After a few quiet weeks for hand sanitiser plays, Wellness & Beauty Solutions (ASX:WNB) has broken the silence with news of a $3m deal to supply the transport and infrastructure sectors.
Until March, Wellness & Beauty Solutions was known for its beauty clinics, which were forced to close thanks to COVID-19.
To keep the money coming in, the company made its foray into the hand sanitiser space, launching its MICRO19 brand. That gave a kick to its share price, which climbed from 0.3c to as high as 1.7c in just a few weeks.
Wellness & Beauty Solutions has now struck an exclusive three-year deal with private industrial company CARE Distributors worth at least $3m.
Under the deal, which is the company’s first in the transport and infrastructure sectors, the company will supply hand sanitiser to automotive repairers and suppliers, transport and logistics companies, and commercial product retailers.
Wellness & Beauty Solutions managing director Christine Parkes said these were a high-risk contact point for COVID-19 transmission due to the high mobility and contact in these sectors.
Shares rose by as much as 25 per cent in early morning trade before returning to level with Friday’s closing price.
Wellness & Beauty Clinics (ASX:WNB) share price chart
The hand sanitiser movers and shakers
While no stock has been able to match the heights of Zoono (ASX:ZNO), which rose from 8c to over $2 in a handful of months, other stocks that pivoted into the space have also been beneficiaries of the strong investor interest.
Harris Technology (ASX:HT8), which sells hand sanitisers among other hygiene products, started out 2020 at 0.9c and is now over 11c thanks to the strong demand.
Harris Technology (ASX:HT8) share price chart
But not all companies have maintained momentum.
Despite still being the biggest gainer, Zoono (ASX:ZNO) has pretty much flatlined in the last month.
After seeing exponential demand earlier in the year, Holista CollTech (ASX:HCT) has found it a challenge to keep up due to supply chain disruptions.
After briefly surpassing 20c earlier this year, the stock is now in negative territory.
Skin Elements (ASX:SKN), meanwhile, rose from 1c to 8c between March and May after entering the field — a move chairman Peter Malone told Stockhead had nothing to do with the virus.
But the company has been suspended since May as the ASX continues to query its pivot into the sector.
Earlier this month Skin Elements announced it struck a three-year, $2.4m distribution agreement with Prudential Consultants for the supply of its Invisi Shield Organics hand sanitiser.
Prudential is a preferred supplier of hand sanitiser to the NSW government and Tasmanian Department of Education.