Is The Branch Basics Cleaning Starter Kit Worth The Money?

Lately, it seems like everyone and their mom has a subscription box that they can't stop raving about. From weeknight meals to daring wardrobe additions, more folks are buying their everyday items via snail mail, and cleaning products are no exception. In particular, the green cleaning market has exploded in recent years as the demand from consumers for eco-friendly alternatives rises, reports Business Wire. Some of the top competitors in the green online delivery cleaning landscape are Thrive Market and Grove Collaboration, but new brands, like Branch Basics, are entering the marketplace all the time. 

The Branch Basics model relies less on providing different household cleansers for every purpose, and instead focuses on one basic recipe that can be used to clean your entire home. Using just one soap concentrate and an oxygen booster, Branch Basics sells the idea of easier, stress-free, non-toxic cleaning. Their most popular offering is the Premium Starter Kit, which includes a bottle of the concentrate, a jar of the oxygen booster, three spray bottles, one foam dispenser, and a laundry detergent bottle.

When it comes down to it, is the Branch Basics starter kit worth the cost? We scoured the internet for honest reviews and real-life applications of these products to help you decide if it's time to give Branch Basics a try. 

You might be surprised to learn that Branch Basics really only sells two unique products: their signature soap concentrate and an oxygen booster. The company believes that these two products can effectively clean every part of your home, including your dirty clothes. How is that possible? According to the company website, by using a concentrate. Instead of mixing several ingredients, you just mix the concentrate with water at different ratios in the specified dispensers included with the kit. Skeptical of such efficiency? You're not alone, yet a similar approach can be seen in Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Castile Soap, which has been going strong since the 1940s.

Branch Basics' biggest selling point is that their product is non-toxic and certified by Made Safe, making it especially appealing to those with little ones and pets, or just folks who want a home that's free of harsh chemicals. Their soap concentrate is made up of decyl glucoside, organic chamomile flower extract, coco-glucoside, sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium phytate. Meanwhile, the Oxygen Booster contains just two ingredients, sodium percarbonate and sodium bicarbonate.

To decide if the Branch Basics cleaning starter kit is worth its cost, let's review the pros and cons as well as our overall impression of the product. 

On the positive side, since this cleaning system uses only one concentrate, your cleaning routine will become simpler and safer. Cleaning will require fewer products, and you won't have to worry about mixing dangerous chemicals. Using refillable bottles is also budget-friendly, as you won't be paying for the pricey packaging each time you buy. 

However, as with most things, there are also drawbacks. While the cleaners themselves are eco-friendly, the packaging is not. All of the Branch Basics Premium Starter Kit products are packaged in plastic (glass alternatives are available only for the spray bottles) which is difficult to love as many folks look to reduce their plastic consumption. Additionally, sometimes more really is more, and you might find yourself disappointed with the cleaning power of this concentrate in laundry and as a streak-free polish on glossy surfaces, as we saw in Strolling Through Life's video review. 

The Premium Starter Kit is currently priced at $75, which is a hefty price tag for what amounts to one bottle of concentrate, an oxygen boosting powder that is chemically similar to regular baking soda, and four plastic dispensers. Unfortunately, after reading and watching several reviews, we don't believe this all-in-one cleaner can tackle every task around the house, and notice big drawbacks when it comes to bathroom cleaning and laundry.