Lisa Kelly, Sales Executive, Food Ingredients discusses some of the challenges of COVID-19 and the food ingredients supply chain.
As we all strive to return to some degree of normality many countries are easing restrictions. However, the threat of a second wave and the further disruption it will cause is daunting. The loss of life has been a modern-day tragedy. Lives have been changed forever with businesses desperately counting the costs. What the current pandemic has taught us as a business is that reliable, robust and a multiplicity of supply chain partners are essential to survival. The impact of COVID-19 will be felt for many years to come and in truth, everyday life is unlikely to return to its previous form. From our daily lifestyles and habits to how we shop, and even dress are adjusting. Little is known about the COVID-19 virus and we continue to learn and adapt. Equally, businesses are having to re-evaluate how they operate, this includes reviewing different approaches to sourcing raw materials.
Challenging times
Food is a necessity and throughout the crisis, companies have had to ramp up their production and, in many cases, restructure. Stockpiling in large quantities by some consumers resulted in bare supermarket shelves in the early days of the pandemic. Supply chain models were tested to the limit and ultimately reset. It has been challenging, Irish consumers spent a record €2.8bn on groceries in the 12 weeks according to the market research company, Kantar Worldpanel. This was €250m more than the same period last year. Food businesses suddenly found themselves with new operating procedures while still abiding by governments social distancing measures for the safety of their staff. We heard from some food companies that aside from keeping up with the demand they were struggling to source key ingredients.
Providing vital raw materials
Here at NCC Food Ingredients years of global sourcing experience has paid off. With the increased and varied demand of customers being met on a daily and in some cases, hourly basis. We are proud of the assistance and support that we continue to provide our customers. This has allowed them to keep their production up and running.
When many distilleries adapted their product lines to produce hand wash sanitiser, we were able to provide ethanol, fragrances among other materials.
Difficulty in sourcing key ingredients?
Until a vaccine is found to eliminate COVID-19 we will face daily challenges in the food industry. At NCC Food Ingredients we have the experience and expertise. We ensure that our customers get the ingredients and raw materials that they require to keep production going. If you are finding it difficult to source any key ingredients, we can assist. Our customer base ranges from international producers of foods and beverages to small niche artisan creators of fine foods. For further information fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch.
