A Suffolk skincare company has created a new hand sanitiser in response to growing demand because of coronavirus.
In recent weeks, handwash has become a much sought-after product - with some stores limiting purchases due to high demand.
Needham Market-based SBC Skincare launched its brand new hand sanitiser on Friday, March 13, having rushed the product to market because of the health crisis.
The company already produces a range of luxury handwashes and handcreams and had seen demand for its products increase in recent weeks.
'Our handwashes have seen an increase in sales, where handwashing has become more frequent for everyone,' said a spokesman for the company.
'We could see demand for a range of items increase during the earlier stages, so mobilised teams to produce a brand new product.'
The first batch of hand sanitiser came off the production line in Suffolk on Wednesday, March 11.
Just two days later the sanitiser was available to buy online.
Each bottle of the hand sanitiser costs £6.50 for a 100ml bottle, which is significantly more than some other high street brands charge for similar products.
SBC Skincare said part of the reason was down to the production costs it faced as a smaller brand.
'The price is based on our other skincare gels,' said the spokesman.
'We have seen some huge prices of gels, but wanted to make this accessible to a wide audience and therefore have kept it in line with our other products.
'Compared with some other brands, we are smaller and don't have the same economies of scale to produce this at a far lower cost.'
SBC Skincare said it had been surprised by the popularity of the product - in the first two hours of sales, the company had sold 1,000 units.
The spokesman added: 'Stocks are limited, due to the availability of our raw materials on-site, along with componentry - such as bottles and caps.'
The company had expected to have sold its current stock by early next week. However, the product is already listed as out of stock on its website.
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