Acton Spirit: a hand sanitiser in two weeks

The first beauty brand to launch one in the pandemic. A Sunday Times Style award.

In March 2020 Pai was the first beauty brand to conceive, formulate and launch a hand sanitiser: two weeks from the idea to the first delivery, named after the factory's home in South Acton, and, as it turned out, the world's first prebiotic sanitiser, the most natural and the kindest to skin we could make.

Most of it was given away: to NHS nurses first, then care homes, supermarket workers, tube staff and schools, one bottle donated for every one sold. Ed labelled the first batch on the kitchen table. It won the Sunday Times Style Beauty Award for Outstanding Contribution in 2021.