Authentic Seacoast Distilling Co. has become the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s main supplier of hand sanitizer, and the only local one.
NSHA finance spokesperson Nicole Poole says having a local and reliable supplier of sanitizer was an important part of the NSHA’s strategy in its coronavirus response.
She says the Guysborough-based distillery reached out to the NSHA in early April.
This year, Authentic Seacoast, which started in hospitality and moved to alcohol manufacturing, is celebrating 15 years since opening.
Owner Glynn Williams says he never thought he’d be making hand sanitizer. But after the state of emergency was declared, Williams wanted to use his resources to help out health authorities.
“As one of the largest distilleries in Atlantic Canada, we thought, ‘Well, let’s go about this methodically,” he said. “I did some research and ended up looking up WHO’s (World Health Organization) recommended formula for hand sanitizer… and so we applied to be certified by Health Canada.”
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Williams says the distillery has produced a significant amount of sanitizer in the last month, and that came at a large cost to his company.
“It has been extraordinarily challenging for the last few months.”
Seacoast is selling hand sanitizer to the NSHA at a steeply discounted price, he says.
But, according to Williams, the goal is “to support the efforts of the federal, provincial and municipal government, as well as first responders, and to provide hand sanitizer to charities serving vulnerable populations.”
Poole says with rising demands, the NSHA is excited for this collaboration, and being able to source sanitizer locally is important.
“You go from manufacturing alcohol to producing hand sanitizer for health authorities so much faster than we’ve seen happen before. We’re very appreciative.”
She says the health authority is hoping to establish a long-term relationship with the distillery.
Williams believes the demand for hand sanitizer will keep growing, and may become a regular part of the company’s production.
He says it’s important to have local manufacturers of everything.
“I passionately believe in supporting local businesses, whether it’s the food we eat or beer we drink or the hand sanitizer we need,” he says.
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