By Bhavya Desai

With the alcobeverage business coming to a standstill due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, most companies across the globe and in India have ramped up their production of hand sanitizers and donations to the governments to fight the global pandemic.
With most hand sanitizers using atleast 60% of alcohol content and the shortage in supply of products in the market, it was only a matter of time that most companies would help the government with supplies. Most companies in the industry have used the alcohol in stock to produce designated quantities of sanitizers leaving aside the rest for regular alcohol production. All sanitizers that have been produced contain more than the minimum alcohol content recommended by the World Health Organization.
Both Indian as well as international companies have joined the effort to fight the pandemic and help the government efforts.

Diageo India donates ENA
For instance, Diageo India, the country’s largest beverage alcohol company is using its 15 manufacturing units across India to manufacture hand sanitizers and donate ENA to the sanitizer industry. The manufacturing units are repurposed to produce around 300,000 lts of hand sanitizers and donate 500,000 lts of Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) to the sanitizer industry to make (2 million units of 250 ml each) hand sanitizers. The company has also pledged to support trade with a Rs 30 million health insurance cover for bartenders associated with the Diageo World Class programme in India.
Similar initiatives are also being carried out globally by Diageo ranging from relief support and new flexible trading measures.

Pernod Ricard India deploys Mobile Medical Clinics
Pernod Ricard India Foundation has deployed Mobile Medical Clinics in local communities and villages across its 11 operation sites in India. These mobile clinics are conducting mass sanitation and also providing COVID-19 awareness sessions to the local communities in local languages. The company says the aim of conducting such sessions is to address the wide spread misinformation amid the crisis.
Their global parent company is donating pure alcohol to produce sanitising gel in France and has also partnered with the White House to distribute the critical hand sanitiser across the US. The group has also deployed the production facilities of its Corby Spirit and Wine Limited and Walkerville Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery in Ontario, Canada to produce and distribute hand sanitiser where needed.

Radico Khaitan supports with relief fund
Radico Khaitan initially contributed by producing alcohol-based liquid hand sanitizers. In continuation to its efforts to help the government after providing sanitizers and other necessary products since the beginning of the outbreak the company has also contributed Rs 1 crore to the Uttar Pradesh Covid Care Fund to help the state government. They are manufacturing and delivering the Radico 8PM Extra Strong Hand Sanitizer to primary health care authorities, government hospitals and police stations in a number of states including Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Hyderabad, Karnataka and Uttarakhand.
Until now Radico has contributed Rs. 21 lakh to relief fund of Covid-19 through District Magistrate, Rampur- Uttar Pradesh. Distributed 500 lts of hand sanitizer (worth Rs 1.5 lakh) free of cost to district administration of Rampur daily. Supplied about 17,000 litres of hand sanitiser (worth approximately Rs 30 lakh) to the Rampur district administration and several other districts of Uttar Pradesh including Moradabad, Amroha, Mathura and Sambhal. Distributed 25,000 face masks, providing free ration and food packets to newspaper hawkers and weaker sections in Rampur

Bacardi produces 70,000 liters of hand sanitizers
Bacardi India has commenced production of hand sanitizers at its co-packing facility in Telangana, an initiative the company plans to roll out in additional states where it has co-packing manufacturing facilities. Bacardi will be producing 70,000 liters of hand sanitizers in India, which will be distributed primarily to district government hospitals in these states. The company is working closely with local district authorities to ensure a steady supply to the hospitals.

Beam Suntory India partners with NRAI for support
Beam Suntory India partnered with the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) to pledge a support of INR 1 Crore which will be used to provide relief to thousands of staff of member restaurants and their families at this period of the lockdown. The company has launched a ‘learn and earn’ program to encourage bartenders to utilize their time at home effectively by taking up online training modules.
Whereas the global company has partnered with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (SGWS) to pledge US$1 million in support of bar and restaurant employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Beam Suntory is also working with its partner distributors to help local organisations support the drinks trade in their communities. They include Major Brands, Badger Liquor, Fedway Associates, Allied Beverages Group, Empire Distributors, Best Brands, and Horizon Beverage Group.

John Distilleries uses distilleries in Bangalore, Davanagere and Goa to help govt
John Distilleries, the makers of some of the best Indian Single Malts are also producing hand sanitizers at their distilleries in Bangalore, Davanagere and Goa. These supplies will be donated to healthcare institutions in India to help overcome the shortage of hand sanitisers due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The company is joining hands with the Government to combat the shortage of hand sanitizers by using the extra neutral alcohol (ENA) at its facilities to manufacture Alcohol Based sanitizers. Infact The Sazerac Company, who have invested in John Distilleries and are North America’s largest producer of distilled spirits have also started massive production of hand sanitisers to combat the demand across America.

Jagatjit Industries introduces Ayurvedic sanitizers
Jagatjit Industries has also started manufacturing ARISTOCRAT and  HUMASTE hand sanitizers. Both the products have 70% alcohol content with the difference between the two is that Humaste is an Ayurvedic formulation. The company is also manufacturing 5 Litre jerrycans for institutions and hospitals.

Cheers Group helps Goa govt
Cheers Group from Goa also has started its supply of hand sanitizers for free to the Goa government officials, healthcare professionals and volunteers fighting against the pandemic.

CMJ Breweries donates in Meghalaya
CMJ Breweries earmarked a donation of Rs. 1 crore to the Govt. of Meghalaya with the proposed funds for use for suppling hand sanitizers worth approximately Rs. 50 lacs. Sanitizing chemicals to fire fighters and also distribution of rice, dal, oil and vegetables to the daily wagers.

Four Pillars diversifies to manufacture hand sanitiser
Other international companies are also driving such initiatives to support their home governments. According to a Moodie Report Australian craft spirits company, Four Pillars has diversified its operations to produce a new one-litre hand sanitiser named ‘Heads, Tails and Clean Hands’. It will contain 80% ethyl alcohol, is contained in bottles which had previously been destined for the duty free market. The initial plans are to make about 20,000 litres of Heads, Tails and Clean Hands for the consumer market.

Amber Beverage Group helps in Latvia
SPI Group-owned Amber Beverage Group also began producing the ‘Virudes’ hand sanitiser in its Latvijas Balzams Factory in Latvia. This is the same factory that produces the company’s Stolichnaya Vodka, Elit Vodka, Riga Black Balsam, and Moskovskaya Vodka brands. The Virudes hand sanitiser is initially produced in a 4-litre volumes, which can be further redistributed to smaller containers. The company has made this move in order to fulfil the shortage of in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. The product is being supplied to hospitals and public health institutions as well as major retail stores.

Remy Cointreau donates in China and world
While many companies that have facilities that can produce hand sanitizers, other manufacturers like the France based Remy Cointreau have decided to donate fund for equipment in China through their local subsidiary there. The company has also deployed their production facilities of Rémy Martin in Cognac, Cointreau in Angers, and the Distillery of the Domaine des Hautes Glaces in Triève to donate neutral alcohol to health organisations. Neutral alcohol is used to produce hand sanitiser for pharmacies, hospitals, and public health workers within each region. The Rémy Martin brand has also donated 8,000 surgical and FFP2 masks to hospitals in Cognac and Saintes.

Zamora Company helps in home country of Spain
With Spain being one of the most affected countries globally, Zamora Company has launched a series of relief measures to alleviate the increasing financial pressures faced by its customers in Spain. The Spanish spirits company announced a donation of EUR €400,000 in support of the most disadvantaged groups in the country. The funds will be directed to NGO’s such as Caritas, Red Cross, and The Food Bank Foundation.