COVID-19 Impact on Probiotics in Food and Beverage Industry

COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the probiotics industry by increasing the consumption of healthy supplements owing to health benefits associated with them. Quarantine and Extended lockdown has impacted considerably all over world.

However, pandemic has been created an opportunity due to the demand of probiotics. This is mainly due to raised awareness regarding health and increased concern for maintaining immunity and thereby well-being of health.

Probiotics are known as live bacteria and yeasts which are good for digestive system. Probiotics are particularly used to maintain health of gut. Lactobacillus is most commonly used probiotics which is present in fermented food. This strain is particularly preventing diarrhea which mainly caused due to antibiotic infection. Bifidebacterium probiotics is found in dairy products which are particularly used in treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Since there is no clinically approved specific efficacious treatment are available to treat covd-19, preventative measures are carried out by taking precautions and reinforcing immune system. Probiotics are interacts with gut bacteria that is microbiome to strengthen gut health and thereby immune system.

Researcher has stated that, probiotics are associated with prevention and decreasing bacterial and viral infections. Hence, they have shown better demand in this pandemic. Most of the information regarding the strengthening of immune health through probiotics has been demonstrated in animal.

For instance,

In mice, intranasal inoculations of L. reuteri or L. plantarum have been shown protective effects against pneumonia. Further, talking about health effects associated with probiotics in this probiotics, Probiotics strain L. reuteri DSM 17938 has shown better protective nature against upper respiratory tract infections in children aged between 6 months to 3 years old.
In Sweden’ Tetra Park workers, probiotics strain L. reuteri ATCC 55730 showed improved work-place healthiness by decreasing short term weakness caused by respiratory problems.
A recent meta- analysis stated that daily intake of probiotics associated with less antibiotics consumption which is previously related with treatment of common cold. In addition, intakes of probiotics are effective in enriching immune system against common flu and respiratory tract infections.

In February 2020, China's National Health Commission and National Traditional Chinese Medicine Administration recommended the use of probiotics in seriously COVID-19 patients. They reported the role of probiotics in diseases relating to COVID-19.
In the treatment of COVID-19, 2–47% of infected patients mandatory require mechanical ventilation. Two randomized controlled trials showed that critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation with intake of probiotic strains such as live Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, and Enterococcus faecalis has developed considerably less ventilator-associated pneumonia.

In addition, probiotics also used to prevent lower respiratory tract infection (RTI) caused by bacteria. Meta- analysis has conducted research on 2000 patients of RTI. They are treated with probiotics strains which proven helpful to reduce incidence of ventilator-related pneumonia.

Further, this analysis stated that probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum DR7 are proven as effective medication for suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α) in adults. This cytokines has been occurred in many COVID-19 patients.

Thus, probiotics are proven effective healthy supplements in this pandemic to improve immune system. Thus, owing to this healthy effects associated with probiotics, Manufacturers of probiotics are focusing on the production of probiotics. They particularly include strains of lactobacillus and bifidebacterium to their health effects. Thus, probiotics manufacturers are more prone towards production.

Further, many manufacturers of probiotics are reforming their strategies to set on rising consumption and thereby grab opportunity to enhanced focus on health and wellness.

For instance,

In June 2020, BioGaia one of the major probiotics manufacturers has launched biogaia.es a new website in Spanish speaking countries which will further improves awareness related to the use probiotics in the treatment of COVID to strengthening the immune and thereby well-being of health. Further, company has stated that its probiotics strain L. reuteri DSM 17938 is effective for treatment of common cold in children.
The Coronavirus pandemic is also driving an interest of consumer towards purchasing immunity boosting and higher protein content products. Current treatments of COVID-19 are associated with symptoms such as fever and cough. These symptoms may be typical symptoms of seasonal flu or general respiratory illness.

Hence, it is necessary to focus on maintain good immune and digestive system. Thus, probiotics strains such as HN001 and HN019 are clinically proven effective for maintaining gut and immunity health. Thus, demand for probiotics is witnessing better demand in pandemic.

INITIATIVES
ZBiotics has always been manufactured under food-grade sanitary conditions, and now is no different. Importantly, the FDA confirms that there has been NO evidence of the transmission of COVID-19 from food or food packaging. The FDA also confirms that the regular good manufacturing practices (GMPs) used to produce ZBiotics are expected to be appropriate sanitary measures against COVID-19. These include our facility and equipment cleaning and sanitization procedures.

