ABSTRACT

Tourism is one of the world’s main drivers economic sectors. For certain nations, it can
address more than 20% of their GDP and, generally, it is the third-biggest fare area of the
worldwide economy. However, tourism is also among the most affected industries by the
Covid-19 pandemic which is, according to WHO, not only a public health crisis, but also
a crisis that will affect any industry in all continents. Therefore, every sector and every
citizen should be involved in this battle. As a result of the health and economic crisis
caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, the tourism sectors was heavily impacted,
especially the food and beverage sector.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Acording to Market Research, food and beverage industry includes: “food industry
(baked goods, fish and seafood, frozen, health, natural, and snack foods and sports
nutritionals), beverage market (including water, soda, alcoholic, sports, and other drinks),
food service (equipment, technology, vending), hospitality (bars and restaurants), and
agriculture (agriculture is the science of soil, plants, forests, livestock and crops).”
Besides, the food and beverage services market contributes significantly to the
profitability of the hospitality industry.
On December 31, 2019, WHO got a warning of a cluster of pneumonia patients in Wuhan
City, Hubei Province, China. One week later, on January 7, 2020, Chinese authorities
announced that a novel coronavirus had been identified as the source of the pneumonia.
Since the rapid spreading of the COVID-19 disease across six continents, several
countries all over the world announced a state of health emergency, on 11 March 2020, 
The World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed the quickly spreading virus as a
pandemic and urged countries to coordinate preparatory and response measures to
comply with the Global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (WHO, 2020a;
Vasavada, 2020).
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and economic go into a state of
emergency. Tourism is one of the worst-affected businesses, with a massive decline in
international demand due to global travel bans, including the fully closing borders.
According to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals
(overnight visitors) dropped by 72 % between January and October 2020. The fall in the
first ten months of 2020 reflects 900 million fewer foreign tourist arrivals compared
to the same timeframe of 2019, resulting in a reduction of US$ 935 billion
of international tourism industry. Between January and October 2020, arrivals in Asia
and the Pacific fell by 82%. International arrivals in the Middle East have dropped
73%, in Africa is 69% and in both Europe and the Americas have fallen by 68%.
THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19
The impact of COVID-19 on the food and beverage industry will largely be a function of
consumer confidence. Right now consumers are “split” as to whether or not it is safe to
go out to, for example, restaurants and bars. Those businesses cannot return and continue
to be at risk as long as consumer confidence is low.
The coronavirus market impact on the food and beverage industry has affected how
businesses get their products, the very nature of their daily business operations, and
consumer behavior. These are just a few of the recent trends in the food industry:
The shutting down of physical stores
Whether it was by mandate or out of concern, many food and beverage companies made
the decision to completely close down their retail stores or shift to a delivery/pick-up
model. In some cases, delivery services became in high demand and drive-through
businesses thrived as customers sought contactless options. Some restaurants got creative
by selling grocery items and at-home meal kits, while food and beverage wholesalers that
normally relied on restaurants began selling direct to consumers.
Increase in demand for packaged foods and beverages
Especially as the COVID-19 crisis peaked, people sheltered at home and made it a
priority to stock up on non-perishable and frozen foods. As such, home cooking
increased, and certain items became hard to find.
Supply chain disruptions
One of the reasons for some food and beverage shortages had to do with the fact that
some items are sourced from overseas suppliers. Outbreaks of the virus among meat
processing plant workers also caused shutdowns or slow-downs in production.
Restaurants and grocery stores had to scramble to locate local suppliers, while
manufacturers ramped up the production of certain items to keep supply chains moving.
Shift in consumer behavior
Consumers became hyper-aware of cleanliness and began worrying about who was
handling their food. As such, anything packaged became more desirable than fresh
ingredients, contactless delivery more in demand than having to go into a store
MEASURES THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN

RECOMMENDATION
As we move through the pandemic, there are some food and beverage industry trends that
may be here to stay for the foreseeable future. For starters, public health experts have
been warning that a second wave could come around in the fall and winter seasons. As
such, it’s more important than ever for businesses to do all they can to anticipate and
prepare for future trends in the food and beverage industry. This includes promoting safe
practices and cleanliness, as well as evolving with food and beverage market trends.
Some of the potential industry changes to prepare for include:

Cashless and contactless payment and services

Many food and beverage companies have been working hard to get on board with
protocols that avoid high-touch interactions. Expect to see more e-receipts, tap and go
and mobile payment technology, digital menu boards and/or disposable paper menus, and
more.

