PPB June 2020

e Rise Of Hand Sanitizer As states lift stay-at-home orders, businesses reopen their doors and consumers continue to take precautions by practicing good hygiene and social distancing, sales of personal protective equipment, such as face masks, gloves, soaps, antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer, will continue to be in high demand. According to a market research study by Nielsen, sales of hand sanitizer increased by more than 300 percent in the U.S. between February 22 and February 29, 2020 alone. Although hand sanitizer is common in households today, it wasn’t popular until 2002 when the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revised its hand hygiene guidelines to recommend alcohol-based hand sanitizer as a convenient alternative to soap and water hand-washing for health-care personnel and the public. By 2027, the market for hand sanitizer products is predicted to surpass $2 billion worldwide, according to market research firm Fior Markets. Rich Butler, managing director of supplier DermaCare Packaging & Private Label, LLC in Delray Beach, Florida, sees this category as one that will continue to grow. “As things settle down, all companies are going to adopt a hand- sanitizer program,” Butler says. “Whether it’s hospitality and travel, finance or health care, I think we are in a new reality.” Butler has been in the promotional products industry for 31 years. “I’ve had moments of brilliant success, but nothing goes up in a straight line. It’s been a very interesting run to say the least,” he says. In the early 1990s, Butler first introduced private-label hand sanitizer to the promotional products industry, selling soaps and hand sanitizers in high-quantity orders through his promo line. Prior to 2008, it was commonplace for pharmaceutical companies to use promotional products to advertise a new drug or treatment. When the pharmaceutical industry changed its code of ethics that year, non- educational and non-practice-related items were prohibited from being sold to health- care professionals. To remain relevant in the promotional products industry, Butler sold educational marketing materials, often incorporating facts and helpful tips for his products. “The PhRMA Code of 2008 killed my business,” he says. “Twelve years later, with what’s going on with this pandemic, my old business model has had a rebirth. It’s ironic. This is the busiest I have been in 30 years.” PPB spoke with Butler to learn more about hand sanitizer and its relevancy in promo and in life today. PPB How has this public emergency affected the production of hand sanitizers at DermaCare? Butler It’s exploded and everyone needs product. The problem is there are big shortages in the market with alcohol and packaging. All of this just happened so fast. But the fact that I have the experience in the high-volume production, it has enabled me and a new partner to ramp this thing up, and we merged as DermaCare Packaging and Private Label. I have a 30- year run of servicing promotional products distributors, so I’m not the new kid on the block; it’s just a new name. All of the orders that we are getting right now are on our own house brand, PureGel Hand Sanitizer. It’s a lot quicker to produce our house label. It’s all about what you can deliver and how fast you can deliver it. PPB Tell us about how the Food and Drug Administration’s changes to the guidelines on hand sanitizers have affected production. Butler Here’s the thing about hand sanitizers: they’re classified as an over- the-counter drug by the FDA. Most people don’t know that. There is a high level of compliance issues that must be adhered to, which is why I don’t import hand sanitizers from China. Plus, the Chinese product is at risk of being embargoed, delayed in customs, rejected, quarantined or destroyed. All of our production is here in the states. Essentially, if you are a distillery or a brewery, you still have to file, get approved and register with the FDA. Once you have 40 | JUNE 2020 | GROW Back To Work Safely