will&able: More Than Just Cleaning Products – Creating Opportunities

will&able: More Than Just Cleaning Products - Creating Opportunities

You might recognise will&able from the smiling faces and sunny yellow cheerful yellow bottles lining supermarket shelves, but there’s much more to this social enterprise than just cleaning products. We sat down with CEO Kate O’Leary to discuss how will&able is providing meaningful employment opportunities for people with neurodiverse challenges – and how their services extend far beyond household cleaning.

A Legacy of Inclusion

While the will&able cleaning products have only been around for 5 years, the wider business has a 60-year history dedicated to employing people with intellectual disabilities. In 2024, the decision was made bring the entire operation under the will&able brand.

“will&able launched as a social enterprise in 2019 and became well-known through media coverage, including features on Seven Sharp, as the brand that creates employment opportunities for this vulnerable group within our community” says Kate. “Because of this, last year, the board decided to consolidate everything under the will&able brand.”

Two Sides of the Business: Products & Services

will&able operates across two key areas – products and services.

Products: A range of eco-friendly cleaning solutions, from hand soaps to laundry liquids, designed for both homes and businesses.
Services: The lesser-known but bigger and more vital part of the business, offering specialist cleaning, assembly, and conversion services for corporate clients.

Their social impact is their greatest point of difference. Every product purchased and every service booked directly supports job creation for people with neurodiversity.

“We’re a charitable business,” Kate explains. “We don’t exist for profit’s sake. We exist to give people jobs who wouldn’t otherwise have work options – offering dignity, hope and purpose through employment.”

A Capable Workforce

will&able provides a range of essential services to major corporate clients. For Air New Zealand, they clean and repackage headsets and assemble amenity kits. Trilogy relies on them to put together gift boxes, while Simply Dinner Meal Kits, a joint venture by Annabel Langbein and Foodstuffs, trusts them to pack their meal kits. will&ablers also clean electricity meters for Blue Current, assemble files for Filecorp, and shape pipes for Marley Plumbing Supplies. Each of these partnerships directly contributes to creating jobs for people with neurodiverse challenges.

“80% of our revenue comes from services,” Kate explains. “The more work we get, the more people we can employ. Right now, we have 97 neurodiverse employees. Pre-Covid, that number was over 200, and we’re laser focused on rebuilding our job base.”

A Workplace Built for Success

will&able’s Wiri Business District location is designed to provide a supportive and inclusive work environment while delivering high-quality services to commercial partners.

“Our team brings exceptional focus and attention to detail to every task,” says Kate. “If a job requires more time, we scale up by putting more people on it, ensuring efficiency without compromising on quality. This flexibility makes us a strong and reliable commercial partner.”

Looking to the Future

Located in the heart of a thriving business hub, will&able is eager to collaborate with more companies in the Wiri Business District but also look for expansion opportunities beyond Auckland.

“With the rise of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives, businesses are looking for quick but meaningful wins on the social impact side,” says Kate. “Partnering with will&able is a tangible way to make a real difference.”

Interested in working with will&able? Learn more at willandable.co.nz or contact Craig Burston at [email protected].