ZBiotics Company
Clorox Co. and Proctor & Gamble Co. have seen sales for their hygienic and cleaning products skyrocket during the COVID-19 pandemic, with both consumer goods giants struggling to keep up with demand.

Clorox Co. and Proctor & Gamble Co.
Clorox, which manufactures disinfectants, vitamins, water filtration devices and other products, has seen sales increase in large part due to increased demand brought on by the novel Coronavirus pandemic. While sales at the company increased overall by 22%, the company’s health and wellness segment sales—which includes its disinfectant products—shot up by 33%. In terms of net cash from operations, Clorox made USD 1.5 billion in its fiscal year 2020, up 56% from the previous year’s take of USD 1 billion.

Pamela Thomas-Graham
Typically, venture-backed biotech companies go public well before they’re generating revenue. For these companies, an IPO is less an exit and more a financing event, aimed at amassing capital for the costly work of R&D and clinical trials. Given the lack of flashiness, most of us probably wouldn’t recognize the names of life sciences companies that tapped public markets this year. There are exceptions, such as last week’s blockbuster debut of CureVac, the German biotech deploying its messenger RNA technology in COVID-19 vaccine development. Overall, however, they’re an obscure bunch.

Joanna Glasner
Sun Genomics aims to make every human’s gut healthy through its direct-to-consumer custom probiotics solution, and thanks to a Series A have more investor dollars to put toward that mission. The company’s flagship product is Floré, a microbiome test and gut probiotics solution that uses whole-genome sequencing to evaluate samples, then recommends personalized products based on users’ unique gut profiles, The company also has a digestive powder product for children called Floré Tots.

Sunny Jain, founder and CEO of Sun Genomics
“Concentric by Ginkgo offers COVID-19 testing at scale to support schools and businesses in their reopening strategies and provides end-to-end, on-site testing services for organizations that seek to make testing available to their communities.”

Ginkgo Bioworks

CONCLUSION
Probiotics manufacturers have been considerably impacted by raised consumption and awareness regarding health in pandemic. Quarantine, social distancing across multiple nations, reduced social gatherings has impacted on the demand easy to consumed healthy supplements. Many of probiotics manufacturers are taking significant initiatives for providing strains of probiotics to higher extent. These manufacturers have been seeing a constant sale in their products and stability in demand during the coming months of this fiscal year.

Probiotics is majorly consumed as healthy supplement demanded by health conscious people and in treatment of COVID to avoid symptoms associated with antibiotics. There have been vast changes in the consumption pattern among pet food which are particularly “at-home” has been gaining popularity. Though, there has been a stable growth in demand, the purchasing behavior among consumers have greatly disrupted the distribution channels for these products.

Also, owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a growing awareness among people; the demand for immunity booster through probiotics has been increased. Thus, the impact of pandemic has been better on probiotics industry across the globe and hence, an enhanced growth can be observed in the in industry during coming years, with many opportunities of new products development for the manufacturers.

Impact of pandemic on probiotics industry has providing an opportunity to manufacturers to provides strains with safety standards. These strains are manufactured with maintaining safety and security of employees, suppliers, retail partners.

In addition, e-commerce is providing better opportunity to the Probiotics manufacturers to reach out consumer with safety standards.

For instance,

According to KuRunData, 1,725 Chinese internet users aged between 20 to 60 had bought 64% of lactobacillus strain of probiotics and 61% of purchasing mode of this probiotics was online.
Impact on pandemic on probiotics industry has providing opportunity to the manufacturers to provides number of probiotics strains with safety standards. These strains are manufactured with maintaining safety and security of employees, suppliers, retail partners. In addition, e-commerce is providing better opportunity to the probiotics manufacturers to reach out consumer with safety standards.

For instance,

According to KuRunData, 1,725 Chinese internet users that are 61% of them between 20 to 60 age group purchased probiotics via online. Thus, it reflects that adults are more prone towards online purchasing of probiotics.
Therefore, e-commerce is providing better opportunity to probiotics manufacturers to reach out customer. This reflects that probiotics industry is witnessing a stable growth with a demand in better terms in the pandemic.