The pandemic has no doubt brought a heightened awareness of health and safety concerns, especially within the foodservice industry. Customers want restaurants and retail facilities to be trained on proper cleanliness standards, use the right equipment, and handle the packaging of their goods in a safe and efficient manner. The marketplace is changing and it is worth the time to find the right partners to help read the market properly.
Dan Grinberg, President and CEO of Elara Brands, fits that bill perfectly. He was an active participant of the glove industry from a young age, having been raised in a family that owned a food service glove business. He joined the company, Island Poly, in 1990, and in 1992 was responsible for developing a new brand called FoodHandler. The success of FoodHandler led to the company’s eventual sale to private equity investors.
Grinberg would soon start a new company, Elara Brands, to produce gloves, bags, and protective apparel. Elara supplies trusted products and continues to educate its customers on the marketplace’s new cleanliness standards, much of which will become the new norm.
Grinberg’s 31 years within the glove industry has exposed him to the evolution of foodservice sanitation standards. “In 1991, just a year after joining the business, New York State banned bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods, which in turn influenced new health codes around the nation. With Covid, there’s now a renewed focus on restaurant safety,” discussed Grinberg. “Covid-19 has brought health and cleanliness concerns to the forefront of customers’ minds. Visible glove use is important to guests nervous about on premise dining.”
The biggest change in how glove materials have evolved over Grinberg’s career has been the prominence of nitrile. “It’s the superior product. It has the best resistance to chemicals, animal fats, and tearing. Nitrile glove technology allows the product to be thinner, more comfortable, and much stronger,” says Grinberg. “If you buy gloves that aren’t made with the best materials, you will go through more of them, wasting money, slowing down workers, and putting hygiene protocols at risk. You don’t want to cut corners when it comes to safety.”
Though latex was the popular choice in the 1990s, there has been a rise in vinyl, nitrile, and other synthetic materials that didn’t have natural proteins causing allergic reactions. And while most disposable gloves are made in Asia, Grinberg says there will be more domestic production for hospital use, though the impact on overall supply will be relatively small.
Before COVID-19, Elara had a stable availability of gloves. However, when global demand spiked in 2020, industry-wide shortages became rampant. Manufacturers responded by cutting down on the variety of gloves, limiting colors and focusing on the highest-demand items. “Manufacturers converted most production to lighter gloves used in hospitals,” said Grinberg.
Elara responded with an allocation plan to ensure customers were stocked with gloves. They also provided customers with cost-saving options. For example, Versafit is a vinyl/nitrile hybrid that’s less expensive than a 100% nitrile glove. Digifit is a polyethylene hybrid glove that offers costs savings versus vinyl gloves.
“It was a challenging year, but we are fortunate to be in the line of business we are in, considering the state of the world.”
As for the outlook, Grinberg expects demand for disposable gloves to remain high. While vaccinations will reduce Covid cases and stabilize demand in hospitals, the economic recovery will increase glove use in restaurants, travel, and other industries.
From a supply standpoint, nitrile availability remains tight but is gradually improving, though prices are still high. At the other end of the spectrum, vinyl glove prices are coming down from their peak due to an oversupply in the market. “The scarcity of vinyl gloves at the start of the pandemic led to panic buying. Manufacturers ramped up production and now importers are lowering prices trying to move through excess inventory, good news for buyers.”
With some gloves becoming more readily available, the sense of panic about acquiring goods that Covid-19 initially brought seems to be calming down. Grinberg’s advice about the upcoming Restaurant Revitalization Funds is to remain patient in the current environment and find a supplier you can trust and work closely with towards establishing long-term goals.
For more information about Elara’s products and services, please visit their website or contact your distributor and ask for Elara’s full line of solutions.
