Shifting GLP-1-related consumer food spending creates CPG opportunities

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Shifting GLP-1-related consumer food spending creates CPG opportunities

14 Jan 2025

Mari Rydings

Mari Rydings is a versatile content creator, editor and marketer with experience developing dynamic, results-driven materials for B2B and B2C audiences. As the editorial director for Avant Food Media, she leads the day-to-day editorial operations for the company’s print and digital magazines, newsletters and social media platforms. Outside of work, she loves reading, hiking, putting together jigsaw puzzles and spending time with her husband and their twin daughters.

CHICAGO — Consumers taking glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medicines specifically for weight loss make fewer food and beverage purchases during their first three months of use, with spending returning closer to benchmark levels by the end of year one. That’s according to “The Ripple Effect of GLP-1s, Today and In the Future,” a new report from Circana that explores GLP-1s’ impact on consumer spending.

The findings provide CPG companies with actionable insights to develop personalized products and services that support consumers’ sustainable lifestyle changes and long-term weight management success.

The report revealed that consumers who take GLP-1 medicines exclusively for weight loss tend to shift their spending on food purchases both in- and out-of-home during the early months. This shift can present short- and long-term product development and marketing opportunities for food and beverage manufacturers in grocery and foodservice.

“GLP-1s potentially impact not just what products people buy, but also their choice of where they buy them,” said DJ Joyner, consultant, complete consumer, for Circana. Joyner and his colleague, Sally Lyons Wyatt, global EVP and chief advisor, shared their insights during a webinar that took an in-depth look at the report’s results. “GLP-1-using households increase their spending relative to non-users across all food channels, including value grocery stores, club stores and drug stores.”

When dining out during the first year, consumers shifted their spending away from QSR restaurants, opting instead for fast-casual and mid-scale venues.

“Interestingly, we also saw GLP-1 users shifting some of their out-of-home dining spending toward the grocery retail channel, where they are picking up pre-built foods,” Joyner said.

Circana research found that categories such as high-protein, ready-to-eat meals and portion-controlled snacks are well-positioned to meet the specific needs of GLP-1 users, presenting opportunities for growth in both traditional and emerging product segments.

The report also suggested that refining their innovation pipelines, developing personalized solutions, and creating targeted messaging that resonates with the preferences of GLP-1 consumers — increased focus on protein, vegetables and fruits, along with reduced consumption of sugar, carbs and sodium —CPG companies can foster long-term loyalty while contributing to consumers’ broader health-and-wellness journeys.

“If you don’t have a strategy around GLP-1, or just the consumer weight loss journey in general, you need to get that done,” Lyons Wyatt advised. “We’re at the beginning of a revolution that’s going to impact not just CPG, but many sectors around the world.”

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