EVENT FOCUS
ANYBRAND In a bid to provide another tool to both the entertainment and hospitality sectors, Anybrand offers a range of solutions to make public spaces safer – from chemically treated face masks to disinfectants. TPi speaks to AnyBrand Founder, Colin Graham, about the company’s offerings.
As we move into Autumn, event organisers and hospitality managers are continuing to think of new ways to make customers and staff as safe as possible during this uncertain time. With a number of years in the hotel industry, Colin Graham – like many – faced a trying time from March onwards as business ground to a halt. However, in the search for a solution for his hotel, Graham’s research brought him to HeiQ, and its Viroblock NPJ03 technology – a tested and proven COVID-19 barrier which, when applied to face coverings, significantly counteracts the airborne transmission of the virus. “HeiQ’s technology was developed over five years ago during the SARS outbreak, but there hasn’t been a huge amount of interest until this year,” stated Graham. HeiQ Viroblock-treated materials destroy viruses on contact, significantly reducing the chance for re-transmission through touch, also increasing the effectiveness of face coverings by a factor of 20. Intrigued by the company’s offering, Graham found his way to the CEO in Switzerland and from there, AnyBrand was formed. Currently, one of the company’s main offerings is treated face masks that come in an array of designs and are manufactured in Italy. “On top of
the masks, we wanted to look at how we could use the technology to treat surfaces that people might come into contact with,” stated Graham. “The result is a surface technology that can give any surface three months of residual disinfecting properties,” he explained, adding that they are working with major industrial manufacturers to incorporate the technology in production lines, giving lifelong protection with early testing already underway. Although many of the ideas created by AnyBrand had originally been formed with hotels in mind, Graham explained that he and the team quickly realised the potential reach of the technology. “Early in my career, I worked in the events sector – specifically in motor sports – and I have a lot of experience with various different styles of events,” stated Graham, going on to explain how he saw the potential for these products to be used in event spaces. “For a number of weeks, we have been speaking directly to the DCMS to explain what this solution could do for the events sector,” he added. Although they are intended to have a major impact, Graham was quick to state that AnyBrand’s offerings are not the whole solution to provide a 14
