In January, EO Products CEO Tom Feegel saw sales of the brand’s hand sanitizer products rise drastically, as Lizzie Johnson recently reported in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Now Feegel tells Cosmetics Design that, “At the peak of the virus, we were allocating more existing line time to sanitizer production and added an additional manufacturing line. We also added additional shifts.”
And EO Products hasn’t looked back: “We normally have seven production lines run in the company’s factory, manufacturing everything from shampoo to deodorant,” says Feegel. “But today we are focusing solely on producing a reduced set of soap and sanitizer SKUs to meet the demand.”
The not-so foreseeable future
The realities of life in a COVID-19 world are no longer new; but preparing for an unpredictable future remains a very real business challenge. “We continue to evolve and adapt with the ever-changing landscape of COVID-19 and are preparing for a variety of different scenarios in anticipating what the new 'normal' will look like,” Feegel tells this publication.
Like many, he’s betting on hand care and hygiene. “We believe that clean, healthy hands are going to become as much a part of a personal health routine as brushing your teeth,” says Feegel. And he believes that the EO Products approach to hand sanitizer formulation will help the brand win in the marketplace.
“We know that our sanitizers smell great and are better-for-you than many conventional options because they’re free of harsh chemicals and they’re actually moisturizing,” he says. “And we’re here to help people keep themselves and their loved ones safe and healthy now and into the future.”
For the next four months that future includes giving every passenger on Alaska Airlines flights hand sanitizer wipes.
The EO Products partnership with Alaska Airlines
Throughout the virus crisis, beauty brands, manufacturers, and suppliers have been finding creative ways to support industries harder hit by the economic downturn, industries like the salon and spa sector, hotels, airlines, and brick-and-mortar retail.
“Beauty and personal care brands can help support the travel industry in numerous ways,” says Feegel in his recent interview with Cosmetics Design. “We’re doing so by providing Alaska travelers with travel-friendly options that allow them to practice good hygiene and vigilant hand cleaning while also allowing flyers to have a relaxing and peaceful experience during these stressful times.”
The single-use wipe sachets will be distributed to travelers as part of Alaska Airlines Next-Level Care program. “Hand sanitizer is essential when you’re on-the-go,” says Sangita Woerner, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Guest Experience for Alaska Airlines, in her remarks to the press today. “And,” she adds, “EO’s sanitizing wipes with pure essential oils are a handy and pleasant way to know you’re staying safe against 99.9% of common germs when in-flight.” (Woerner began her career with Unilever, working for some 15 years on brands like Suave, Degree, and Dove.)
This is EO Products first partnership with an airline or travel industry company. And at least for now, the biodegradable plant-based cloth sanitizing wipes are available exclusively to Alaska Airlines travelers.
