"What's the difference between Thornell and Odorcide?"

The short answer is: not much.

The longer answer requires going back more than 40 years.

Today, most people know us as Odorcide; chances are, you've seen our products being used every day on TikTok. Or, maybe a friend recommended our products after they've exhausted every other option for a pet odor problem.

But long before Odorcide became a consumer brand, there was Thornell.

And before there was Thornell, there was a skunk.

Back in the early 1980s, researchers at Cornell University were studying skunks and needed a way to deal with the odors they left behind. A chemist named Gary Reed developed a product called Skunk-Off, and what started as a solution to a very specific problem quickly turned into something much bigger.

Veterinarians began using it because they were constantly fielding calls from pet owners whose dogs had unfortunate encounters with skunks. As demand grew, Thornell Corporation was formed in 1981 and began building a reputation inside the veterinary industry.

That's where I entered the picture.

At the time, my background was in veterinary distribution. I understood the industry, I understood the people we served, and I immediately saw something special in the technology. It solved problems that other products couldn't solve consistently.

Over the next several years, I worked alongside Gary to expand distribution throughout the United States. As veterinarians continued to ask for solutions to urine odors, fecal odors, kennel odors, and other persistent odor challenges, the product line expanded right along with them.

By 2000, my family and I acquired the company and moved it from New York to Smithville, Missouri, where it remains today. At the time, it wasn't a complicated business decision. Smithville was home.

What many people don't realize is that the Odorcide brand already existed when we acquired the business. Originally, Odorcide was one product line focused primarily on professional carpet cleaners.

Over time, that changed.

We invested in expanding distribution, developing new products, and growing awareness around the Odorcide name. As more professionals began using the products and recommending them to customers, Odorcide, as an Odor Management system, developed a following of its own. And, in many ways, Odorcide became the public face of the company.

That can create confusion today because people often assume Thornell and Odorcide are separate organizations. They're not.

Odorcide is a Thornell brand. Thornell is the company behind Odorcide.

We are the same people, same formulas, same commitment to solving odor problems at the source.

Over the years, our family business grew from a handful of products to a portfolio serving veterinary clinics, animal shelters, boarding facilities, groomers, cleaning professionals, property managers, and homeowners. What began with skunk odor eventually expanded to include solutions for urine, smoke, mildew, restroom, and pet odors, as well as many of the toughest odor challenges people encounter every day.

The growth has been significant, but what I'm most proud of is the trust. For decades, veterinarians have recommended our products to clients. Shelters have relied on them. Groomers have relied on them. Carpet cleaning and Jan/San professionals have built businesses around them. Many of our customers discovered us long before social media existed.

Then something happened that none of us could have predicted. TikTok found us.

Suddenly, millions of people were hearing about products that had quietly built a reputation inside professional circles for years. What veterinary professionals, shelters, and cleaning contractors had known for decades was being introduced to an entirely new audience.

To be honest, it caught us off guard.

One viral video created more demand than we had ever experienced. Our team was scrambling to secure shipping supplies, increase production, and figure out how to serve a completely new customer base while maintaining the relationships we'd spent decades building. We did it, and the relationships we had spent decades building remained intact.

Our mission has always been simple: solve odor problems that other products struggle to solve.

Whether someone discovers us through a veterinarian, a groomer, a cleaning professional, a friend, or a TikTok video, that mission remains exactly the same today as it was when the company was founded.

The name on the bottle is Odorcide, the company behind it is Thornell, and after four decades, we're still doing what we've always done: helping people get rid of odors so they can go on about their day.