Selling into janitorial
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The business-to-business version of this category, and in several ways an easier one.
A different buyer entirely
A facilities manager or a cleaning contractor buys on cost per use, on whether it works in their equipment, and on whether their staff can use it safely.
They do not buy on packaging, shelf presence or brand, which removes the parts a small maker competes worst on.
And they buy in volume, on repeat, on account.
What they need from you
Concentrates with a dilution system, because cost per use is the metric.
Low foam, because foam is a problem in machines and on floors.
Larger containers, which changes your packaging line.
Training material and wall charts, which are cheap to produce and are frequently what wins the account.
And consistency, because they are cleaning the same building with the same product every day and a changed formula is a changed result.
Safety data sheets are mandatory here
The item that catches makers coming from retail.
Supplying a hazardous chemical for use in a workplace brings the OSHA hazard communication requirements: a compliant safety data sheet and GHS-format labeling, which is a different labeling regime from the consumer one.
Their staff need it, their own compliance depends on it, and a buyer will ask for it before the first order rather than after.
An SDS is a document with a prescribed sixteen-section format and it has to be accurate, which means it has to be authored from the actual formula.
Why it suits a small maker
No shelf fight, no packaging arms race, and a buyer who will engage with an ingredient story for real reasons: staff exposure, ventilation, and their own clients' preferences.
The volumes are steady and the relationship is long, which is the opposite of the retail shelf.