Explained: How the hygiene market stacks up amid coronavirus

The market for masks, soaps and hand sanitisers is booming, prompting the government to weed out spurious products and focus on long-term habit formation

The messages are all over, exhorting people to stay safe and adopt basic hygiene standards. At a time when COVID-19 cases in India have crossed 400 and are increasing by the day, the focus on long-term habit formation is key.

A fallout of this is that the market for masks, soaps, hand sanitisers and liquid handwash is booming, resulting in stock-outs and companies ramping up production. Although price escalation has been curbed after the government stepped in last week to monitor the production, distribution and marketing of face masks and hand sanitisers, the issue of spurious products remains a problem.