Pandemic effect: Indian consumers now more conscious of health, fitness and holistic nutrition, says survey

Around 94 per cent of Indians are worried about their family’s health against 82 per cent globally, while 52 per cent of respondents think changes in their approach to mental wellbeing will persist beyond COVID-19, globally it is just 39 per cent as per EY India’s report ’The Sunrise Consumer Health and Nutrition Sector’.

PTI

February 18, 2022 / 12:52 IST

Representative image.

Indian consumers are willing to spend more on fitness classes and activities, consuming natural foods, health supplements, and following specialised diets with the COVID-19 pandemic creating 'the biggest seismic shift’ taking health and immunity to the centre stage, according to a survey by consultancy firm EY India.

Around 94 per cent of Indians are worried about their family’s health against 82 per cent globally, while 52 per cent of respondents think changes in their approach to mental wellbeing will persist beyond COVID-19, globally it is just 39 per cent as per EY India’s report 'The Sunrise Consumer Health and Nutrition Sector'.

"While some see this as a short-term phenomenon, we expect this phase to catalyse a larger acceleration in the propensity towards personal health, hygiene, fitness and holistic nutrition,” EY India National Leader Consumer Product & Retail Sector Angshuman Bhattacharya said in a statement.

European and Asian nations have adopted functional foods and supplements, the Indian consumer is still predominantly showing a preference for "better for you" foods and home remedies, he added.

"Ayurveda and herbal are increasingly becoming ’back to roots’ answers to modern problems,” Bhattacharya noted.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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