The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the food and beverage including the nut paste market. The nut paste market is subjected to have positive as well as negative impacts due to the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst COVID-19 lockdown, the market has witnessed higher volume growth and better earnings due to a rise in consumption of packaged food and increasing use of nut paste in the bakery and pastry industry. Additionally, the rising demand for healthy food and beverages during the COVID-19 pandemic has surged the demand for nut paste. This is expected to drive the demand for nut paste during and post-pandemic. However, the food & beverage industry experienced disruption in the supply chain due to the shutdown of boundaries and strict lockdowns imposed by the government to control the spread of the virus.
Aftermath of Covid-19 And Government Initiative to Boost the Global Nut Paste Market
The pandemic of COVID-19 created a demand for nut paste due to growing awareness about the health benefits of nut paste, and its increasing use of nut paste in convenience food. The food and beverage industry has low exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic while some of the small players and players dealing in other sectors such as cosmetics, agriculture were left more vulnerable than others. Post COVID-19 effects have stabilized the demand for food, and beverages industries. Moreover, the unlocking of the situation and opening of boundaries by various nations have regulated the supply of raw materials. Various governments are taking initiatives to regulate the supply of food and beverage products. Additionally, various governments are liberalizing the regulation in the food & beverage industry to smoothen and regulate the raw material supply for the industry. Therefore, in the aftermath of COVID-19, the demand for nut paste will remain stable, due to the development of technology and increase in consumer awareness of the nutritional properties that have led to the development of products using nut pastes.
STRATEGIC DECISIONS FOR MANUFACTURERS AFTER COVID-19 TO GAIN COMPETITIVE MARKET SHARE
Nut paste is gaining popularity across various industrial sectors all over the globe. Since the breakdown of COVID-19, the food & beverage manufactures are required to follow a series of mandates and procedures to battle the crisis as well as keep a healthy workspace environment. To combat the current situation and gain a competitive market share, the manufacturers are engaged in developing new products. Various marketing strategies are being adopted by the key manufacturers of the market such as product innovation, and new product development to sustain the competitive market along with meeting the changing consumer trends.
Impact on Price
The COVID-19 has impacted the global economy growth terribly. Many organizations remained shut while others scaled down their operations or put their expansion plans on hold as they survive the unpredictable crisis. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in nationwide lockdowns and various stringent regulations on border closing was imposed by the government of nations across the globe, which resulted in the spike in the prices of nut paste. Import and export of raw materials were hampered due to the closing of the border of various nations. This resulted in an increase in the prices in countries that were dependent on the imports of nuts. While the price in the major nut exporter countries had fallen owing to the larger production than the demand. However, the ease of lockdown and various initiatives by the government to export and import the food & beverage industry resulted in the subsequent price drop owing to its availability. The price impact on the nut paste market was relatively dependent on the commodity-specific.
Impact On Demand
The COVID-19 has resulted in a surge of food & beverage as they are being widely used in the bakery and pastry industries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for nut paste increased due to rising awareness amongst consumers to choose healthy food & beverage alternative such as peanut and almond paste. Growing awareness about the benefits coupled with increased demand for plant-based sources has surged the use of nut paste in the food and beverages industry. The outbreak of pandemic has also resulted in the use of nut paste in various regions owing to the rising consumption of convenience food. Furthermore, the food and beverage business is demonstrating resilience in the current situation, while the companies are engaged in the development of new products owing to increasing awareness amongst consumers has witnessed the steady demand for nut paste.
Impact on Supply Chain
The supply chain of raw materials used for manufacturing nut paste was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was attributed to the lack of resources and transportation which led to lower access and delayed stock and supplies of raw materials products. Additionally, many governments restricted the movement of goods across the countries and the entire supply chain was distorted. Due to the disrupted supply chain, transportation of raw materials has been interrupted and the production of the nut paste was halted, along with the labor shortage and affected price. Similarly, inflated prices and halt on production of nut paste has resulted, in the unmet demand for nut paste in various end-users such as the food, and beverages industry. Further, as there had been a tremendous increase in demand for nut paste in bakery and pastry products owing to rising awareness regarding the use of nut paste as a healthy alternative and rising consumption of healthy products due to the outbreak of a pandemic.
Conclusion
COVID- 19 pandemic has taken a toll on the population and economy. A collaborative effort on governments, public health departments, and hospital fraternity to fight the coronavirus has led to economic slowdowns, lockdowns, and extreme public safety measures. Due to the increasing health consciousness among the consumers, the demand for nut paste has been increasing constantly in the COVID-19 pandemic periods and is likely to increase to maintain their health and immunity. This is mainly because of precautionary measures which are followed by the consumers for the COVID-19 which involves the intake of a healthy diet, and consumer trend towards consumption of healthy bakery products. However, the supply chain has disrupted during the outbreak scenario because the demand was more for these products. Unlocking of lockdown and opening of boundaries across the world has expected to normalize the supply chain for the market, further attributing its growth.
