How Global Spirits Brand Pernod-Ricard is Assisting in the Battle Against COVID-19

In times like these it’s essential to search out the positive news, the uplifting stories of doctors, nurses, factory workers, and large enterprises making every possible effort to help people through the COVID-19 pandemic. Here at Nasuni, we’ve been proud to learn of the role many of our customers have played in fighting the pandemic. One of our clients, for example, is a medical laboratory operating on the front lines of this struggle, developing new tests and advising the federal task force.

But in this brief post I’d like to highlight the efforts of another one of our clients. The spirits company Pernod-Ricard is behind some of the best-known liquor brands in the world, including Absolut Vodka, Perrier-Jouët, Jameson, and Glenlivet. Although many of us are stuck at home, and maybe even enjoying a cocktail after a long day in the home office, the global spirits manufacturer isn’t using this as an opportunity to sell more liquor. Instead, Pernod-Ricard is working to bolster the supply of one of the more sought-after items in the market—hand sanitizer. The once ubiquitous bottles are now harder to find than toilet paper.

Recently, Pernod-Ricard decided to repurpose one of its manufacturing plants in Arkansas from producing spirits to alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Initially, the company intends to generate 1,000 gallons, and to donate the product to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The company plans to ramp up production by re-tasking factories in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Texas as well.

This is just one aspect of Pernod-Ricard’s global effort to help combat the disease. Other subsidiaries are taking action as well, including:

• The Absolut Vodka distillery is helping produce hand sanitizer for Swedish health authorities
• Distilleries in Spain and Ireland have volunteered to ramp up sanitizer production
• The company is donating 70,000 liters of pure alcohol to one of France’s leading health products companies

The donation will allow the company, Laboratoire Cooper, to boost production by 1.8 million vials—a fivefold increase. We are not attempting to take any credit in this incredible effort. This is not the time to detail why Pernod-Ricard modernized its infrastructure with Nasuni, although we do hope to share that story soon. Simply put, we’re proud that we have had the chance to partner with amazing companies like Pernod-Ricard and others that are doing everything in their power to help us all through this difficult time.