Personal Hygiene Market: COVID-19 Puts Spotlight on Sanitizers and Hand Wash Products

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With COVID-19 impacting much of the world, supply lines for personal hygiene products have witnessed an exponential rise. Nothing has garnered more attention in the past 24 months as much as sanitizers and hand wash products have.

End-users are buying into the idea that the sanitizer business is the way forward, as several brands have popped up during the outbreak. Fast-moving consumer goods companies have launched a slew of disinfectants, home cleaning and personal hygiene products. Simply put, they have introduced vegetable cleaners, immunity-boosting foods with more disinfectants in the product pipeline to cash in on the sputtering demand for these goods.

Safety in times of uncertainty has warranted the use of hand sanitizers to keep the virus at bay. Will sanitizer and hand wash products come through the ranks? Or is it just a fad? Even though healthcare organizations recommend the use of soap and water, hand sanitizer is the big thing in the personal hygiene market.

Let’s explore various sanitizing and handwashing products & technologies that companies have come up with due to COVID-19.

Ethanol Producers Make Inroads into Sanitizing Industry

Observing unparalleled opportunity and market demand, several ethanol producers jumped on the bandwagon and turned to the hand sanitizers industry. On March 18, 2020, the U.S. government abated the regulations to enable fuel ethanol and beverage alcohol producers to produce ethanol-based hand sanitizers.

While Green Plains Inc. had started providing ethanol for use in hand sanitizers, Aemetis Inc. apparently started shipments of 200 proof alcohol for use in hand sanitizer production in March. In the midst of volatile global markets, plunging fuel demand, and the dearth of regulatory certainty from the EPA, several ethanol producers can be expected to forge and stay into the sanitizer business.

Manufacturers have revved up the production of alcohol-based hand sanitizers to gain a competitive edge in the industry where a majority of the companies have almost similar compositions and components. For instance, Contract Pharmaceuticals Limited Canada (CPL) allegedly kicked off the production of alcohol-based hand sanitizer in April 2020. They believe in streamlining the supply chain of hand sanitizer solutions and gel products across Canada.

Wearable Hand Sanitizers Become an Instant Hit

Wearable hand sanitizer has become the new trend as sanitizing innovations gain traction globally. Illustratively, Blink Device announced the rollout of the smart wearable hand gel system in September 2020 to combat the spread of the COVID-19.


Hand sanitizer bracelet is in vogue in the U.S., negating the need to search for a bottle of sanitizer through the bag. In a similar breath, the sanitizer band has garnered massive demand from end-users. SaniBand, for instance, is said to have launched a sanitizer-dispensing wrist band in December last year.


Wearable hand sanitizers are expected to encourage healthcare providers to gel their hands, helping reduce hospital-acquired infections. The wearables are said to include mobile apps which will help end-users to track their performance and will provide insights into user’s sanitizing patterns.

Handwashing Witnesses an Expected Boom

Watchdogs such as the UNICEF have vouched for the use of handwashing with soap to combat the novel coronavirus disease. According to the organization, 40% of the global population are deprived of handwashing facilities with soap and water at home. Besides, around one in six healthcare facilities had no handwashing facilities or functional toilets at points of care where patients are treated.

With the COVID-19 response having repercussions on health services, the practice of handwashing with soap is likely to be the trend for years to come. Handwashing is said to reduce the cases of respiratory disease by 20% and diarrhea by 30%. With a glut of hand sanitizers on the market, hand washing will potentially thrive and have an edge.

Zidac bolstered its wide portfolio of hygiene and sanitization products with the rollout of a handwash with antibacterial action in December 2020. The hand wash is said to be instrumental in areas warranting medical disinfection, including hospitals, dental institutions and care facilities. The product is apparently following European standards (EN 1499:2013).


Lifebuoy had confirmed the launch of a US$36 million multi-year initiative to propel the use of handwash among children. Meanwhile, SATO introduced a handwashing solution targeting consumers in developing countries to improve hygiene practices.

Handwashing Only Soap Tabs to Set the Trend

Portable handwashing stations are being installed to contain the spread of COVID-19. The UNICEF and ORBIA company joined hands to produce 35 portable handwashing stations in Ecuador. Hand sanitizing kiosks have become a new normal, triggering demand for the chemicals.


Handwashing only soap tabs or “singular soaps” have come to the fore as an innovative way to propel handwashing in Tanzania. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College London teamed up in April 2020 to design a handwashing technology to help stop the spread of coronavirus and other lethal diseases. Amidst cross-contamination leading to a surge in COVID-19 cases, the researchers came up with the idea of the single-use tab of soap.

Handwashing 'Only Soap Tabs' (Source: LSHTM)

The personal hygiene market is growing at a breakneck pace; hundreds of hand sanitizers were rolled in 2020, while hand wash brands continue to make hay. The personal hygiene category will serve an expanding basket of needs globally.

Clothe Sanitizers Disrupt the Toiletries and Cosmetics Landscape

Shifting demand patterns have alluded to the trend for clothing sanitizers. In December 2020, LG India rolled out a device that sanitizes clothes. The company claims the product is underpinned by a technology that obliterates over 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and allergens.

The trend for clothes disinfectant has become so infectious that other companies are not shying away from foraying into the landscape. For instance, ITC Savlon launched Savlon Clothes Disinfectant & Refreshing Spray in September 2020. They exhort that it kills 99.99% of germs and viruses, including fungi, molds and odor-causing bacteria. More clothe sanitizer disinfectants are likely to be introduced in the ensuing period and will be a trend-setter in the industry.

Ingredients for Hand Wash & Sanitizers

View all the commercially available ingredients used in hand wash and sanitizing products, analyze technical data of each product, get technical assistance or request samples.




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