New and improved safety measures

Already, and looking ahead, food and beverage business are putting up plexiglass barriers
at checkout counters and partitions between seating areas. Retail stores are limiting the
number of shoppers who can be inside at a given time, and six-foot spacing decals are
keeping people separated while waiting in a queue. Employers are using temperature
checks or even implementing infrared body temperature scans to detect fevers. Eateries
are removing seating to comply with limited capacity restrictions. And hand sanitizing
stations, masks, and gloves are becoming ubiquitous.

Increase in demand for local food

With consumers more concerned about where their food is coming from, knowing that
menus are relying on locally grown and sourced ingredients can make them feel more
comfortable.

The age of online delivery

Businesses that didn’t have off-site services are shifting to offer delivery, catering, or
pick up in order to make up for the fact that they cannot serve their full capacity on-site.
This could also mean the need for menu changes to reflect easier packaging.
Despite suffering negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the food and
beverage industry in Việt Nam also has many strong growth opportunities. At present,
more and more consumers pay attention to nutritional foods of plant origin, organic foods
or food with healthy ingredients.

A survey conducted by Vietnam Report at the end of 2020 showed due to COVID-19,
half of customers have spent more on foods boosting their immune system and clean
foods. Meanwhile, 63.7 per cent of customers have cut spending on alcohol and beer.
Therefore, businesses in this industry must adjust their production to suit demand.

Food businesses have to increase their production capacity by about 30 per cent, while
beverage businesses must reduce their production to lower than 80 per cent compared to
before the pandemic.
CONCLUSION
Although there is an immediacy to the impacts of COVID‐19 on the food retail and food
service industries, there is a remarkably uncertain projection for the future in a world
where the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus is manageable and we go back to “normal” life. The new
“normal” is unlikely to be the same for the retail/food service level of food markets as life
was in January 2020.
COVID-19 has drastically changed the food and beverage industry, and only time will
tell how far into the future these changes will resonate. In the short-term, consumers still
desire food and beverage service, but in the safest way possible.

The best way to survive and thrive is to keep up with any new trends in the food and
beverage industry, follow health directives from local government, and take cues from
your customers on the best ways to show that you’re doing all you can to ensure their
safety.
REFERENCES
1. WHO (World Health Organization). (2020c). WHO Director-General’s opening
remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 [Online].
 https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-
at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020. Accessed on Mar. 13, 2020.
2. https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/102834.html

3. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report – 174, retrieved from

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200712-
covid-19-sitrep-174.pdf?sfvrsn=5d1c1b2c_2, on 13.07.2020
4. https://www.marketresearch.com/Food-Beverage-c84/
5. https://www.unwto.org/impact-assessment-of-the-covid-19-outbreak-on-
international-tourism
6. https://www.unwto.org/tourism-and-covid-19-unprecedented-economic-
impacts#:~:text=Tourism%20is%20one%20of%20the%20sectors%20most
%20affected%20by%20the,to%20%241.2%20trillion%20in%202020.
7. https://www.americanexpress.com/en-ca/business/trends-and-
insights/articles/covid-19--future-trends-in-food-and-beverage-industry/
8.
USEFUL WORDS
The food and beverage industry has been immensely impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic.
There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a big impact on businesses
around the globe, and the Canadian food and beverage industry is no exception.
Things have only gotten more complicated since the virus continues to spread; and the
government and local health department guidelines are constantly changing so businesses
need to stay on top of the latest rules.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a great impact on many industries around the world,
most notably in the Food and Beverage industry. Otherwise steady courses of food
production and consumption have been heavily disrupted, Forcing countless brands in the
F&B and consumer goods category to deal with the “new normal” in consumption
patterns, perceptions, and concerns from consumers.
This does not mean it is all smooth sailing.
CASE STUDY
Topic: The impacts of Covid-19 on the food and beverage industry
Lecturer: Can Thi Trang Duyen
Student ID: 16041698