KleenTouch Plan Set to Launch

It took a dirty scene at a local grocery store back in 2005 to inspire Angela Guill with an idea to solve an unseen problem.

Germs on grocery carts are becoming an increasing concern for consumers, and legislation passed in February made it Arkansas law to “encourage” grocers to provide sanitizing wipes for customers to clean their carts.

Guill and her friend Christy Womack-Foster have come up with a better idea that could eventually become as common as cart corrals.

“It’s a matter of awareness,” Womack-Foster said. “Carts can be dirtier than public restrooms.”

KleenTouch, an automated cart sanitizing machine, has undergone its final series of testing and the company is on the cusp of a full scale launch by spring.

With more than 32,500 grocery stores in North America (25,000 in the U.S. alone) and the base KleenTouch estimated to cost around $10,000, the company prospectus estimates the potential market at $400 million.

Designed by Guill’s father-in-law, a former engineer with General Dynamics and the holder of several patents, backed by their husbands and manufactured near Joplin, Mo., the KleenTouch is poised to be the only choice for retailers who want to assure customers their carts are germ-free.

An independent survey commissioned by KleenTouch revealed that 69 percent of women said they would shop at a store they knew was sanitizing its carts on a regular basis.

“It’s very important to both of us to make a difference for others,” Guill said.

John Phillips of Boch Industries, a partner in the KleenTouch launch, said the only competitor is a “boutique” type sanitizer that does one cart at a time. The KleenTouch is a cable-driven system that can pull through 20 carts per minute, has a various modes and models can be outfitted with options like water reclamation or a heater for colder climates.

One local retailer has agreed to allow a real-world test at its store and the company is in negotiations with another.