COVID-19 is a type of a communicable disease that created ripples throughout the world in early 2020 taking the lives of millions around the globe and infecting more. The disease is caused by a virus SARS CoV-2 which is highly infectious and passes on through human interaction. It has been said to cause the respiratory tract infection, causing damage to upper and lower respiratory tract.
The spread of the disease brought the world to a halt affecting the healthcare market in almost every part of the world. The global nutrigenomics market was impacted by the widespread of the disease. There were numerous unprecedented changes seen in the market and impacted the economy hugely.
Nutrigenomics has gained awareness among population in the past decade. Nutrigenomics usually involves testing the effects of food and other nutritional products on the genetic make-up of an individual. The nutrigenomics promotes the understanding of interacting food products along with other bioactive products with the genes at a molecular level. This helps in sound understanding of effect of nutrients and even dietary supplements are responsible on human health.
Impact on Price
There has been a whirlwind past months due to emergence of COVID-19. The medical devices firms who are manufacturing test kits are facing financial challenges as the disease brought whole world to a full stop. The sales of few companies experienced a downfall while others managed to stay afloat.
For instance,
- Ancestry, a major market player provides genetic testing kits in nutrigenomics that range from USD 99 to USD 119. The total purchase cost includes two types of shipping charges.
Impact On Demand
The coronavirus pandemic left a huge impact on nutrigenomics market because of its efficacy in its application. The emergence of COVID-19 set some significant operational changes in how the genetic test kits are manufactured and supplied. It was suggested that with good nutrition and high immunity, the chances of contracting the disease are lesser and it also enable the individual to fight the virus or any other illnesses. The testing kits are in high demand as more and more people are becoming aware about personalised health and wellness and even more so during the pandemic.
For instance,
- Ancestry, another player in the market saw a surge in the demand for their genetic test kits. Owing to the demand surge, the company was operating at full capacity.
Impact on Supply
As the world came to a halt for few months due to the emergence of COVID-19, the supply chain could not escape the impact. The governments throughout the globe imposed a total lockdown to contain the spread of the disease. Consequently, the supply chain and third-party logistics came to a standstill due to the closure of borders. Even though the demand for these tests was high, the availability was affected due to disruptions in the supply chain, trade and travel restrictions. Supply of raw materials was also affected due to which the production was restricted. Bottlenecks in the supply were foreseen due to limited production. Still some companies managed to overcome the challenges and saw high growth.
For instance,
- BASF SE, a major player in the market was continuously in close contact with local authorities pertaining to maintaining the supply chain. They made sure to maintain continuity in logistic services for their customers.
- According to BASF SE, as of January 2021, they observed no disruptions or any impact on their global business along with their supply chain.
KEY INITIATIVES BY MARKET PLAYERS DURING COVID-19
As the reality of COVID-19 dawned upon the world, the manufacturers and production units of the companies involved in nutrigenomics and genetic testing formed strategies so as to deal with the limitation that arose due to the coronavirus and keep their business running along with the safety of the employees.
For instance,
- BASF SE came up with many strategies to cope with this unforeseen crisis and implemented below written initiatives to deal with the pandemic:
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- The employees were to comply with the prevention along with the hygienic measures at access points and other sites of the company. These measures were also applicable to external visitors.
- They maintained a close contact with the logistics service providers to come up with practical solution in order to protect their supply chains from potential disruptions.
- The business trips were prohibited to high risk areas.
- Virtual meetings were promoted in order to conduct non-business-critical meetings.
- Employees were made to work from home after consultation with their superiors.
These strategies along with other measures helped the company in coping with the pandemic and ensure business operations, minimize the impact of COVID-19 and providing full support to government in their efforts to combat the disease and help the front line workers.
Conclusion
COVID-19 has impacted each and every market with no exception. The global nutrigenomics market has been affected the same. With rising awareness around healthy food and nutrition habits, food allergies and preference for personalised health among other factors has brought people to go for pharmacogenetics testing and has shown growth in the market. The trend has been suggested to show steady growth in upcoming years.
