Da Luz wrote to box and bottle manufacturers about his
company. All were eager to do business with him, and as
a token of their appreciation, many sent several dozen
free samples of boxes and bottles for his consideration.
He shrewdly used the samples to fill his first orders
and only spent $800 of his meager $1,500 budget for labels
In the beginning, Da Luz sold Clear Choice to friends. They all praised the cleaner's remarkable results. Then
one day Da Luz's cousin, who was working as a blackjack
dealer at the Gold Coast Hotel in Las Vegas, suggested
that he contact housekeeping about using the spot remover."They
had a chair that had ketchup on it for two weeks,'' Da
Luz says. "The executive housekeeper said if I could
take the stain out, he would buy Clear Choice. It took
three applications, but I got it out.'' The hotel ended
up purchasing three quart-bottle cases of Clear Choice. An encouraged Da Luz then began cold calling supermarkets
to see if they'd be interested in carrying Clear Choice.
They were, and by 1998-89 the spot remover was available
in 14 grocery stores in Las Vegas - 10 Smiths and four
Alpha-Betas (which are no longer in business.) "I
was driving a limo at night and making Clear Choice during
the day,'' Da Luz remembers of how he started his company.
"I worked seven days a week, 18 hours a day.'' Da
Luz's diligence slowly began to pay off. The Albertson's, Vons and Raley's grocery chains also
agreed to stock Clear Choice. Today, Clear Choice is sold
in 65 supermarket chains in Southern Nevada. The remarkable
spot remover is also carried in all Raley's in northern
California and northern Nevada. Soon, Da Luz says, Clear
Choice will be in 340 Albertson's supermarkets in Southern
California and Costco Wholesale chains in Los Angeles.
Besides consumers, several theatrical groups have come
to rely on Clear Choice for removing dirt from costumes. They include: the New York City Ballet, American Ballet
Theater, San Francisco Opera, The Royal Opera House in
London, Walt Disney Productions, Sesame Street, the Seattle
Opera and several others worldwide. One day, Da Luz says,
he received a call from the famous home do-it-yourselfer
and lifestyle sage Martha Stewart. She said she used Clear
Choice as a laundry pre-spotter and was very please with
the results. Da Luz says he felt honored that such a celebrity
would endorse his product. "I wanted to produce a
product that did what it says it would do for a price
that everyone could afford,'' Da Luz has written in an
open letter to consumers on his web site. "I have been told many times that I could easily
get twice the amount that Clear Choice sells for, but
then only so many people would be able to afford it, and
having six children of my own, I know what it is like
to want to use the best, but just could not fit it into
the budget. So I made sure that Clear Choice is priced
as low as possible to fit into everyone's budget." Da
Luz says his ultimate goal is to be able to walk into
any commercial store and see Clear Choice on the shelves.
He currently is doing approximately $250,000 a year in
sales, but sees the company becoming even more profitable
in the near future, especially now that he will be supplying
Costco. For more information contact: The Clear Choice Corp.,
2212 Bonnie Brae Ave., Las Vegas, NV. 89102. Phones: (702)
382-4813, (702) 366-9292, or 1-800-683-1152.
Fax: (702) 382-4813. Web Site: www.aclearchoice.com
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