Zambian Breweries has clarified that its newly launched hand sanitiser brand is not for sale, but strictly for donation.
The brewing company’s laboratory team has developed the certified alcohol-based hand sanitiser as one part of its contribution towards boosting the fight against COVID-19 in the country.
“We would like to stress that our hand sanitisers are not for sale or re-sale. They are for donation to frontline health personnel in our country and various communities that we identify,” emphasised ZB Country Director Jose Moran.
Mr Moran noted the hand sanitiser is being packaged manually as it requires different technology to that currently available at the company’s plant.
Output is thus relatively small – with some 1,600 bottles produced so far – as ZB’s contribution to thwart shortages of the commodity on the market during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Zambian Breweries will absorb this costs and make it available for donation since we won’t make a profit out of this situation when our people need help,” he said.
“We will consider up-scaling production with the support of partners, but we will always make it available for donation or at least to recover costs without any margins.”
“We are so committed to fighting COVID-19 together with government and the general public. Producing hand sanitiser demonstrates the urgency and seriousness we attach to this collective fight,” he added.
Last week, ZB donated 5,000 440ml bottles of its hand sanitiser to the Ministry of Health to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
The company has pledged a total of 5,000 bottles to be donated, with the remaining batches expected in the next two weeks.
Mr Moran clarified that Zambian Breweries has not changed its core business from brewing beer: “While production of hand sanitisers is a milestone in ZB’s history, our core business remains producing and selling your favorite beers”.
“We are still Zambia’s largest beer brewing company that is also producing hand sanitisers for donation” he stressed.
Mr Moran reiterated his call for partnership on production of hand sanitisers.
“The demand for sanitisers is overwhelming, but we are limited on capacity. Therefore, we would like partners to join us for us to produce more sanitisers and donate to more people in our country” he said.
Zambian Breweries has scheduled various subsequent donations of its sanitisers to different health centres and communities in the country. Dates and venues will be shared soon.
