Slimming drugs, so the food industry designs 'Glp-1 friendly' products
The very rapid spread of certain active ingredients that curb appetite and comfort food cravings puts a share of revenue at risk, and companies are already creating products with more compatible formulations and labels
No more food education campaigns. Rapidly reducing the excessive consumption of unhealthy food, and significantly changing food & beverage purchases, could be the Glp-1 (Glucagon Like Peptide-1) receptor agonist drugs, such as Ozempic, Zepbound, Mounjaro, Amycretin and Wegovy, born to fight diabetes but proven to be very effective for slimming.
In the first twelve months, Italians who took them increased their spending on fruit, vegetables and protein foods by double digits and halved their spending on products with a higher intake of sugars, carbohydrates and salt, estimates the Coop Italia research office, reducing the overall amount of the receipt by 1.1 per cent.
A phenomenon that is destined to be amplified due to the unstoppable spread of these drugs. The Aifa 2024 report records an annual growth of 78 per cent in white prescriptions (these drugs are only free for diabetics, ed.) and a sharp increase in the trade of illegal drugs. According to the Coop research office, expenditure in 2024 amounted to 115 million, more than twice as much as a year earlier.
Constant intake of these drugs erases the desire and pleasure of eating andit is precisely the psychological effects that most concern the global food system, since, by regulating the brain mechanisms related to craving and the reward system, they not only drive people away from food but also rewrite their tastes and preferences.
Those who use them lose interest in many foods and find many ultra-processed foods (such as snacks and ready meals) that they once adored 'nauseating'. But above all, they buy less: -6% of food expenditure in the first six months, says a recent study by Cornell University. And they frequent bars and restaurants less. A phenomenon that the Wall Street Journal has correlated with the Ozempic boom. And so, while the pharmaceutical industry grinds results, the food & beverage industry sees them as a market killer.
"For the food industry, the success of Glp-1s represents both a revolution and an opportunity. Although we are still in the early days and the scope is not yet predictable, the direction is clear as is the fact that no food and beverage category is immune,' reads a report by Rabobank.
The new shopping behaviour will push torethink assortments, redesign shops and tweak pricing. But above all to remodel the offer and products, focusing on foods and supplements that support metabolism and microbiota and help combat mental stress, on health foods with a high service content (single-serving ready meals, high-protein bars) and on functional products with a high nutritional density and 'short' labels and explicit references to Glp-1, points out a Niq study.
