Despite COVID-19 causing economic uncertainty for many UK businesses, Welsh brand Tear Care has seen a surprising rise in sales as a result of the Government’s latest hand washing guidelines.

Increased hand washing has resulted in dry, chapped and cracked hands for many – with regular hand lotions and creams apparently not cutting it. But a Welsh hand balm – created for tough athlete hands and known for tackling extreme wear and tear– has seen a rise in digital sales.

March has seen a 400% year-on-year growth in online sales for the brand – and has already sold out on Amazon UK.

Speaking of the recent surge in sales, co-founder Vicky Morissette – who was named as one of Wales Online’s Top 35 Under 35 Businesswomen – said:

“We created Tear Care to fulfil the growing demand for a fast-acting hand product aimed at the fitness market.

“It was always intended as a niche product – and we’ve fast gained a loyal following of elite athletes from various sporting arenas around the globe.

“We know the product has a cult following within its niche, but we never anticipated it would become a go-to solution for the general public.

“Despite gyms slowing down – and eventually closing – we saw digital sales from the website soar beyond what we’d forecast for the month. But it wasn’t until we started getting messages from friends and athletes to say that their Tear Care balm was coming in handy at the moment that it all started to make sense.

“We’ve only ever targeted a very niche audience demographic with our online advertising campaigns so it’s been eye-opening to see how the product has organically reached so many outside of our original target market.”

But the hand balm’s unique blend of coconut oil, tea tree oil, beeswax and Manuka honey – which has been formulated into an intensive balm to relieve, protect, and speeds up the recovery process of dry, chapped and cracked skin – has proven an ideal treatment for the after-effects of increased hand washing.

Although the product is now sold out on Amazon UK, there is still limited stock available from the website.

If anyone is looking for maximum results, co-founder Vicky adds:

“There’s always a good time for using Tear Care, but we recommend applying this intensive balm to the affected areas at night and letting the ingredients work their magic while you get some sleep.”