The company, which owns brands including Hunter's Dry, Amarula, Klipdrift and Durbanville Hills, has committed 100,000 litres of alcohol, which will be used to produce sanitisers as well as a variety of other hygienic and sanitising products.
The sanitisers will be distributed free to vulnerable communities across South Africa as a way to encourage good hygiene practices. The company will work closely with Government to identify these communities, and support the roll-out of the sanitisers.
“Our priority as Distell – right now and always – is the safety and well-being of our employees, our stakeholders and society at large. We are determined to support our government in its bid to halt the current rapid spread of Covid-19 and in the absence of a vaccine, good hygiene remains one of the most effective options to do so,” said Richard Rushton, Distell Group CEO.
Distell said it recognised there was an acute shortage of pure alcohol to produce hand and surface sanitisers, which are desperately needed in hospitals and households.“We fully understand that our position as a leading player in the alcoholic beverages industry comes with a societal obligation. We want communities to benefit from our presence and we are determined to rise to the challenge,” said Rushton.
The company is supporting the government-sanctioned lock-down and has cancelled all events, closed all its experiential and product tasting facilities until further notice and all employees who are not involved in the production of alcohol work are working from home. All company-sponsored travel has been halted. Additionally, Distell said it's empowering its employees with relevant information on personal hygiene and has made sanitisers available to all employees at its sites across the world.
“This pandemic is perhaps the greatest challenge our country has faced since democracy and calls on business, the private sector and communities to work together to overcome the virus. We hope everyone will heed the President’s call to remain united and adhere to the lockdown, for all our sakes, but especially to protect the most vulnerable,” said Rushton.
The news from Distell comes shortly after the SA Liquor Brandowners Association, the Beer Association of South Africa and Vinpro collectively committed to donate 40,000 litres of pure alcohol for the production of sanitisers, to help fight the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
