Clean Hands make Light Work: A Retrospective on Hand Sanitizer
In the spring of 2020, a ubiquitous item became more valuable and scarce than it had ever been in its' entire history. Hand sanitizer, a simple solution of alcohol, water, and emollients (moisturizers) used to prevent dry skin or give the gel or foam a pleasant smell or color. Scarcity led to desperation led to an opportunity with corporate and private entities rushing to convert existing factories and distilleries into hand sanitizer-producing behemoths. As the pandemic slows down, many of these new entrants have no intention of taking their foot off the brakes and have decided to become permanent competitors in the field. Never before has the industry seen such fierce competition, but then again never before has the industry seen such demand. How did we get here?
There is no single inventor of what is commonly referred to as hand sanitizer, hand antiseptic, or hand disinfectant. Alcohol, the primary ingredient in most hand sanitizers, was known as early as 1363 as an antiseptic with widespread availability nearing the late 1800s. Alcohol works because it alters bacteria from their original state through a process called denaturation. It wasn’t until 1888 when well-known doctors began recommending alcohol for pre-surgery and for surface disinfection that it became a hospital staple. By the 1930s ethanol, or grain alcohol, was the preferred antiseptic in hospitals and would be the standard for at least 30 years. It wasn’t until 1966 when a gel-based alcohol formulation was conceived and its creation is marred in controversy. The legend goes that Lupe Hernández, a nurse from Bakersfield, California is the original inventor, even appearing in nursing textbooks despite multiple independent investigations being unable to track down the truth behind the inventor. Despite its’ origins, a gel-based solution was a game-changer as it allowed for disinfection on the go; alternatives at the time were messy and difficult to use. Over the next 20 years, this gel-based formula was used mostly in hospitals until 1988, when American Gojo Industries released the first commercialized hand sanitizer, Purell.
Making hand sanitizer is a fairly simple affair. Hydrogen peroxide, water, high-proof (70% typically) ethyl alcohol or isopropyl, and Glycerin or Glycol (which give hand sanitizer its’ gel consistency and prevent dried-out skin) are tossed in mixing tanks and mixed together using an impeller. The resulting gel is packaged, labeled, and shipped.
American Gojo Industries was founded in 1946 by a couple, Goldie and Jerry Lippman. The lightbulb moment happened during World War II when Goldie oversaw a rubber factory. Goldie noticed that at the end of workers’ shifts they would dip their hands in dangerous chemicals such as kerosene and benzene to remove the graphite and carbon that had accumulated during their shift. Goldie and his wife decided they could make something better and launched Gojo, a combination of Goldie and Jerry. They worked with a Kent State University chemistry professor to develop the formulation and began by selling pickle jars full of the stuff to mechanics and auto shops out of the back of their car. It became so popular that Gojo’s customers started to complain that their employees would fill their lunchboxes with the stuff and take it home. Gojo’s road to mainstream appeal began in the early 1990s when Wegmans began stationing dispensers throughout the store for employees and customers. In 1997, a consumer-facing hand sanitizer, Purell was released. That same year Vi-Jon Industries entered the fray with GermX, a product that is still the 2nd best-selling hand sanitizer in America. Despite the rumbles of competition, the demand for hand sanitizer became meteoric in 2002 when the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) rewrote its healthcare hygiene guidelines after a series of studies showed that alcohol-based hand sanitizers were more effective at preventing transmission of disease than soap and water. With the government openly backing its bestseller, Purell quickly became the dominant company in the $3.3 Billion dollar hand sanitizer space (as of 2020).
Driven by COVID-19 and consumer demand for convenient hygiene products, the hand sanitizer market is showing no signs of slowing down with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.6% from 2020 to 2027 and a revenue forecast of $13.7 billion in 2027. North America accounted for 32.3% of that revenue share but other countries are quickly being targeted by newcomers such as Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, 3M, Henkel, and dozens of private label manufacturers which all started producing hand sanitizer just last year. As the developing World reaches out for higher quality antiseptics from well-known brands, demand continues to be white-hot, driving new entrants into the ring for the foreseeable future.
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