Coronavirus Kent: Hand sanitiser manufacturer Jennychem from Snodland gets abuse over price rise
18:32, 13 March 2020
updated: 18:33, 13 March 2020
A business in Snodland that produces hand sanitiser says it has received constant abuse online over the price of its product.
Jennychem is a family-run business that produces industrial chemicals for a variety of uses. One of the many products it makes is hand sanitiser.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, there has been an increased demand for hand gel and many shops have sold out of the product.
A few weeks ago, a 5l bottle would cost £27.50 plus VAT.
Now, Jennychem are selling the same size bottle for £66 with VAT included.
Reece Hampton, the head of marketing at the firm, in Sortmill Road, said: "We have seen a huge amount of backlash and hate emails to do with our daily price rises. It is really having an impact on our staff and the reputation of our business.
"The raw material cost of the main ingredient has risen more than 400% in the last few weeks. This is why we have had to increase our prices.
"We hope people understand that we are not trying to profit from this awful outbreak. We are supplying nearly the whole of the UK with the product and our staff are working endless hours to help everyone get what they need."
Reece says the main ingredient used in hand gel is called IPA.
"IPA used to be less than £1 a litre but has now risen to well over £4 a litre. If suppliers kept the price the same as before, we would still be able to supply it for the lower price."
"This week we have probably produced more than 20,000 bottles. The production of our other products has come to a halt to get all the orders out the door and each bottle has to be filled, labelled and put on the system to ship.
"Hand sanitiser has pretty much taken over Jennychem. It’s the only item people are interested in."
Jennychem wants to help tackle the virus locally by giving away hand gel wall dispensers and sanitiser bottles to 20 public service groups in the community.
It hopes to donate the products to those who would benefit the most.
If you know an organisation that provides a public service that would like to receive the hand gel and dispensers, please email Jenny@jennychem.com for more details.
