'Very little support': Yukoner's hand sanitizer business flops despite pandemic

After spending morethan $100,000to produce hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 pandemic, the owner of a Yukon tourism business says he's left with a lot of unsold bottles and little support from potential local buyers.

"The big production we were set up for was not needed at all," said Thomas de Jager, a Whitehorse-based outfitter who got into the hand-sanitizer business this spring.

He saysYukon businesses and government officials said then thatwere was a huge demand for sanitizer.

Knowing his tourism business was facing a bleak summer because of the pandemic, de Jager usedhis background in chemistry and bought machinery for "high production."

But months later, he says demand has disappeared, as buyers are getting sanitizerfrom the South.

"Now all thegrocery stores and the big storesstepped back and they're not interested in our product atall," said de Jager, who says it istoo expensive to ship hisproduct to other regions.

"It's a little bit frustrating," he said. "The big slogans out there, support local businesses.... Itseems to be just words and there's no actions. Even the government ... they buy their stuff down south because that's what they have done for years."

De Jager says his company still hasa lot of production materials left over. He has donated some sanitizer to schools and plans onselling the bottles he has left, anddeciding if heshould "cut [his] losses" and sell the machinery.

"It makes no sense spending time ina dead project where unfortunately there's only very little support by the community," he said.

As for his tourism business, Yukon Wide Adventures, he's worried about what lies ahead if 2021 is another rough season.

"I don't know if we will survive.Ihave no clue."