Impact of COVID-19 on Fruit and Vegetable Ingredient in Food and Beverages Industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the industrial and commercial progress of most of the countries across the region. COVID-19 has negatively impacted the producers, distributors, and suppliers around the world. However, the demand for the fruit and vegetable ingredient market has been raised as the population is more focused on consuming healthy food products to raise their immunity. Thus, the increasing demand for fruit and vegetable ingredients is rising owing to its nutritional benefits and further increase the growth in the market during the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

AFTERMATH OF COVID-19 AND GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO BOOST THE MARKET
The consumption of fruit and vegetable ingredients among the population was increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to its health benefits. The naturally available fruits and vegetables are the raw material that is further processed to produce ingredients. Although it is processed, the bioactive compounds of fruits and vegetables remain the same, and hence it provides all the nutritional benefits to the consumers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the consumer's lifestyle has changed, and the health-conscious has been increased rapidly. The majority of the population across the globe is more focused on nutrient-rich food ingredients to boost up their immunity level. Hence, they prefer fruit and vegetable ingredients at a higher level during the pandemic situation. Although the demand is increasing, the production of fruit and vegetable ingredients has been ceased due to a lack of raw materials. Several countries have implemented lockdowns to avoid the spread of disease. Thus, it greatly affected the supply chain and distribution of raw materials. The government has taken certain initiatives to continue the transportation of raw materials such as fruit and vegetables from one place to another. For instance, The International Seed Federation (ISF) has announced the food and agricultural sector as essential to enable the movement of goods and services across the world. Food products are essential products to survive, and hence, the food products such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, and others are transported to the end-user and consumers. This further helped the company such as Cargill Inc., Naturz Organics, and Dohler to produce large amounts of fruit and vegetable ingredients to meet consumer demand.

IMPACT ON DEMAND
The demand for fruit and vegetable ingredients is increasing drastically owing to their various application in the food industry. During COVID-19 Pandemic, the demand for fruit-based beverages was increased among the consumers as it is nutritionally rich. Also, the fruit ingredient beverage is rich in Vitamin C, Zinc, and other essential nutrients, which helps to fight against COVID-19 infectious disease. In addition, the consumer prefers fruit or vegetable flavored food products to satisfy their papillae. Hence, the demand is rising promptly and increase the growth of fruit and vegetable ingredients in the global market. Similarly, healthy snacking has become an important part of lives that helps to meet the required nourishment and nutrients. Hence, fruit and vegetable ingredient plays a major in fulfilling the consumer demand. Meanwhile, the pandemic has increased the consumption of vitamin-fortified juice products, which is target to boost up the immune system of the body. The dietary supplements of fruit and vegetable ingredients help to treat cardiovascular disease, chronic venous insufficiency and reduce inflammation. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, cardiac disease is the major cause of death of around 610,000 people every year. Hence, the dietary supplement manufacturers are trying to increase the fruit and vegetable ingredients in the product to reduce the incidence of cardiac disease in the future.

IMPACT ON SUPPLY CHAIN
COVID-19 is an infectious disease that originated in china with flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing. Food and beverage manufacturers depend on the supply of raw materials from domestic and international suppliers. As many governments restricted the movement of goods across countries and locally, manufacturers had to halt production due to a lack of raw materials. Also, limited transport option raises the shipment cost of the product. Thus, the lack of transportation affects the export of fruit and vegetable ingredient products to other countries. Owing to the disturbance in raw material supply, the manufacturers of ready-to-drink beverages with fruit and vegetable ingredients faced difficulty in the production of the products. Thereby, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the supply chain, which further adversely impacted the growth of fruits and vegetable ingredients in the global market.

CONCLUSION
During the COVID-19 pandemic, almost every sector is badly disrupted. The demand and supply of raw materials and products are also disrupted due to extended lockdown. Many companies are losing their key revenues due to closed outlets and decreased production levels. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, several manufacturers gave shut down their production process, and therefore, the demand for fruit and vegetable ingredients has also risen. The demand for fruit beverage products has increased during COVID-19. Also, the consumption of fruit and vegetable ingredient dietary supplements has risen among end-users as people are more aware of a healthy lifestyle. To meet the ever-growing demand for fruit and vegetable ingredients, the manufacturers attempted to launch innovative products. Also, the dietary supplement producers are trying to improve the fruity and vegetable content in their products to meet the nutritional requirement. Thus, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been boosted the fruit and vegetable ingredients market due to its health benefits. Thereby, the increasing consumption of fruit and vegetable ingredients is observed among the consumers during the pandemic condition, and it's projected to increase the market growth in the upcoming years.
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