BANGKOK -- In 2020, Nicolas Vivin and Samantha Proyrungtong were running Vivin, a wholesale business in Bangkok supplying chefs in high-end hotels and restaurants with imported ingredients such as French cheeses and Italian meats, jams, pastas and olive oil. Then came COVID-19.
The border closures and tighter customs controls accompanying the pandemic cut off supplies of the products their clients depended on, and lockdowns led to widespread restaurant closures. Together, the two factors cost Vivin 90% of its business.
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