Holista CollTech uses COVID-19 pandemic as platform to launch NatShield sanitiser in US
Holista will ship a further 90,000 NatShield sanitisers to the Australasian region after the first 60,000 units were sold out amidst rising concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
As the global COVID-19 pandemic worsens, Holista CollTech (ASX: HCT) is about to launch its NatShield sanitiser in the United States after appointing Health Therapies as the exclusive distributor for the country.
The deal gives Health Therapies exclusive rights to sell the sanitiser into the US market for three years with the company also committing to minimum orders of $3 million a year.
Holista’s NatShield handheld sanitisers contain the plant-based active ingredient Path-Away, which has been proven effective against a “broad spectrum” of pathogens during testing in a number of World Health Organisation approved laboratories.
Testing for the product’s efficacy against COVID-19 has begun at a UK laboratory with official results due next month.
As part of the deal, Holista will ship the first 5,000 30ml bottles from Malaysia to the US this week.
Once in the US, NatShield will be bottled and sold, with Health Therapies’ marketing team possessing 40 years’ experience across multiple sales channels including online, retail and airports.
Holista chief executive officer Dr Rajen Manicka said the distributor appointment was “timely” due to the rapidly escalating COVID-19 infection rate in the US, with the country’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest figures estimating the country has 7,038 cases and 97 deaths.
“We are shipping sanitisers out of Malaysia initially to meet the urgent needs.”
Dr Manicka added discussions were underway with bottlers in the US that can commit up to 1 million bottles each month and possess capacity to scale this up further.
He noted the company planned to begin the bottling process by next month.
Commenting on the agreement, Health Therapies chief executive officer Morell Maison said he has never before seen such an “insatiable demand” for hand and surface sanitisers in his 40 years of experience.
“It does not matter where, folks are looking for added protection and defence.”
“Also there is a growing need for a natural product. As it is an all natural sanitiser it can easily be used on the hands, face and around the nose.”
Well-prepared to upscale
As well as today’s distribution agreement, Holista said it was also in negotiations regarding “significant” distribution and supply arrangements.
Once concluded, Holista anticipates these negotiations will have an “immediate” impact on introducing NatShield to new areas worldwide.
In readiness to meet increasing demand, Holista recently raised $4.33 million to assist with scaling up its sanitiser production and distribution activities.
During early morning trade, Holista’s share price surged more than 22% to $0.105.