Today we’d like to introduce you to Constantine Zotos.
Hi Constantine, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
While working for a large company out of college, I had the idea for a Nitro Cold Brew Coffee business that would be targeted towards offices, bars, and restaurants, which eventually became Cloud Nine Reserve. After expanding the business across Texas, servicing over 100 accounts in Houston, Dallas, and Austin, the pandemic struck. We were faced with a new set of challenges that consisted of city-wide lockdowns and the emergence of working from home. These sudden changes caused our coffee business model to take a hit and ultimately come to a stand-still.
As a result of this new world dynamic, we were forced to pivot. We decided to leverage our bottling infrastructure and begin bottling hand sanitizer and other cleaning products that were critically needed at the time. As a result of our ability to fulfill the growing demands of sanitizer orders, we rapidly accumulated a large book of national accounts. Modern Chemical currently ships products to every part of the country and continues to grow as a sustainable powerhouse in the Janitorial / Sanitation industry.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The main challenges we faced after pivoting were learning how to service a business sector. In addition to navigating a completely different sector, we had to grow our staff by 10x its current size in the span of two weeks and create new systems for our new company to handle the rapid growth while still maintaining day-to-day operations.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Principals Constantine Zotos’ and Mitchell Webber’s Houston-based, nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee business had a client base of 100 when Covid-19 arrived in early 2020, threatening their business. As workers began to tele-commute, coffee demand collapsed. The duo brainstormed ideas to save their company and shifted from coffee to hand sanitizers to fill society’s newest immediate need. They formulated a product with a 70% USP ethanol base and the new Modern Chemical was born.
By mid-March, Modern Chemical had a staff of 40 and filled its first major order. Today, the new company boasts a staff of 60 and has moved into a larger facility. Modern Chemical has built a reputation on agility, reliability, short turn-times, and the quality of their gel-based product. Their national client base ranges from local restaurants to industrial equipment operators, janitorial and paper services, the food and entertainment industry and pharmaceutical distributors. Modern Chemical always puts safety first, is registered with the FDA and EPA, and is an equal opportunity employer.
Contact Info:
- Email: Info@Modernchemical.Co
- Website: https://modernchemical.co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themodernchemical/
Image Credits
Michael Anthony
