A business started by a stay-at-home Edinburgh dad is set to establish itself as the UK’s premier supplier of face masks – as well supporting NHS charities and the community through a unique give-back initiative.
In just three weeks, Screen & Shield has had more than 600 orders from individuals, businesses and community groups from around the UK and a new supply of 10,000 custom #sasMASKs is being produced to keep up with demand.
Hass Peymani set up Screen & Shield after becoming alarmed at the poor quality and unavailability of face masks for his family as he faced lockdown with a pregnant wife and his dad in a high-risk category.
Hass, who had previously set up a hugely successful global video business that saw him work with likes of football icon Neymar and pop superstar Katie Perry, spent 10 weeks exhaustively researching the market before launching his #sasMASK brand from home, in the midst of national lockdown.
Unlike many of the masks on the market right now, the #sasMASK is manufactured in Europe and complies with the latest material and layering guidelines for non medical-grade face coverings.
The #sasMASK has not only been designed to be washable, comfortable and affordable, but also comes in more than 30 designs; with this range due to double in size in the coming weeks.
And, with the wearing of face masks now compulsory on public transport in Scotland, Screen & Shield is expecting orders to continue to surge.
Hass, 40, said: “I am totally confident our business supplies the best face mask for public use in the UK.
“Not only are they high quality, three-layered and affordable, but as the wearing of masks becomes commonplace, the range of designs allows people to make a choice that matches their own individuality.
“But a fundamental aim of the #sasMASK brand was to create a business model that also benefited charities that support frontline workers and community groups. It seemed to me that – in a health crisis – anyone who was selling masks should be giving back to the community, and especially to those hardest hit.
“I set up Screen & Shield so that 10% of all online sales go to NHS-related charities. But any participating community groups/charities/influencers buying masks for their network also receive 10% of the sales value – as well as their members also receiving a 10% discount. No one else has offered a scheme to support communities like this.
“Along with local and national charities, we’ve had the likes of a cheerleading squad, a group of redundant BA staff, a nursery group and a community centre in Somerset all sign up to our community programme. They understand their community will likely buy face masks at some point, so by working with us they get excellent quality masks at a discounted price and can also generate funds to put back into their community.
“As we continue to grow the company, I want to generate lots of money for those affected by the pandemic as well as providing a comforting level of protection at the same time.”
Screen & Shield can work flexibly with businesses of all sizes, providing small orders for the likes of cafes and shops which are set to re-open, to providing bulk orders with large firms, and offer custom branding to any and all. Business customers can also benefit from the ‘Team Vouchers’ system, which provides pre-paid voucher codes so staff can choose their own designs.
Hass had been looking after his four-year-old son Otto as a stay-at-home dad and living with his parents while his home in Musselburgh was being renovated when lockdown kicked in.
He added: “During week one of lockdown, we discussed as a family if we needed to wear face masks. With my dad in a high-risk category and my wife Louise pregnant, we decided we did. I started shopping for good-quality masks that didn’t compromise the medical PPE supply chain. However, this turned out to be much trickier than I had expected.
“The face masks available at that time seemed to be distributed by untrustworthy-looking websites, looked to be of poor quality, took weeks – if not months – to arrive and were extortionately priced.
“I realised that I couldn’t be the only person facing this problem, so I decided to stop moaning and take action – and from their #sasMASK was born.”
Screen & Shield is largely operating as an e-commerce business, using its website https://screenandshield.co.uk/ and social media to drive awareness and sales, particularly facebook.com/screenandshield/. From its fledgling start, the business is already approaching 1,000 Followers/Likes and 13,000 people have viewed its launch video.
Hass, who was exploring his next business venture when Coronavirus struck, had previously co-founded Volcano City, which provided video production, live streams and platform infrastructure for clients across Europe, Asia and Latin America. The businesses became one of Europe’s leading poker live streaming companies, which led to Hass interviewing a range of celebrities such as Neymar, Boris Becker and Rafa Nadal.
For more information on Screen & Shield – go to: https://screenandshield.co.uk/
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