By Louis Parker
With a national shortage of hand sanitiser in the UK, suppliers are reaching out through different avenues to find the main ingredient in most sanitisers – alcohol.
Lewis Bowen, 32, is the co-owner of drinks business Babco UK. He said the company has been working with its partner Distiller, Hensol Castle, to ensure an ongoing supply of alcohol (neutral spirit) so it can be turned into sanitiser for both the NHS and retailers.
Neutral spirit has a high alcohol percentage (usually 95% or higher) meaning it can be used in hand sanitisers.
He said: “Neutral spirits can be made from grains, grapes, molasses, potatoes, and other agricultural origins. As the name suggests, neutral spirits are considered neutral in flavour, odour and are colourless. They tend to be the start of many gins and vodkas that we drink on a daily basis.
“We have had a great response and we have seen other large distillers also working hard to offer the same. It is certainly a time of coming together to help one another.”
This comes following news that stocks of hand sanitiser ingredients are running low in Europe and retailers such as Boots have restricted sales of hand sanitiser to two per person.
Following the news that all restaurants, pubs and bars must close this is also an opportunity for businesses to stay afloat whilst the have been forced to close for customers. However, for some companies, it may be too late…
Tatjana Berthelsen, 37 has been in and out of hospitality for 24 years and is currently a freelance hospitality worker. She said “One of the caterers I worked for have already permanently shut the doors. They were struggling for a while before Covid hit but had recently managed to turn things around and started breaking even.
“However, losing all their bookings meant they couldn’t keep on staff, rent and so on. Sadly they closed before the government put their rescue package in place.”
But she still thinks there is hope for the industry “I think overall people everywhere, not just in hospitality, seem to be helping each other out, sharing useful links, explaining application processes for universal credit and grants in step-by-step guides and so on.”
Other businesses are, indeed, doing their part. According to the BBC, Fiat has converted one of its Chinese car factories to different use: making surgical masks. And Formula 1 Teams in the UK, along with other international firms such as Tesla and Ford, are helping manufacture ventilators for hospitals in desperate need.
Leave a Reply