How a Young Australian Turned Tackling Plastic Waste Into a Multi-million-dollar Business

The Dirt Company does exactly what it says on the tin – or, more accurately, the refillable glass bottles and recyclable soft pouches of its laundry detergent range. But in addition to tackling dirt, founder Frankie Layton’s innovative model to minimise single-use plastics saves more than 45 tonnes of waste from entering landfill every year. She shares her secrets to balancing sustainability with success and how she amasses around 100,000 Qantas Points a month by using her American Express® Qantas Business Rewards Card for everyday business expenses.

When Frankie Layton was a teenager crewing aboard superyachts, she was shocked by the volume of plastic rubbish she saw in the ocean. “During an Atlantic crossing we were so far from land that if you went overboard a helicopter couldn’t reach you – yet there were all these plastic bottles floating past from brands you know well. It was the first time I’d been exposed to how far-reaching the world’s trash problem was,” says Layton. “I wanted to find a way to do something in my work that was in service of cleaning up rather than contributing to the problem.”

In 2016, after graduating university and working in marketing and advertising strategy roles, Layton founded The Dirt Company, an innovative and sustainable laundry detergent business. “The idea of finding a way to reduce waste was always in the back of my head,” she says, though her epiphany came in the laundry aisle of the supermarket. “All the packaging in giant plastic bottles is designed to suggest better value – but I discovered most of the products are over 90 per cent water. That was a good piece of information to have when it came to thinking about waste reduction.”

Layton set about formulating “a concentrated laundry detergent that stripped out as much water as possible while being a stable, high-performing product”. Starter packs include a full refillable glass dispenser bottle and a plastic refill pack. Every third refill order comes with a reply-paid envelope for customers to return the pouches, which can be reused up to six times before being recycled to make detergent scoops. 

“It is a tricky program to run and it does add a cost to the business but we’ve been so grateful to have found a customer base that understands the value of refilling and reducing,” says Layton. “I think people also like that we’re making it and recycling it right here in Melbourne.”

Almost nine years on, The Dirt Company sells enough detergent to wash more than 1.5 million loads of laundry a month. “Our annual revenue is in the mid-seven figures and we’ve had a steady growth trajectory of 20 per cent year on year for the past few years,” says Layton. “We have a loyal customer base of about 100,000 in Australia and we launched into New Zealand in 2023.”

Luke Lenard, Layton’s partner and father of their two children, came onboard as general manager of the business, which now has 15 staff at its Melbourne headquarters. It was Lenard who applied for the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card last year to help power the next phase of The Dirt Company’s growth. “Luke realised we had very large outgoings every month on business expenses – including postage, production and marketing – but we were not earning points,” says Layton. “An alarm bell went off.”

Using the Card to pay for large expenses has done wonders for cash flow. Having up to 51 days to pay for purchases¹ allows the business to place the stock orders it needs, when it needs them, while freeing up cash for other things. 

As a Charge Card, the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card has no pre-set spending limit.² While this flexible spending power² does not necessarily mean a larger line of credit, and depends on a number of factors, it allows The Dirt Company to make large supplier payments with confidence.

It also means the Qantas Points are building up fast: the business earns up to 1.25 points per $1 spent on everyday business expenses and 2 points per $1 spent on Qantas products and services.³ “We’ve earned around 100,000 Qantas Points every month since we got the Card and we’ve already been able to invest those points back into business travel, which is really exciting,” says Layton.

Unlock the possibilities

Frankie Layton shares how she’s grown The Dirt Company while remaining true to the values behind it – and embracing the perks of success.

“Smart use of the Card helps us manage cash flow”

Layton has managed risk carefully to build The Dirt Company. “We’re a cash-flow funded business and we’re not looking for external investment,” she says. “We know the money returns to us and it’s not high risk.” Despite this, there are times when cash is stretched and having up to 51 days to pay for purchases¹ on the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card helps the business extend itself. “For example, last year when we launched three new products and started our New Zealand business we incurred a lot of big expenses all at once. Because we could make key payments on the Card, it gave us a buffer to increase our stock to the levels required.”

“Focus on expertise rather than unbridled expansion” 

In a world obsessed with growth at all costs, The Dirt Company is a breath of fresh laundry-scented air. “It was always the plan to do other cleaning products,” says Layton, “but there’s still so much about what customers want and need in laundry that now our aim is to simply be the number-one laundry brand in Australia. We can do a better job if we stay focused.” 

Having the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card as one of her business tools helps Layton unlock the capital she needs to grow, to keep evolving her offering and take on new competitors. “The Card’s payment terms and unsecured line of funding² allow us to launch new products and go faster – we can keep our stock high without impacting our cash reserves.”

“Build loyal customers – and they’ll give you genuine insights”

Layton says having a committed customer base is a goldmine for research. When The Dirt Company was developing a new scent they made candles with the four fragrances on their shortlist. “We sent an email newsletter to our customers offering to send a free candle with orders in return for their feedback,” she says. “From that, we worked out the most popular scent and integrated it into the product.” Their only mistake? They didn’t make enough candles. After the email went out, the influx of orders was such that they ran out by 11am the same day.

“Use your points to discover new ideas”

While relative newcomers to the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card, Layton and Lenard have made up for lost time, earning around 100,000 Qantas Points a month through spending with the Card – and they’ve already put them to use with their first international business trip. “Last year, we went to Hong Kong to look at new machinery and we booked the whole trip – flights and hotels – through Qantas Business Rewards using the points we’d earned. A lot of them were from paying our Australia Post shipping bills,” says Layton. 

She’s excited about the potential for travel to “open up opportunities” for The Dirt Company, without having an impact on their budget. “It means we can get to more design fairs, more packaging conventions, more chemical conferences and we can stay ahead of technology. We also want to start using our Qantas Points to offer travel to our staff so they can attend marketing conferences and benefit their own career development.”

“Even SMEs can enjoy the perks of business”

Layton started her career working in global ad agencies with “lots of work perks”, she says. “Then you get into the hustle and grind of starting a small business. After about five years you slowly unlock these new little pockets of growth and better systems for your business,” she says. “The American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card is that for us – it’s opened up Business travel, which was one of those luxuries I thought only corporates got. But all of a sudden we have all these Qantas Points.” 

The Card also gives them peace of mind with Complimentary Travel Insurance⁴ and the luxury of two bonus domestic Qantas Club Lounge Invitations annually.⁵ “These benefits allow us to see what’s going on in the world to stay competitive, without feeling like we’re taking money from the business to do that,” says Layton. “I say that the Card is the ‘gold class of a work perk’, because it’s earning us points from money that we were spending anyway – only now we get points for those expenses and use them to do more. Before the Card, that opportunity didn’t exist for us. It might sound strange but I’m really grateful.”

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