With the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, U.K. co-packers were inundated with inquires for personal care products—a trend that shows no signs of tailing off. That’s according to U.K. trade association BCMPA, The Association for Contract Manufacturing, Packing, Fulfilment & Logistics, which reported in late June that inquiries to the BCMPA for personal care items rocketed by more than 500% shortly after the coronavirus lockdown was implemented, while inquiries across all sectors in April increased 60% compared with 2019. In the same month, interest in the production of hand sanitizer and antibacterial products represented 90% of the total inquiries for personal care items.
While the proportion of new hand sanitizer inquiries fell slightly in May, by June, figures remained unseasonably high, and the BCMPA predicts that similar levels of demand will continue for the foreseeable future.
The association adds that there is also a major new requirement for its members to collate and contract-pack sanitation “kits” containing items like hand gel sachets and face masks, as schools, shops, airlines, and businesses open again.
Says BCMPA Chief Executive Rodney Steel, “The Covid-19 situation has created an inevitable shift in production and inquiry trends, right from the beginning. Although some sectors have obviously suffered, personal care has gone through the roof, and we believe that trend is here to stay.
“Not only have inquiries shot up and remained high, but the size of production orders has seen a massive increase. Orders that were typically for 20 or 30,000 units are now in the hundreds of thousands or millions.”
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