National Chemicals

What National Chemicals does

National Chemicals is a privately held, family-owned specialty cleaning chemicals manufacturer founded in 1947 in Lewiston, Minnesota, currently in its third generation of Landman family leadership under President and CEO Murl Landman (since 2018). The company formulates, manufactures, and sells commercial-grade detergents, sanitizers, and beverage system cleaners in liquid, powder, and tablet forms, with a portfolio organized around flagship products including the BLC beverage system cleaner (the first liquid cleaner developed specifically for draft beer lines, introduced in 1966 at major brewers' request), the BTF sanitizer family (Iodophor, Chlor-Tab, and Powder forms), the Craft Meister brewing line, the Vantage Synergy additive system, and supporting kitchen, coffee, and glassware cleaners. Its underlying technology is rooted in proprietary cleaning chemistry — combining alkalis, surfactants, acids, and EPA-registered anti-microbial agents — backed by 70+ years of accumulated formulation expertise with input from in-house bacteriology and public health knowledge.

The company operates a single-segment business model with two revenue streams: (1) sale of proprietary branded commercial cleaning products to beverage, food service, craft brewing, and specialty industrial customers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico; and (2) custom blending and packaging services for third-party cleaning brands, including co-branded production for enterprise customers such as ZX Ventures, the global growth and innovation group within Anheuser-Busch InBev. Distribution runs primarily through self-serve e-commerce on nationalchemicals.com and Amazon, with phone-based sales support (800-533-0027) for custom orders and enterprise accounts; manufacturing is anchored at two processing facilities in Lewiston, Minnesota (the second opened in 2011, nearly doubling capacity). The customer base spans enterprise beverage OEMs, mid-market bars/restaurants/brewpubs, SMB food service operators, and home-craft brewing hobbyists, served across vertical sanitation use cases (beverage systems, kitchen, coffee, drinkware).

Name

National Chemicals

Legal name

National Chemicals

Website

https://nationalchemicals.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Chemicals is a third-generation, family-owned specialty cleaning chemicals manufacturer founded in 1947 in Lewiston, Minnesota, formulating detergents, sanitizers, and beverage system cleaners for beverage, food service, craft brewing, and enterprise OEM customers across North America via e-commerce, Amazon, and custom blending services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Cleaning Chemicals

NAICS

Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561), Polish and Other Sanitation Good Manufacturing (325612), Soap, Cleaning Compound, and Toilet Preparation Manufacturing (3256), Chemical Manufacturing (325)

SIC

Specialty Cleaning, Polishing And Sanitation Preparations (2842), Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840), Chemicals & Allied Products (2800)

akta.pro primary industry

Food & Beverage Process & CIP/Sanitation Chemicals (IMAEAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial & Institutional (I&I) Cleaning Chemicals (IMAEABAG), Hard Surface & Multi-Purpose Cleaners (All-purpose, Floor, Bathroom, Kitchen) (CRADAKAG), Produce Wash & Food-Contact Surface Dish Cleaning Solutions (CRAJABAI)

Keywords

• Commercial cleaning chemicals
• Beverage system cleaners
• Food service sanitation
• Draft beer line cleaning
• Custom blending packaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Lewiston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Commercial Cleaning Products: Sale of proprietary line of commercial cleaning products including detergents, sanitizers, and beverage system cleaners to food and beverage companies
2. Custom Blending and Packaging Services: On-demand production and packaging expertise for third-party cleaning brands in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

National Chemicals manufactures and sells commercial cleaning and sanitation products — including detergents, sanitizers, beverage system cleaners, and disinfection solutions — primarily to beverage and food companies across North America. The company also offers on-demand custom blending and packaging services for third-party cleaning brands, producing co-branded and proprietary formulations for customers such as ZX Ventures / Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Product overview

National Chemicals offers a comprehensive portfolio of commercial cleaning products primarily for beverage and food companies across North America. The product line centers on BLC as the foundational beverage system cleaner, supplemented by the BTF sanitizer family (Chlor-Tab, Iodophor, and Powder forms) for sanitation needs. The core beverage system cleaner portfolio includes BLC, Clear-Tap, DAC, PLC, WLC, Penetrate, and Super No-Rinse. For brewing and specialty applications, the Craft Meister line provides Alkaline Wash, Oxygen Wash, Growler Tabs, and Keg & Carboy Tablets. Coffee equipment cleaners include CPC and ESP products. Kitchen and general cleaning is served through FOG, Ice Machine Cleaner, and the LFD/TDC detergent lines in various forms. The Q.A. Concentrated Solution serves as a COVID-19 authorized disinfection option. The Vantage Synergy system offers specialized additives including Alkaline Boost, Enzyme, Flavor Rescue, Accelerator, Biomass Remover, and Demineralizer. The company operates primarily through direct e-commerce with an Amazon sales channel and provides custom blending and packaging services for third-party brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Craft Meister: Product line including Craft Meister Alkaline Wash, Craft Meister Growler Tabs, Craft Meister Oxygen Wash, Craft Meister Keg & Carboy Tablets.
• Vantage

