US health and wellness companies pivot to aid first responders

21-Apr-2020 - Last updated on 22-Apr-2020 at 17:44 GMT

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Some unscrupulous marketers are cashing in on the current crisis. Other companies, however, are stepping up to support health care workers and to shift production to critical supplies and services.

In response to the generosity of first responders and healthcare workers, many companies are pivoting production. Several members of the health and wellness industry are summoning their resources to help those working in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

One such company is California-based Modere. They recently launched its "A Million Thanks" campaign. Through this campaign, the clean lifestyle brand of dietary supplements and more will donate over $1 million of nutritional supplements to healthcare workers and first responders.

"One of our core values at Modere is compassion and during these unprecedented times we remain focused on identifying ways to support those who are sacrificing so much in order to save lives," said Asma Ishaq, Modere CEO.

Ishaq told NutraIngredients-USA that she was inspired after reading an article by an anonymous EMT.

“What stood out to me is that they selflessly ‘sign away’ their ‘rights to a safe life’ to help us stay safe. Add to that the extraordinarily contagious nature of COVID-19, and now, in order to save our loved ones, they also risk endangering their own loved ones every time they return home from a shift.”

Hydration

California-based Liquid I.V., a wellness brand known for their clean ingredient electrolyte drink mixes, is pivoting resources previously dedicated to large scale events like Coachella. They are now focusing their efforts on donating to those on the frontlines. Their core product line up, Hydration Multiplier, Sleep Multiplier, and Energy Multiplier, is designed to enhance rapid absorption of water and functional ingredients into the bloodstream. The company said this is ideal for medical professionals who have limited time to drink water and consume nutrients throughout the day.

"We knew there had to be a silver lining with all of the major event cancellations," said Liquid I.V. Brand Partnerships Manager, Alaina Bergsma. "We sat in a room and started connecting the dots… First, the healthcare personnel on the frontlines are working around the clock to keep us all safe and need to be at their best. Second, we have products designed to support health and hydration. And finally, our True North as a company is helping people who need it most. Put all that together and the Response Initiative quickly became our core focus at LIV."

In the first week alone, Liquid I.V. said they received over 3,000 requests via their online request form from a mix of hospitals, doctors, nurses, and first responders. On their first day of shipping, the company said they sent out over 200,000 servings, which included shipments to over 200 hospitals across the US.

Food

The devastating impacts of coronavirus have left several food banks across the United States experiencing unprecedented demand. In response, WW International (formerly Weight Watchers) announced that they are pledging $2 million dollars to provide 10 million nutritious meals and three million pounds of fresh produce to those affected by current food insecurity. WW will donate the funds via its charitable platform, WW Good, directly to the charitable partners on the front lines of these efforts.

Additionally, WW has partnered with Roc Nation and the Roc Nation family to donate products to help address the increasing demands of Feeding America member food banks.

Personal protective equipment

Utah health and wellness company doTERRA announced two donations totaling $450,000 to aid in global coronavirus relief efforts. A $200,000 donation to Intermountain Healthcare in Utah will help with the purchase of critical personal protective equipment for local first responders and medical providers. Additionally, a $250,000 donation to Days for Girls International will help the organization with its Masks4Millions campaign to provide millions of homemade fabric masks to hospitals, clinics and healthcare professionals around the world.

Greg Cook, doTERRA founding executive and Primary Children's Hospital Board Member, said "doTERRA's support is part of a larger Intermountain Healthcare effort that will provide 5,000,000 protective medical face masks, 15,000 protective medical gowns, and 5,000 protective full-face medical shields. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this global pandemic, and we wish everyone health and safety as we face this challenge together."

Left Coast Extracts is also tapping into their resources. They announced the donation of 3,000 KN-95 masks to paramedics, fire fighters, hospitals and police in their hometown of Oceanside, Calif.

"We wanted to give back to our community by using the resources we have," said Left Coast representative Alex Kometas. "We know that there has been a strain on systems that supply important medical supplies. We had a resource and we saw a way to help."

Sterilizing PPE

GreenBroz, Inc., a Nevada-based cannabis automated harvesting equipment manufacturer, has shifted gears to sterilize personal protective equipment.

The company has adapted a portion of its production efforts to provide full automation of the Gard'n Clean chlorine dioxide (Cl02) system, which can be used in healthcare settings to sterilize personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to the current need amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We were in a unique position to be able to shift our efforts to the design and production of a system which can address an immediate and urgent need in the midst of this current crisis," said GreenBroz CEO, Cullen Raichart. "We want to be part of the solution and are excited that we have a prototype ready to go, and are currently seeking FDA Fast Track approval."

Pivoting production to do their part

As the coronavirus threatens the future of many companies, many are eschewing profits and shifting gears to meet the moment. A movement that is no surprise to Modere’s Ishaq.

“I grew up in the health and wellness industry and have loved it since I was a child, mainly because of the heart and soul the people in our industry have for humankind, animals, and the planet. It doesn’t surprise me to see so many within the industry work together under these extraordinary circumstances to give to those in need, alter their manufacturing to produce sanitizers for donation, and collaborate to make an impact, fast.”