A small Buckinghamshire distillery that usually makes gin and vodka out of honey has begun making hand sanitizer amid a global shortage — highlighting how businesses both great and small are throwing their weight behind efforts to fight Covid-19.

The British Honey Company said on Tuesday it had been given the green light by UK tax authorities to use its spare capacity for producing hand sanitizer ingredients. The British Honey Company’s distillery in Worminghall, Buckinghamshire, will now start producing hand sanitizer out of 70% alcohol and extracts of British honey and green tea.

Michael Williams, chief executive of the British Honey Company, said the effort “enhances our existing business model at the same time as assisting with the efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19.”
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“An alcohol based sanitizer is vodka or gin at 70 % ABV made from denatured alcohol,” Williams said in a statement.

“Following approval of our application to HMRC to produce denatured alcohol, our expert distillery team have been working alongside our in-house microbiologist and an Oxford University chemist to develop and manufacture this new product.”

The move comes amid a global shortage of hand sanitizer, caused by stockpiling and increased usage. Sales in the UK surged 225% in February, before Covid-19 had even hit Britain in earnest.

LVMH, the French luxury giant that owns brands like Louis Vuitton, said on Monday it would switch production at all of its cosmetics and perfume factories to start producing hand sanitizer instead. The product will be supplied to French authorities battling to control the outbreak.

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The British government has urged UK businesses to support efforts to fight Covid-19.

The government has set up a special hotline for manufacturers willing to make extra ventilators and approached car manufacturers about turning UK factories into ventilator production lines.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-covid-19-british-honey-company-hand-sanitiser-125651790.html