Little wonder then that healthcare product manufacturers have stepped up efforts to cash in on the swine flu scare.

For example, home and personal care major Hindustan Unilever has begun promoting its Lifebuoy product range including soaps, liquid soaps as well as hand gel and other sanitizer products with the tag line: 'Wash away swine flu germs'.

One advertisement by the company, running in leading newspapers, says Lifebuoy products are 'proven to protect from H1N1 type virus'.

Similarly, GD Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures the popular cream Boroline, has begun promoting its anti-bacterial product Suthol on the themes, 'It's time to stay clean' and 'Be calm, do not panic'.

Other brands like Clarus, Disney Consumer Products, Dr. Fresh are also in demand apart from a slew of Chinese alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

'Earlier, the demand was limited and mostly from hospitals and hotels. But now everyone is buying these products,' said Pavneet Singh, managing partner of PavLin, a Bangalore-based company that supplies hand sanitizers to hospitals and offices.

'In fact, in the last few weeks, corporate firms have suddenly became conscious and the demand has increased manifold. We are supplying huge volumes to at least 30 top IT companies and large BPOs,' Singh said.

--Indo-Asian News service

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