The world's biggest fragrance and flavouring company said it had set up a dedicated production line at its factory in Geneva for hand sanitiser, which would be donated to local hospitals, transportation workers and others in need.

The company, which supplies prestige names in perfumes including Christian Dior and Prada, said in a statement that its Geneva factory would produce the equivalent of around 700,000 bottles of hand sanitiser by mid-April.

Further production lines were being created at its factories in the US and other European countries to help meet a growing demand, it said.

Givaudan has thus joined the ranks of a range of breweries and other companies who have transformed part of their production lines to help meet spiking global demand for hand sanitiser, seen as an essential tool in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected nearly one million people worldwide.

“In a short space of time, we've managed to establish dedicated production lines of hand sanitiser to produce up to eight tonnes a day, helping to keep our employees protected, but also allowing us to supply to those on the front line, including local hospitals,” company chief Gilles Andrier said.

Givaudan said that its production sites in other countries would also provide hand sanitiser locally.

Its French sites in Pomacle and Avignon had provided over nearly 1.5 tonnes of hand sanitiser to local hospitals and others, while its Ashford site in Britain had partnered with a local brewery in providing hand sanitiser to nearby hospitals.