One of the world’s largest rum factories, the Bacardi plant in Puerto Rico, is using the Bacardi alcohol to produce more than 1.7 million 10-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer, much of which is being given to police, nurses, non-profits and others on the front lines of the coronavirus.
Bacardi CEO Mahesh Madhavan spoke to CNBC about the company's decision to produce the 267,000 gallons of sanitizer globally:
"It's our way to step and support, help workers who are facing a huge crisis....our production teams have stepped up to keep the factory going. Our normal production continues. We are putting a portion of production into hand sanitizer."
When asked what he thinks about the drop in people out socializing and enjoying alcohol, Mahesh says that they are seeing is a big pull through at the off trade and in places like Kroger's and Walmart where they are seeing a huge spike in sales. He also says there's been a huge growth in e-commerce with sites like Drizley reporting a sale increase of 300%-500% during the quarantine period.