Fourteenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

The food and beverage industry is one of the biggest contributors to the Philippine’s economy. It makes up about half of the manufacturing sector and contributes significantly to the country’s GDP. The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes in people’s consumption patterns. This study makes a time-based comparative analysis of pre-pandemic and pandemic consumer attributes and consumer preferences. This study indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic had significant effect on consumer preference for local food and beverage products. There was a decrease in consumer preference for local products and an increase in the preference for imported products from the pre-pandemic to pandemic period. Forecasted trends indicated a decrease in consumer preference for local food and beverage products in the next ten years. It is recommended that local food and beverage products be made more competitive and more acceptable to Filipino consumers.