He has over 35 years of finance, accounting and tax experience in both private industry and public accounting.  He began his professional career in public accounting and progressed to financial management roles in a $350 million US pharmaceutical subsidiary and two national payroll providers, Paychex and Ovation Payroll.  At Ovation he was the Corporate Controller for Richard Aab, beginning in 2008.

Robert Tuchrelo

Robert Tuchrelo(aka Tuch)

Robert Tuchrelo, aka Tuch, is a Co-Founder of ProNatural Brands where he develops innovative cleaning and sanitization solutions for the company's portfolio of brands including LEXX® and Forged High-Test™. He brings decades of hands-on experience in manufacturing, product development, and entrepreneurial ventures. Tuch began his professional career at age 18 when he founded Extra Step Automotive, a custom automotive restoration business that gained recognition in national automotive magazines including Barrett Jackson. He later worked at Xerox in various roles while continuing his restoration work. In 2012, Tuch co-invented a fresh fruit cutting machine for Subway restaurants. While working with Taylor Company on that project, he co-invented Hydra Rinse, a system that leveraged a naturally formulated cleaning solution that became the foundation for his work in the cleaning and sanitization industry. Tuch co-founded Idea Boxx with Rick Aab, where he continues to develop the company's product lines including LEXX®, which features a naturally formulated cleaner, food-safe sanitizer, and broad-spectrum hospital-grade disinfectant that kills COVID-19 in one minute.

Ready to Work Together?

Get in touch with our team to discuss how ProNatural Brands can meet your cleaning and disinfecting needs.