FMCGs playing their part in flattening the curve

In the fight against coronavirus, two important facets have come out to help protect against the highly contagious, lethal pathogen: hand hygiene and the hygiene of frequently touched surfaces.

And fast-moving consumer goods companies are racing against time to roll out products or ramp up production of existing disinfectant products to make the routine convenient and hassle-free.

Last week, Indian FMCG Marico announced its foray into the hand sanitiser category, whose demand has escalated all around the globe following the outbreak of coronavirus.

If soap and water are not available, health professionals say hand sanitiser can be used as long as it contains at least 60 per cent alcohol and the gel is squirted onto the hands and rubbed briskly all over them for about 20 seconds.

Called the Mediker SafeLife, the hand sanitiser, which comes in two sizes of 40ml and 75ml costing Tk 100 and Tk 150, will be sold at a discounted retail price for six months and any profit coming from its sales will be contributed towards prime minister's relief fund, said a statement.

"We believe that as a responsible corporate this is the least we can do to help consumers protect themselves during the COVID-19 crisis," said Ashish Gopal, managing director of Marico Bangladesh.

Mediker SafeLife, which has 70 per cent alcohol, is one of Marico's quickest launches, brought to the forefront in record-time, to address the surging consumer demand given the current pandemic, the statement added.

Marico has also brought out a hand wash by the same name.

In a similar vein, local FMCG giant ACI accelerated the rollout of Savlon Disinfectant Spray to easily remove germs from high contact surfaces such as doorknobs, fridge handles, kitchen counters, switches, furniture, sofa and so on -- areas through which germs are transmitted and can increase chances of infection.

"This product is a new brand idea in Bangladesh," said Syed Alamgir, managing director of ACI Consumer Brands.

The easy-to-use spray, which comes in cans of 125ml and 300ml costing Tk 150 and Tk 350 respectively, kills germs around the home, including virus, bacteria, moulds and fungi. It also kills commonly contagious viruses such as H1N1, Rotavirus and Norovirus.

The high-contact areas need to be sprayed once and allowed to air dry; there is no need for a subsequent wipe down. Along with bringing the new products, ACI has also ramped up its hand sanitiser production by 8 to 10 times, Alamgir added.

The other local companies also ramped up their productions of hand sanitisers.

Square Toiletries is now making 15 to 20 tonnes of hand sanitisers daily, up from 10 tonnes last month, said Jesmin Zaman, head of marketing of Square Toiletries, which sells 'Sepnil' brand hand sanitisers.

The demand for hand sanitiser hit the roof following the announcement of first confirmed cases of coronavirus in Bangladesh on March 8.

So hysterical was the demand that supermarkets had to take them off the shelves and keep them at the counters and ration them to one each customer.

The demand though has levelled off after the announcement of countrywide shutdown from March 26 as people are staying indoors and have access to soap and water, she said.