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Greater Manchester vegan hand wash manufacturer continues production with support from the Hub

Faith in Nature, a supplier of hand wash and soaps to major retailers, including Boots and Sainsbury’s, recognised the essential nature of its products during the COVID-19 crisis, but wanted to ensure the safety of its 70 employees.

After putting new procedures in place based on government guidance, Jason McNeil, head of operations at Faith in Nature, worked with Matt Ward, manufacturing advisor at the Hub, to understand the challenges faced in implementing the necessary health and safety measures.

This included ensuring all administrative staff moved to working remotely, with only essential staff present on site to continue the production of hand wash and soaps. The company has temporarily suspended production of some beauty lines to meet increased customer demand for soap and hand wash.

“Matt’s support has enabled us to continue production of our hand soap, helping to restock the shelves of major retailers during the crisis, while keeping our employees safe,” said Jason.

“The Hub has helped us to safeguard the jobs of our workforce and will see us continue operating under these new measures until June 2020, or for as long as the COVID-19 crisis continues.” 

COVID-19 presents many challenges for manufacturing businesses, but those deciding that they can and must remain open have a responsibility to employees, customers, suppliers, and wider society, to follow best practice to avoid spread of coronavirus.

Geoff Crossley, senior business advisor at GC Business Growth Hub, part of The Growth Company and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, said: “We’re delighted to have helped play a part in keeping Faith in Nature’s production of hand soaps running at this critical time, without putting their staff at any unnecessary risk.

“Greater Manchester’s manufacturers have had some difficult decisions to make in order to safeguard jobs as well as following government guidance and preventing the spread of coronavirus.

“Our guide helps business leaders work through some of the key challenges. The Hub is always ready to offer advice and support, as we did with Faith in Nature, who were already putting their procedures in place but were able to be confident that they were doing the right thing after speaking to Matt.”

GC Business Growth Hub has launched the #HereforBusiness campaign and has a team of business experts on hand to offer a range of guidance, information, advice and support.

Any business needing advice on contingency planning or mapping out the immediate landscape can talk to GC Business Growth Hub by emailing BGH@growthco.uk or call them on 0161 359 3050. Opening hours have been extended to Monday to Friday 8am – 8pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am – 1pm to support businesses.

Visit www.businessgrowthhub.com/Coronavirus for more information on The Growth Company’s guidance for Greater Manchester businesses.

Businesses looking to access specialist support can visit www.businessgrowthhub.com for more information about the organisation’s extensive range of services. This and other GC Business Growth Hub projects are part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the GM Business Growth Hub project designed to help ambitious SME businesses achieve growth and increase employment in Greater Manchester. The Hub is also supported by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Greater Manchester local authorities.

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