They started hand-sanitizer businesses during covid. How are they doing now?
During the pandemic, hand sanitizers became everyone’s front-line defense—and countless startups launched to meet the overwhelming demand. Then the demand wasn’t so overwhelming anymore. According to research company Statista, the global hand-sanitizer market boomed by 500% in 2020 to $6.3 billion in revenue from $1.03 billion in 2019.
But as the pandemic subsided, so did sales: $3.5 billion in 2021, and hovering around $3 billion for the next couple of years. So, what happened to all those startups? Here’s a look at three of them. Amy Welsman was inspired to rework sanitizer before the pandemic hit—when she became a new mom in 2019.
Welsman, who previously handled an array of jobs for women’s intimates brand Knix, found the sanitizers on the market harsh and off-putting, and she didn’t want it on her hands when she changed her baby. Her idea: sanitizer with a better scent and ingredients that nourished the skin, sold in more environmentally friendly packages. By the time she launched her startup, Paume, in 2021, the pandemic was at its height.
“I was planning to make utilitarian hand sanitizer a luxurious beauty product—something totally new," she says. “As I was developing the product, the pandemic hit, and the sanitizer category changed overnight." With demand for sanitizer soaring, she decided to reach out to a wider base of customers than just new moms. The company garnered some attention in the media and attracted a loyal following, Welsman says.
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