Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
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GermErase 24hr simplifies front of house cleaning and sanitising at Nordic-inspired London restaurant
Established in 2018 by Danish-born restauranteur, Søren Jessen, Ekte (meaning 'genuine' or 'real' in Norwegian) brings an authentic taste of the Nordic regions to the city of London.
Situated in the heart of London's Bank district, Ekte Nordic Kitchen's food offering is overseen by Swedish-born Chef, Robin Freeman, and constantly changes to embrace seasonal and local produce.
In the context of managing staff and guests' safety through the pandemic, Ekte was looking to simplify the front of house cleaning and sanitising protocol by replacing surface disinfectant and hand sanitiser with a single product.
The restaurant selected GermErase 24hr - a powerful, new, scientifically-proven disinfectant that destroys bacteria, viruses, and fungi, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus (which causes Covid-19) - killing it in under 30 seconds. The product offers up to 99.999% efficacy against pathogens, and delivers a residual effect for 24 hours on surfaces and between washes on hands.
The principal objective was to find a product that offered maximum efficacy while being pleasant to use, kind to skin and entirely odourless so that it would not impact customer experience in any negative way. It was also important to Ekte to maintain its high environmental standards; therefore it wanted a product that would minimise the chemical footprint and the use of virgin plastic.
"My top priority is to ensure that our guests have a wonderful experience and enjoy delicious food and wonderful service in a convivial environment without having to worry about anything else," says Ekte proprietor Soren Jessen. "Using GermErase 24hr, we can all relax and stay focused on all the things that make Ekte and our sister restaurant, 1 Lombard Street, so special."
The restaurant staff were trained on how to use the product in a trigger spray on all touchpoints and surfaces including tables, chairs and door handles, and how to dispense from a foamer pump to sanitise hands. The product was delivered ready-for-use in convenient, stackable five-litre bottles, which could then be decanted into refillable 750ml trigger sprays for surface use and 600ml bottles with foaming heads for use by customers and staff on their skin.
The 24-hour protection offered by the product meant that it only needed to be used once before the restaurant opened as part of the preparation for the day. Each morning, surfaces were sprayed, wiped to ensure even distribution of the product, and allowed to dry. This ensured that every treated surface could be guaranteed free of germs for the following 24 hours.
Between customers, tables could now be sprayed and wiped with either water or a mild detergent solution to remove debris, instead of requiring further sanitiser product. This minimises the use of chemicals and ensures odours do not interfere with the customers' enjoyment of Ekte's food.
Foamer pumps around the restaurant and in the washrooms allowed staff and customers to sanitise their hands and protect their skin between washes. Customers liked the non-sticky feeling of the sanitiser and felt comforted by the notices informing them the restaurant was thoroughly cleaned, while staff preferred the simple cleaning procedure and felt safer. Moreover, staff members say they did not suffer from the problem dry skin they had when using alcohol gel continuously.
Meanwhile, management felt that they had done as much as possible to make customers and staff safe and were delighted to have found a product with a lower environmental impact as well as offering the efficacy and protection they needed
"I have been delighted with the new product, which simplifies our cleaning routine and which has made such a difference to the staff, who were not keen on having to use drying alcohol gel on their skin all day," says Ekte general manager Fernanda Crestani Vargas. "We can offer our customers total confidence that Ekte is free of Covid and any other germs without having to spray constantly or use unpleasant, dangerous chemicals."
Mark Wintle, sales & marketing manager of P-Wave, which manufactures GermErase, says: "For over a decade, P-Wave has built an enviable reputation as a respected innovator in the air freshening industry. As a direct result of the pandemic, health, hygiene and above all safety is now at the top of everyone's agenda - and in premises, people need to feel as safe as possible. So, P-Wave has evolved, and our message now is 'Protect and Refresh'."
20th January 2022