A TikTok hit with Gen Z and millennials, hand sanitiser brand Touchland is set up to disrupt the marketplace
“We want to elevate personal care so that people are excited about it,” says Andrea Lisbona, CEO of Touchland, which she founded in Barcelona with a view to “disrupting” the world of personal care. “Over the past 15 years, the skincare industry has undergone a remarkable transformation. What was once considered a mundane chore has evolved into a cherished ritual that adds excitement to our daily routines. However, the personal-care industry, dealing with the essentials of health, hygiene and wellness, has largely been overlooked.”
Following a successful crowdfunding campaign in the US in 2018, Touchland’s hand sanitisers are available in retail outlets such as Target, Ulta and Sephora. They have come to be regarded as colourful and desirable beauty products, with a range of fragrances to choose from.
“Most personal-care brands sell through fear,” says Andrea. “Other hand-sanitiser producers tell you your phone has more germs than a public toilet seat, which is negative. Touchland is about encouraging people to live life to the fullest.” Indeed, on TikTok, the product has become the hand sanitiser of choice for Gen Z and millennials in the US. “Mothers thank us.”
Andrea has taken inspiration from renowned entrepreneurs, particularly Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. “Similar to the way Apple made us change the way we connect with technology, we want to do the same with personal care – starting with hand sanitiser. It is key for everyone’s health, as 80 per cent of infectious diseases are spread by hands.”
Touchland’s dispensers, which bear a fun resemblance to Apple mobile phones, are based on the golden ratio principle of design, or the “divine proportions”, which are most pleasing to the human eye. Alongside the look of Apple’s gadgets, Andrea admires the way the brand took its time to innovate – several years passed between its introduction of the iPod and the iPhone – and Touchland similarly has a new product category, confidential for now, several years in the making.
Touchland understands its social obligations. It is pushing to make its products refillable, has worked with NGOs in Africa promoting educational schemes and has given away over a million dollars’ worth of its product to American schoolchildren and frontline workers. “As we grow,” says Andrea, “we make sure we can give back.”
www.touchland.com