Jessica and Paul never set out to reinvent cleaning products. But when their infant son was diagnosed with cancer, they began questioning every item they brought into their home. Their search for non-toxic cleaning options hit a frustrating roadblock: most naturally “clean” products sounded great on paper but fell short when put to the test. Refusing to compromise on performance or peace of mind, they created plant-based alternatives that actually pack a serious punch, smell terrific, and are completely safe to use around kids and pets.
They launched Koala Eco in 2017 to rid homes of harsh, toxic chemicals while pursuing a broader mission to help people reconnect with nature and live a bit more sustainably every day. To bring that natural connection into the home, they relied on the natural power of plants, proving you don't have to sacrifice a deep clean to go green.
Every Koala Eco product is made using biodegradable, plant-derived ingredients and powered by real Australian essential oils like lemon myrtle, mandarin, and eucalyptus. Instead of harsh chemical fumes, they deliver a wave of fresh, breathable botanicals right out of the bottle. Plus, the collection is vegan, cruelty-free, and independently lab-tested to kill 99.9% of germs—all packaged in 100% recycled and recyclable bottles.
Building this brand has been an incredibly personal path for Jessica and Paul. Growing the business has been deeply rewarding—but absolutely nothing compares to the milestone they recently celebrated at home. Their young son is now entirely cancer-free and thriving.
Recently, we caught up with Jessica and Paul to learn more about their journey and hear their advice for fellow entrepreneurs.
1. Why did you start Koala Eco?
Jessica
Paul and I had always been nature lovers, and when we had our two boys, Emerson and Arthur, we wanted to live as close to nature as we could.
Arthur was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at five weeks old. We are grateful every day for the doctors, the nurses, and the treatment that saved his life. But when your baby is having chemotherapy, you start paying attention to what is in your home in a way you haven’t before: what is on the counters, in the laundry, and on your child’s skin. Our resolve to live that way only deepened after Arthur.
We looked everywhere for cleaning products that were truly natural, safe, high-performing, and pleasurable to use, and we simply could not find them. So we started a business, Koala Eco, to make our own. Our family was the first customer, and the products fulfilled a real need in our lives.
2. What obstacles did you face along the way?
Paul
The obstacles in building a business are mostly the obstacles of business itself—finding the right partners, navigating cash flow, and making the harder call when the easier one is sitting right there. A lot of the work, in the end, is having the discipline to walk away from things you know aren’t right.
Jess and I have also been fortunate in that we bring different instincts to the same problem. I tend to sit with a number until it tells me what it really means; Jess moves faster on instinct and is usually a few steps ahead on the brand and the people. We disagree sometimes, but we usually end up with a better answer than either of us would have reached alone.
3. What lessons do you have for other entrepreneurs?
Jessica
What I would say to other founders is that building a business is mostly a series of bumps in the road: small setbacks, decisions you weren’t expecting to make, things that simply don’t go according to plan. The work, really, is staying kind to yourself and to the people around you while you keep going. Listen widely, but don’t outsource your conviction to anyone.
And hard work matters more than almost anything else. I have liked every job I have ever had, and I have had a lot of them, and I don’t think that was because I had worked out what I was passionate about—especially in the early years. I think it was because I worked hard, and hard work tends to be rewarded with the kind of involvement that eventually feels like passion. The loving came after the doing, rather than before it.
American humourist, teacher, and author Leo Rosten said, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” That is the line I find myself returning to most often. Happiness comes and goes; the other three are choices you keep making, in business as much as anywhere.
4. What’s on the horizon for Koala Eco?
Paul
We are continuing to invest in the categories we already care about. There is a new product in our laundry range we have been quietly developing, and a new geranium dish soap was recently launched. The intent hasn’t really changed since we started: plant-based formulas that outperform their conventional counterparts, formulated around Australian essential oils—eucalyptus, lemon myrtle, rosalina, and mandarin—and bottled in 100% post-consumer recycled rPET with glass, concentrate, and refill options. We also manufacture locally. It supports local economies and means we aren’t shipping product unnecessarily across oceans.
Jessica
The other horizon, and the one closest to my heart, is our Oceanic program—the work we are doing with the Oceanic Society’s Conservation Scholars in California. We have now taken around 800 children, many of whom had never seen the ocean, out on whale-watching expeditions and marine-conservation education. The program grows as the company grows, which is the equation we want to keep: the business and the giveback rising at the same time.
5. How do you keep work/life balance? What drives/inspires you?
Jessica
When your work is a passion project that aligns closely with your personal values, it becomes impossible to separate the two completely. Paul and I built Koala Eco together, our sons have grown up alongside it, and my identical twin sister Dee is our brand director. Even our Aussie shepherd, Matilda, has a role, officially in charge of office morale.
What inspires me, underneath all of it, is the belief that connecting with nature in everyday life genuinely enhances well-being. This is an ethos drawn from ecopsychology and the guiding principle behind everything we make. Henry David Thoreau wrote, “We need the tonic of wildness… we can never have enough of nature.” We had embraced that philosophy, and it still sums up most of what I believe about how to live and how to work.
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