GripHero Ltd, the developer of a revolutionary new hand-protection dispenser that enables drivers to avoid contact with contaminants on fuel handles, has started the distribution of the world’s first anti-static, fully recyclable hand-protection solution across the UK.
BP Whitehouse Services in Okehampton, which has over 1,500 fuel customers a day, became the very first forecourt in the country to install GripHero, which sits on top of each and every fuel nozzle on the forecourt, ensuring that drivers can retrieve and wear hand-protection without first coming into contact with fuel handles. Research shows that fuel pump handles are typically 11,000 times dirtier than the average loo seat.
Over 250 forecourts will receive the dispensers over the coming month. In addition to independent forecourts, GripHero is being installed on franchised forecourts featuring major brands including Texaco, Esso, Murco, BP and Gulf. Further significant domestic contracts are also under discussion.
By the end of the year over 500 forecourts will have GripHero in the UK and Ireland, with more to follow in 2019. A number of major and overseas contracts are also under negotiation, which could see GripHero introduced to forecourts in mainland Europe and the Middle East.
Unlike other forms of hand-protection, GripHero ensures that only one item is dispensed at a time, putting an end to wasteful clumps of gloves that often come out when customers attempt to retrieve conventional hand-protection – resulting in a lack of gloves for other customers, and unnecessary levels of plastic waste.
By placing dispensers on each and every fuel nozzle handle, GripHero hopes to end the all-too-common customer experience where drivers struggle to find hand-protection, due to empty or poorly located dispensers. Its research shows that despite 75% of people actively looking to keep their hands clean, four out of five people have trouble finding hand-protection at garages and forecourts up and down the country.
GripHero believes that there is a strong business case for readily available hand-protection at the pump. Its research shows that:
•76% of drivers would be more likely to use a forecourt with hand-protection on every nozzle handle, over that of a closer forecourt without this service;
•72% would be more likely to make impromptu purchases of higher margin items such as snacks, coffee, ice cream and sandwiches;
•74% of drivers would be more likely to plan ahead to make larger purchases, including convenience shopping for 2 days’ worth of groceries, if they knew they could keep their hands clean while filling up.
Oli Yeo, who designed GripHero, commented: “GripHero has been created to put the health and wellbeing of the customer at the heart of the forecourt, both in the prevention of biological and chemical contamination from the nozzle, and the prevention of potential ignition caused by static from standard gloves in the refuelling zone.
“By placing a dispenser on each and every fuel nozzle on the forecourt, GripHero instantly puts an end to drivers having to hunt around for hand-protection, searching pillars, pumps and bins. With dispensers on each and every pump handle, you never need to worry about hand-protection running out at the pump. That’s great news for customers and good news for forecourts as drivers are far more likely to make impulse purchases if they don’t have foul smelling, fuel impregnated hands.”
Oli Yeo added: “When you consider that, on average, each pump handle comes into contact with over 200 different hands in one week, each one getting dirtier than the last and passing on contamination, you soon realise how important it is to use hand-protection whenever you fill-up. We believe that by using more environmentally friendly materials, reducing unnecessary waste, and helping forecourts to recycle - all while enabling drivers to maintain clean hands with total convenience – we will capture the imagination of the public and generate huge demand for forecourts with GripHero.”
