Its chief executive officer and president, Fabrice Bohin, told FoodNavigator the company is witnessing a dramatic change in the mindset of its customers, who are increasingly concerned about the origin of the products that they buy, its ‘naturality’ and ‘sustainability value proposition’.

“I can really see a paradigm shift​,” he said. “They [manufacturers] are more concerned about trust in the supplier and its ability to have been able to cope during this crisis. Also, the type of raw material it is using, where it comes from and its traceability are becoming even more important than before.”​

Algaia is focussed on producing specialist seaweed ingredients. But Bohin said COVID-19 had shifted the dynamics of the whole marketplace.

“When they were using products from Chinese origin, they are looking for an alternative now. They want to really be able to trust the supply chain and the traceability [of ingredients].”​

Manufacturers, he said, are also ready to pay more for more reliable supply chains and greater levels of transparency. “Clearly they want their products to be more and more coming from established, developed countries having the type of regulation that they have themselves.”​

The coronavirus era, meanwhile, will mean consumers paying even more attention to the quality, provenance, health credentials, and even packaging, of food.   

“I think consumers are going to be even more careful about what they eat,”​ he said. “They may eat less, but with higher quality. They will be extremely careful about the health benefits that food can bring. People are going to look at food and think ‘how do I make sure that what I eat is good for me?’”​