Max Appel (born January 24, 1932) is an American entrepreneur known for founding Orange Glo International, a cleaning-products company acquired by Church & Dwight. Appel served in the United States Navy and worked as a professional fundraiser. He then started Orange Glo in 1986 and played a role in helping it grow from a startup in 1986 to a $330 million company by 2003.

Appel was born in Denver in 1932 to Jewish immigrant parents (from Poland and Ukraine) and grew up on the city’s West Side. His father worked as a livestock broker, transporting cattle from farms to stockyards. His mother worked for a Jewish caterer. As a child, Appel enjoyed watching movies and reading fairy tales. In 1950, he graduated from North High School and went on to serve in the United States Navy. During his time in the Navy, he was stationed on Guam for a year and a half.

Appel received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Journalism from the University of Colorado Denver. He then attended Boston University’s graduate school of public relations and communications. ^[1]

After college, Appel was hired by United Jewish Appeal. He traveled throughout the midwest fundraising on their behalf. During the 1980s, Appel was a professional fundraiser for various organizations and charities. He led fundraising efforts for organizations like the National Jewish Hospital, Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, St. Jude Children’s Hospital,National Asthma Center and the AMC Cancer Center, as well as several environmentally focused organizations. ^[1]

Following an unsuccessful search for a household cleaning product that didn’t contain harsh chemicals, Appel grew fascinated by natural products for cleaning, so he developed his first natural orange oil cleaner.

Appel and his wife Elaine eventually co-founded Orange Glo International in 1986.

^[1] After experimenting with natural ingredients in his family’s garage, Appel decided to start a business using orange oil as a natural household cleaning product.

The first products he developed were all orange-based: a furniture polish, a grease remover, an organic stain remover, and a furniture refinisher.

From there, Appel began selling products directly to consumers at home shows and state fairs across the country.

^[1] [6]

Early on, Appel and his wife worked as a team.

Appel mixed and sold the cleaners and Elaine managed all other operations, including filling and labeling bottles, processing orders and handling shipping.

In 1992, Appel introduced Orange Glo to the retail market, making products available through grocery stores.

In an effort to increase sales, Appel and his son Joel began running infomercials and selling on both the Home Shopping Network (HSN) and QVC in the mid-1990s.

Once pitchman Billy Mays was recruited, his charismatic presence ignited the brand's consumer awareness.

Appel met Mays at the 1993 Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show.

When Mays began appearing in OxiClean infomercials, sales immediately increased.

[13]

In the time between its first infomercial and the year 1999, Orange Glo acquired retail space for its products in many regional and national retail chains, includingTarget,Walmart,Sam's Club,Walgreens,Costco, and others.

In 2003, Appel and his wife were recognized by Fast Company Fast 50.

By this time, Orange Glo had grown into a $330-million company that offered more than 20 cleaning products used by consumers in 15 countries.

In 2006,Church & Dwightacquired Orange Glo International for $325 million, giving them theOxiClean and Orange Glo lines of household cleaners.

[12] The Appel family helped to integrate Orange Glo with Church & Dwight.

After selling Orange Glo, Appel traveled with his family.

He also owned and operated a medicinal and recreational marijuana dispensary in Denver (Kind Love).

Today, Appel is leveraging his significant experience in the cleaning products industry to create a new all-in-one natural household cleaner, Powerizer.

Appel and his wife, Elaine, met while studying at the University of Colorado in 1956.

Together, the couple raised four children.

All four children (David, Amy, Joel and Linda) eventually went on to work with Appel at Orange Glo.