Products and services

• BLC Beverage System Cleaner First liquid cleaning product specifically designed for cleaning draft beverage systems, developed at the request of major national and regional breweries.
• BTF Iodophor Sanitizer Registered anti-microbial iodophor sanitizer originally developed for bars and restaurants, later adopted in the home beer and wine-making hobby market.
• BTF Chlor-Tab Sanitizer Sanitizer tablet product for food and beverage equipment cleaning.
• BTF Powder Powder sanitizer available in bulk and pouches for food and beverage equipment sanitation.
• Clear-Tap Beverage System Cleaner Beverage system cleaner for draft equipment maintenance.
• DAC Beverage System Cleaner Beverage system cleaner designed to be used in combination with Penetrate using different alkaline sources and surfactant formulations.
• PLC Beverage System Cleaner Beverage system cleaner for draft equipment.
• WLC Beverage System Cleaner Beverage system cleaner for draft equipment.
• Penetrate Beverage System Cleaner Beverage system cleaner designed to be complementary with DAC using different alkaline sources and surfactant formulations.
• Super No-Rinse Beverage System Cleaner Beverage system cleaner that does not require rinsing after use.
• Q.A. Concentrated Solution Concentrated disinfecting solution authorized for COVID-19 disinfection applications and used for commercial cleaning.
• Craft Meister line (Alkaline Wash, Oxygen Wash, Growler Tabs, Keg & Carboy Tablets) Sub-brand product line of brewing washes and cleaning tablets including Craft Meister Alkaline Wash, Craft Meister Oxygen Wash, Craft Meister Growler Tabs, and Craft Meister Keg & Carboy Tablets for craft beer and home brewing equipment.
• Vantage line (Alkaline Boost, Enzyme, Flavor Rescue, Synergy Accelerator, Synergy Biomass Remover, Synergy Demineralizer) Sub-brand product line of specialty cleaning additives for brewing systems including Vantage Alkaline Boost, Vantage Enzyme, Vantage Flavor Rescue, Vantage Synergy Accelerator, Vantage Synergy Biomass Remover, and Vantage Synergy Demineralizer.
• CPC Coffee Pot Cleaner Specialized cleaner for coffee pot equipment.
• ESP Espresso Machine Powder Powder cleaner for espresso machines.
• FOG Fryer, Oven and Grill Cleaner Heavy-duty cleaner for fryers, ovens, and grills.
• Ice Machine Cleaner Cleaner specifically formulated for ice machines.
• LFD Detergent line (Liquid, Powder, Tablets) Line of commercial glassware and general cleaning detergents in liquid, powder, and tablet forms, including LFD Liquid Detergent, LFD Powder Detergent, and LFD Detergent Tablets.
• TCD Detergent line (TDC Liquid, TDC Powder, TDC Tab-Det) Commercial cleaning detergent line in liquid, powder, and tablet forms, including TDC Liquid Detergent, TDC Powder Detergent, and TDC Tab-Det Detergent Tablets.
• ALC Acid Acid-based cleaning product for commercial cleaning applications.
• AllKlear Rinse Indicator Rinse indicator used to verify proper cleaning rinsing.
• Spulboy Overnight Brush Cleaner Overnight brush cleaning solution for bar glassware brushes.
• Spul-Tab Detergent Tablets Tablet detergent for commercial cleaning applications.
• Custom Blending and Packaging Services On-demand custom blending and packaging service producing custom formulations and co-branded cleaning products for third-party brands, served across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly doubled processing capacity with second facility in 2011

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ZX Ventures / Anheuser-Busch InBevcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018National Chemicals entered into a contract to create and co-brand cleaning products for ZX Ventures, a global growth and innovation group within Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's leading global brewer and one of the world's top five consumer products companies.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Procter & Gamble Professional: P&G's commercial cleaning division offering detergents and cleaners for foodservice and hospitality end-markets. Overlaps with NCI's commercial cleaning product range as a much larger, branded competitor.
• Diversey (Sealed Air): Major provider of hygiene, cleaning, and sanitation products and services to the foodservice, hospitality, and food-and-beverage processing industries. Competes directly with NCI in commercial sanitation chemistry for beverage and food customers.
• Clorox Professional: Professional products division of Clorox offering disinfectants and sanitizers for commercial facilities including foodservice. Competes with NCI in sanitizers and disinfecting cleaners (e.g., Q.A. Solution category).
• Ecolab: Global leader in water, hygiene, and infection-prevention solutions serving food and beverage, hospitality, and healthcare. Overlaps with NCI's beverage system cleaners and sanitizers but at vastly greater scale and geographic breadth.

Direct peers

• Misco Products: Manufacturer of cleaning and water-treatment chemicals for industrial, institutional, and foodservice customers. Comparable specialty chemical manufacturer with overlapping commercial sanitation focus.
• Birko Corporation: Specialty chemical manufacturer focused on food safety, sanitation, and process chemicals for the meat, poultry, and beverage industries. Highly comparable to National Chemicals in target verticals, regulatory positioning, and custom-blending capabilities.
• Five Star Chemicals: Manufacturer of cleaning and sanitation products specifically for the brewing and beverage industries, with brewery line-cleaning compounds that mirror NCI's BLC franchise.
• Bru-Cleana: Niche supplier of cleaning chemicals and equipment tailored to breweries and draft beverage systems, directly overlapping with NCI's draft-system cleaning and brewer-targeted lines.
• Zep Inc. Manufacturer and marketer of cleaning and maintenance products for commercial, industrial, and institutional markets, including sanitation and degreasing chemicals. Closely aligned with NCI's commercial cleaning product portfolio across North America.

Others

• 3M Food Safety: Provides sanitation and hygiene testing products and services to food and beverage producers. Adjacent to NCI's specialty cleaning chemistry through a shared food-safety customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Chemicals