BUSINESS
Innovations in F&B Industry During Pandemic The Covid-19 pandemic which has continued, in some form or the other, over the last two years, has affected the food & beverage industry so hard that many of the outlets which closed doors during the lockouts, have not reopened – and are unlikely to do so. Restaurant owners who have survived have evolved over time and even grown during these unprecedented times due to several techniques and technologies adopted by them to keep their customers fed – in spite of their doors being closed – and to welcome them amid an aura that would satisfy them about their safety and well being. Ashok Malkani takes a look at the present scenario and how the industry, with the aid of technology and other elements, would fare in 2022.
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he world has, over the past two decades encountered various virus related epidemics. Some of them have been: acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 2002– 03, H1N1 influenza (2009), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERSCoV) 2012 and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) 2019–20. A new pneumonic outbreak which originated in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, was given the name COVID-19 by WHO in February 2020. COVID-19, with its deadly ill-effects on people’s health, created a panicky effect on the populace, establishing new social,
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environmental and economic landscapes which have affected a variety of businesses adversely, including the global food & beverage industry. The restaurateurs in India too have faced several challenges, created by the pandemic, which include supply chain o p e rat i o n s , s afety, t ra i n i n g , d i s as te r management and responses, awareness, re-forming business models, digitalization and advancement of technology. Th e co n s u m e r b e h av i o r h as a l s o changed, which makes it imperative for the industry to precisely examine the adverse effects of the pandemic on the industry and not only successfully tackle the same
Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review
but also climb up the recovery path rapidly.
Reformation of Supply Chain From an operations perspective, there is a high risk of emergency in food and beverage industry due to unanticipated events. In spite of various food safety and monitoring boards, there is a high necessity in the food and beverage industry to institute health and safety protocols on an individual level. In addition, there is a high scope of reformation in the supply chain operations to produce risk-free food and beverage products in a safe, financial, and environmentally sustainable manner. The contamination in the food industry
Dec-Jan ’22
