Business

Gaia Herbs pivots to manufacture hand sanitizer

By Lightning Reports, Published: May 18, 2020

BREVARD — Gaia Herbs, a leading natural herbal products brand in the United States, has increased production and is using its alcohol-based operations to manufacture CDC-approved hand sanitizer in response to the covid-19 situation.

The sanitizer will be donated to local community first responders including health care workers, farmworkers, government officials and other essential employees.

The first batch of donations will comprise a total of 217 one-gallon bottles and 3,000 two-ounce bottles. Donation deliveries were recently made to Transylvania County Public Safety, SAFE Inc. of Transylvania County, Sharing House Transylvania Christian Ministry, Safelight Hendersonville and Pardee Hospital. Additional hand sanitizer donations will be made over the next few weeks to other area organizations.

Designated as an essential business in North Carolina, Gaia Herbs recently shifted many aspects of its operations in order to best support the changing needs of its customers, employees, and community while continuing to manufacture trusted herbal products.

“These are unprecedented times, and it’s more important than ever for businesses to support their local communities,” said Angela McElwee, president and CEO of Gaia Herbs. “Gaia Herbs has a long history of working with food-grade alcohol as part of our herbal extraction process, so when the critical need for and shortage of hand sanitizer became clear, it was an easy decision to create a product that meets all CDC requirements. We are donating our entire first production run to help protect those who are helping others, as we appreciate and recognize their hard work and dedication to selflessly serving our community.”

“We began seeing inflated prices as we worked to source hand sanitizer for our own employees and recognized that we were uniquely suited to help address this need – not just for our own team, but for other businesses and community members as well,” said McElwee. “As a Certified B Corporation, Gaia Herbs is committed to using business as a force for good. This hand sanitizer donation represented an additional way to use our capabilities to make a positive impact and help to protect the health of our local community.”

Gaia Herbs produced a one-gallon, peppermint antiseptic hand rub and a two-ounce, peppermint hand sanitizer spray. Both products help reduce bacteria, are for use when soap and water are not available, and contain alcohol antiseptic of 80 percent, meeting all CDC requirements. Like all of Gaia Herbs products, the herbal hand sanitizers are brought to life without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or genetically modified ingredients.

While this initial batch of herbal sanitizers was produced solely for donation purposes, Gaia Herbs will also be producing a CDC-approved lemon herbal hand sanitizer to sell, providing a stable source of this critically needed product from a trusted company. The lemon herbal hand sanitizer will utilize organic ingredients and is expected to be available on the gaiaherbs.com website in early July. It will initially be sold in six-packs of two-ounce bottles for $29.99. Gaia Herbs will also feature a free gift with purchase promotion in July on their website in which all orders will receive a free two-ounce bottle of lemon hand sanitizer for a limited time, while supplies last.

All of Gaia Herbs products are sold through natural and independently owned health food stores across the nation as well as through gaiaherbs.com and other trusted online retail sites. To find a store, visit gaiaherbs.com/stores. Based in Brevard, Gaia Herbs opened a production and distribution facility in Mills River last year.