The maker of Zandu balm Emami Ltd. has forayed into the hand sanitizer category as the demand for hand sanitizers has shot up in the last few weeks due to the coronavirus crisis. The FMCG major will sell hand sanitizers under its flagship skincare brand BoroPlus which is the company’s antiseptic cream segment. Emami will retail the BoroPlus Advanced Anti-Germ Hand Sanitizer via both retail channels such as pharmacy stores and also via e-commerce, it said in a statement on Thursday. The product is priced at Rs 25 for a 50 ml bottle, Rs 50 for 100ml pack, Rs 95 for 200ml, Rs 140 for 300ml of the product and Rs 2,400 for a 5 litre packaging.
With a rise in demand for hygiene related products, Emami has said that it has ensured maximum available production capacity to meet with demand. Given a sudden spike in demand of hand sanitizers and considerable lower availability, the government had earlier permitted 45 sugar mills and distilleries to start production of sanitizers. Earlier, another major FMCG company in the country ITC had also repurposed its perfume making factory for the production of Savlon brand of hand sanitizers. The factory was earlier used to produce the company’s premium range of fragrances. Other FMCG players have also forayed into the category in the last few weeks with Hajmola candy maker Dabur launching its own hand sanitizers and Nivea making hand sanitizers but for donation purpose only.
“There is a huge gap in the demand & supply of hand sanitizers in the market, which puts all of us at risk. We have, therefore, decided to launch the BoroPlus Hand Sanitizer. We will leverage our strong distribution network as well as modern trade and e-commerce channels to make the product easily available,” Priti A. Sureka, Director, Emami Limited, said. The product has 70% of alcohol which is within the prescribed limit.