As restrictions on travel and social gatherings are being lifted and offices and educational institutions are open, out-of-home consumption is coming back after the third wave of COVID-19.
In the first half of February, sales of ice-creams, packaged snacks, biscuits and large packs of food products targeted at hotels, restaurants and caterers (HoReCa) have surged by double digits compared with a year earlier. The recovery now is faster than that after the earlier two waves of the pandemic.
Bizom, a sales automation firm that transacts with 7.5 million retail stores and tracks orders by neighbourhood stores, reported that the sale of commodities such as edible oil and packaged atta expanded nearly 28% while packaged foods grew 18% in the first fortnight of February.
Even in comparison with the same period of 2020, when the pandemic was yet to grip the country, categories like ice-creams have grown, while packaged snacks and confectionery have reached more than 85% of the then sales, as per industry estimates.
R.S. Sodhi, MD, Amul, said that the recovery of out-of-home consumption is very fast this time around. He said ice-cream sales had gone up by 25% and HoReCa had packed in double digits in the first half of February, over the same period of 2020.
Hemant Malik, divisional chief executive (foods) at ITC Ltd., said out-of-home consumption would likely gain further momentum with the decline in the number of COVID cases and easing of restrictions.
There has been strong growth in categories such as snacks, beverages, and frozen snacks, he said. Eating out took a toll in January, with sales falling by almost 70% from the previous month due to a rapid rise in COVID cases, companies said.
This third wave impacted mobility and social events like marriages, as several states brought back restrictions to control the spread of the virus. But with the number of COVID cases dropping quickly and fewer people falling seriously ill compared with the earlier waves, restrictions were relaxed progressively from the last week of January, and people became more confident in venturing out.