Phi Factory brings in non-alchoholic hand rub

A 10 ml concentrate can make one litre sanitiser

Hyderabad: Covid has been tough on many. However, it lit the innovation to bring in new products to the fore. City-based startup The Phi Factory has brought out CURiE, an alcohol-free hand rub. A 10 ml concentrate will turn one-litre water into a sanitiser.

It also has a variant in multiple fragrances that is finding many takers in the Middle East markets, where the preference is for non-alcoholic hand rubs.

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“We have managed to create a product that is priced about one-tenth of the popular hand rubs in the market. This will particularly come in handy for use in public places like temples, mosques, churches, schools, and places where there is a higher density of people,” says Dr Meghana Reddy Jale, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Phi Factory.

The Phi Factory has produced a formulation of several active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that are non-alcoholic in nature and resulting sanitiser work on par with the alcohol-based sanitisers, she says.

The concentrate can just be used with any water as it has the required chemicals to reduce the hardness of water. The efficacy of the solution is tested at three NABL accredited laboratories, she adds.

The API mixture is based on Benzalkonium Chloride (BKC), which is used as a preservative and antimicrobial agent and has use in disinfectants, baby wipes, and others. BKC is one of the three APIs approved by the US health regulator USFDA to be fit to use in hand sanitisers. Isopropyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol are the other two.

“A sanitiser, but for the concentrate, is mainly water. We use sachets to reduce the costs of packaging and logistics. It is inexpensive and non-alcoholic and is good for those having skin problems and cannot use an alcohol-based rub,” says Praveen Kumar Gorakavi, co-founder and partner.

“If an NGO or a not-to-profit group needs, we can support on pro bono basis. We will also work on a white-label basis as well,” he says. It has a 2,000 litre per day capacity and that is enough to make two lakh litre sanitiser by end-users.

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