By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Repoter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian manufacturer is hoping its newly-produced hand sanitizer will be available to consumers either today or Friday through the major food stores.

Roman Knowles, Blanco Bleach’s sales manager, said yesterday: “We are currently distributing to the major grocery stores, and we are going through Bahamas Medical and Surgical Supplies to get it out to the clinics, the hospitals and any of the government agencies that would need it to fight the disease (COVID-19).”

“The stores that are expected to have the Blanco Bleach hand sanitisers by today or Friday are Super Value, all of the Solomon’s Fresh Market and Cost Right stores, and all of the Budget Meat Marts.”

Describing the product, which was created in response to the pandemic, Mr Knowles explained: “It is basically a chlorine-based solution that is a disinfectant. It has trace amounts of bleach in it, which is about 20 millilitres per litre of the 5.75 hypochlorite solution, and then it has a lavender fragrance. It’s like Blanco Bleach with less concentration, so all of the ingredients are already approved. It’s what’s in our bleach right now.”

He added that Blanco Bleach had yet to receive written authorisation to market their hand sanitiser from The Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality, but said that body had received a sample through one of its board members.

Mr Knowles added: “We are only doing small runs because we are having to label by hand, but as soon as we get it off of the line basically they are sold out. We’re only doing one run and we have sold already to go out today. It will be 11,000 bottles, and since we have started we have done 17,000 bottles.”

A “run” is equivalent to 1,000 cases, and a case has twelve 32-ounce bottles per case. A “run” also depends on the labelling materials they have at hand. Blanco Bleach is currently sourcing the labels from Bahamian sign companies.

“Hopefully we can get it to a production level at 5,000 cases per run, and get it out to all of the major food stores, wholesalers and all of the Family Islands,” said Mr Knowles.