Summary of GLP-1’s effect on eating habits
- GLP-1 drugs have hit the European market
- Data suggests that consumers are reducing consumption of key foods
- GLP-1 users are making fewer dietary changes than others trying to lose weight
- GLP-1 users’ diets are becoming less strict due to more GLP-1 friendly foods
- While users are snacking less, GLP-1s will have an overall minimal effect on snacking sales
GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have taken the food industry by storm. Radically changing how people eat, they have lowered appetites for sweet flavours and alcohol, and drawn consumers inexorably towards smaller portions.
While most prominent in the US, they have now reached Europe. Already, they are changing the way people eat.
Consumer habits change following GLP-1 boom
GLP-1 drugs are now available in several European markets, including France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the UK.
In the UK, GLP-1s have made a real dent. According to Kantar, users have almost doubled over the past year, from 2.3% to 4.1% of households.
In Germany, around 8% of consumers have used prescription weight-loss drugs to manage weight in the last 12 months and would use them again, according to Mintel. A further 15% have not used the drugs, but are interested in doing so.
These drugs have affected eating patterns, albeit in unexpected ways. Europeans on GLP-1s are actually less likely to change their eating habits than other consumers trying to lose weight, according to Euromonitor.
This year has also seen the lowest share of European consumers trying to lose weight or worried about weight-loss. Carl Quash III, head of snacks and nutrition at Euromonitor, suggests that this could also be linked to the success of GLP-1s.
Fewer GLP-1 users are on strict diets compared with last year, Quash explains.
This can be “an outcome of the rising assortment of GLP-1-friendly market offers, mute effects for certain individuals, or cycling of individuals on treatment. This coincides nicely with the survey finding that more than one in three Europeans taking GLP-1s say that they enjoy trying new tastes despite some side effects warning of change of taste”.
Nevertheless, despite this increase in options, more GLP-1 users are decreasing the amount that they’re snacking compared to last year, aligning with the global decline in snacking.
In the UK, consumption of certain foods has decreased among users, according to Kantar. Sixty-three percent of GLP-1 users have reduced consumption of pizza, 74% of takeaways, and 23% of alcohol. Two thirds snack less. On the other hand, however, consumption of vitamins and minerals has increased.
How is this affecting food sales?
Despite the clear alterations GLP-1 drugs have made on consumer eating habits, these have not been significant enough to make a dent in sales, at least in the snacking category.
“At the moment, GLP-1 usage poses a minimal impact to snacking sales, especially in comparison to broader macroeconomic issues like volatile inflation in parts of Europe, high costs-of-living, and compliance costs among others,” Quash explains.
Nevertheless, this could all change in the coming years. “Come 2026, when the drug’s patent is expected to expire and lower cost generics will enter the market, we are expecting the adoption and impact of GLP-1s to see greater potential.”
However, sales in the UK have been impacted, although for some surprising categories. “When looking at the GLP-1 users actual shopping behaviour we can see that a multitude of categories have been deprioritised including some arguably less expected categories such as peanut butter”, explains a spokesperson for Kantar.
