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Straight From Mother Nature

Pet Age Staff//June 12, 2013//

Straight From Mother Nature

Pet Age Staff //June 12, 2013//

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We recently talked with David Levesque of Kanberra Gel about how his product ended up in the pet industry and what is next for the company.

Q: Tell us about Kanberra, and how it works.

Levesque: Kanberra products feature a pharmaceutical-grade selection of Mother Nature’s own proven antiseptic tea tree oils, purposely blended in unique and effective forms.  In our initial product, Kanberra Gel, the blend is taken airborne through basic dissipation, allowing the oils to interact with mold, bacteria, fungi and some viruses to essentially rid the air of impurities and associated odors.
Kanberra Spray features the same unique blend, only here it’s immersed in a natural emulsifier that can be used for air and surfaces.  In fact, it’s so effective and natural, it’s safe for topical use on humans and dogs. Some of the benefits include air purification, flea and tick repellent, odor control and as a soothing wound healer.

Q: Kanberra Gel is made with Australian tea tree oil. What are some of the benefits of using it in your product?

Levesque:  For over 400 years tea tree oil has proven to have powerful, yet natural, antiseptic and anti-fungal properties. Many pet products, such as shampoos, use Tea Tree Oil in their formulas for this purpose.  At Kanberra the additional blend and innovative airborne delivery create a unique usage.

Q: Kanberra Gel was not originally made to be a “pet” product. How did you end up in the pet industry?

Levesque:  It comes as a surprise to many of our customers that Kanberra Gel was initially developed as an all-natural alternative to the harsh sanitizing chemicals used in the cleaning process of ventilation systems. We are part of a 20 year old indoor air quality company with a long history of being the largest ventilation cleaning contractor for the U.S. Navy. Kanberra was born from our desire to revolutionize this indoor air quality industry with natural solutions.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself and how you got started with Kanberra Gel.

Levesque: I came to our parent company, Indoor Air Professionals, nine years ago with an extensive background in retail and direct sales and was hired to assist in our residential air quality division.  At that time, the product, which became Kanberra Gel, was unnamed and used primarily in-house for our ventilation hygiene service.
Several of us used the samples of the product in other areas, such as our cars, homes, gym bags and boats. After launching some exhaustive market research and brand development, we established the Kanberra division. Our first major bite was in the global mega-yacht industry, and we’ve been playing catch up ever since.

Q: What’s next for Kanberra Gel?

Levesque: At Kanberra we’re continuing to build our line with complementary products that utilize our unique blend of natural oils. We hope to launch 1-2 new products each year, and most, if not all, will be functional across all our major market silos, from pets to natural product retailers to marine and RVs.