Pillsbury Helps Vodka Distillery Pivot to FDA-Approved Hand Sanitizer

San Diego Corporate partner Christian Salaman recently worked with a Pillsbury team to advise its client Misadventure & Co. on shifting its business away from vodka and into hand sanitizer. The eco-friendly distillery was among the first businesses in San Diego to repackage itself with combating COVID-19 in mind, according to Salaman.

At a time when shedding staff has become an industry norm, Salaman said the small business has jumped from four full-time employees to 11.

“It’s about finding an opportunity in a crisis that’s not just good for them but helpful to others,” Salaman said.

The Pillsbury team was able to address Misadventure’s state liquor, labor and supply concerns, allowing the company to move forward as quickly as possible. Salaman said that he and Pillsbury business consulting manager Martin Bridges helped the company set up agreements with nontraditional suppliers in the soap and vaping industries to fulfill their initial 25,000 bottle order.

With production beginning on March 22, the company is now providing bulk orders to local clinics, hospitals, veterans groups and local governments.

Carrie Bonnington, the leader of Pillsbury’s Wine, Beer and Spirits practice in Sacramento, said realignments like that made by Misadventure are common throughout the industry as companies work to open new revenue sources.

“There’s this wonderful opportunity to use their existing facilities,” she said. “It’s been a really interesting pivot for these companies, distilleries primarily, with a lot of support from state and federal agencies.”