When you're discussing the state of the food & beverage industry, the pandemic isn't just the elephant in the room. It's the elephant who's sitting on your lap and sticking its trunk in your ear - impossible to even pretend to ignore. As America and the world enter the second year of the pandemic, the food & beverage industry is struggling to come to terms with it. The crisis has reversed some trends, accelerated others and created still others from scratch. As the industry works through the crisis, with the end hopefully in sight due to vaccines being administered, it remains to be seen which of the lessons will carry over afterward. Arguably the greatest disruption was the profound changes in demand among consumers forced to shelter at home. Demand shifted away from foodservice, as consumers found themselves having to prepare most or all of their meals at home. Nonperishable center-store items, long on the decline, saw a sudden surge in popularity for several reasons: People who were suddenly faced with cooking at home needed staples; panic buying took hold in the pandemic's early stages; people turn to comfort foods in uncertain times.
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