Drinks maker Zymurgorium has shifted from making gin to making sanitiser

CBBC member company Zymurgorium is Manchester’s first and largest distillery, famous for making gins, vodkas and rums, as well as for inventing Parma violet gin liqueur. However, right now, they are busy making sanitiser to help in the effort to halt the spread of the Coronavirus.

The company has been busy transforming its new facilities from making alcoholic drinks to alcohol sanitiser in response to the demand following the Coronavirus outbreak.

“It is reasonably easy to make sanitiser as it is mostly alcohol – something we are used to making,” explains Michael Hadfield, business development manager at Zymurgorium.

A downturn in demand in spirits following the closure of bars and clubs across the UK has left the brand with extra capacity and an opportunity to do some good.

The sanitiser – which they have branded Zymitizer, is now being donated to front line workers across Greater Manchester and the wider northwest region.  

“We have already donated to every fire station in Greater Manchester as well as women’s refuges in Stockport and Salford,” says Hadfield.  With the support of Tameside council, Zymorgorium has also supplied all 51 care homes and supported accommodation properties across the county with sanitiser too. 

“It’s important that everyone goes the extra mile at this time and we hope our Zymitizer helps in the fight against COVID 19 for all the unsung heroes across Tameside and wider Greater Manchester,” said Aaron Darke, Managing Director of the company.

The company, which won the Salford Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Salford Business Awards in 2019, invested heavily in a state of the art distillery. Production capacity has increased by 18,700 percent over the last 12 months with the company looking to engage with Chinese buyers seeking new and exciting British brands. After the company’s success in the UK, the team attended a CBBC supported trade mission to China in November where they met a number of distributors and buyers at the FHC conference and through the CBBC matchmaking service. However, following the COVID-19 outbreak, they have seen orders both in China and the UK put on hold but are eager to pick up from where they left off when the restrictions are lifted.

For interested parties looking to distribute Zymorgorium in China please contact Michael Hadfield

For more information on China’s food and drink sector contact Antoaneta Becke