The pandemic was accompanied by a run on hand sanitizer and a mad dash among brands to launch sanitizing products—some for altruistic reasons, and others because they saw an opportunity. Touchland disrupted the commoditized category of hand sanitizer with a visionary sixth sense for what the market needed when the brand launched its Power Mist Moisturizing Hand Sanitizers in 2018, positioning them to meet the moment.

Pre-COVID hand sanitizers were a commoditized industry with little-to-no innovation. Utilitarian packaging and harsh, sticky formulas with a strong scent of alcohol that left skin dry were the norm. Touchland founder and CEO Andrea Lisbona saw an opportunity to take hand hygiene to a new level, focusing on design and skin-loving formulas elevating everyday experiences. Its iconic packaging and feel-good communication made hand sanitizers cool well before the pandemic fueled demand.

“As Touchland was already growing at a very rapid pace prior to this unprecedented situation, I am proud that we are quickly rising to the occasion to meet current demand,” said Lisbona. “With increased production, additional shipments, and new product innovations coming soon, we are setting Touchland as a leader in the beauty industry.”

US sales of hand sanitizer jumped almost sevenfold to $1.3 billion for the 52 weeks ended January 2, 2021, compared with the same period a year ago, according to Nielsen. The global hand sanitizer market is projected to grow significantly to reach $17.2 billion by 2026 and is expected to register a CAGR of 31.4% from 2020 to 2026, according to Polaris Market Research.

Touchland was born out of the Zobele Group’s Join and Win accelerator program and a Kickstarter campaign that hit its funding goal in 24 hours and ended up being 450 percent funded. The brand kicked off 2020 securing a $1.75 million second round of funding led by Align Ventures, Spring St. Group, and two more venture capital firms, and launched nationwide in 1,200 Ulta locations. In November, the brand added Target to its retail roster.

Finding the right formula to meet the sales surge is a high-stakes calculation for businesses as the pandemic has created new consumer habits—some likely to stick, while others may be fleeting. Touchland saw a significant increase in overall sales in 2020, with annual revenue growing 1,260% year over year from the previous year. The brand managed a 34,000+ waitlist for the product after briefly selling out last March.

Recognizing businesses’ growing demand for hand sanitizer, Touchland made the decision to expand its e-commerce sales channel from direct-to-consumer to include B2B sales, making its KUB Smart Hand Sanitizer Dispenser, priced at $199 to $249, its flagship product for B2B sales. The commercial unit is an elegantly designed IoT-enabled dispenser that offers businesses a hands-free, cost-efficient safety solution for both employees and customers. The brand strategically aligned with category-leading businesses such as Equinox, Standard Hotels, The RealReal, Bandier, Joe & the Juice, Sweetgreen, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, and Target, who are all fans of the Kub smart dispensers.

Touchland’s exponential growth was driven by continued demand for the Kub dispenser. The result was a milestone year of explosive B2B sales growth, with a 12,091% increase in annual B2B revenue year over year from 2019. In 2020, Kub sales represented 40% of Touchland’s total revenue, up from approximately 3% in 2019. Additionally, the brand saw a 69% increase in B2B Kub quarterly sales from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020.

Touchland for Business, the brand’s new B2B e-commerce platform, launched in August and experienced 127% sales growth from Q3 to Q4 2020. The platform reinvents how businesses purchase hand sanitizer by removing the middleman distributor, allowing company decision makers to directly order and coordinate deliveries to multiple locations, all with the click of a button.

“Between the increased demand for Kub and the launch of Touchland for Business, the growth our B2B channel has experienced in the past year has been exponential,” said Ed Krafcik, Head of US Business Development at Touchland. “As businesses have grappled with reopening under heightened safety and hygiene protocols, owners and management staff are turning to Touchland to provide a solution that not only blends in seamlessly with the aesthetic of the space, but also gives their employees and customers a great user experience and peace of mind.”