Weight-loss drugs are taking a big bite out of the food business.
People taking meds like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy — originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes — spend less on groceries and have a healthier assortment in their basket, according to a new study on shopping behaviors by analytics firm Grocery Doppio.
This is because their appetites have shrunk and their taste buds have changed.
The biggest losers are snacks and confectionery makers, which saw people on weight-loss meds buy 52% less of their products.
They also purchased 47% less baked goods; 28% less soda and sugary beverages; 17% less booze; and 13% less processed foods.
Conversely, weight-drug consumers increased their purchases of healthy foods like lean proteins.
Lauren Cobello, a Syracuse-based publicist, who has lost 45 pounds in six months while taking a generic version of Zepbound called Tirzepatide, said her “shopping habits have changed drastically.”
She has protein shakes for breakfast and lunch and eats a high-protein dinner.
Overall she consumes a lot more protein and vegetables, drinks little to no alcohol and doesn’t indulge in snacks.
“My budget has shrunk a couple hundred dollars per month but I am eating healthier,” Cobello, 43, said.
Before she used to eat out a lot and oftentimes it was fast food.
“I crave different foods,” Cobello said. “Foods that are high in fat make me feel gross after I eat them so I crave healthier foods that are lighter.”
“I get full faster so when I’m thinking of what to put in my body I want quality ingredients,” she added.
A total of 1.7% of Americans were prescribed a semaglutide medication last year, research shows.
These drugs mimic GLP-1 — the hormone the body naturally produces after eating — so users feel full faster and longer.
Among those taking a weight-loss drug, 97% decreased their grocery spending an average of 11%.
Sarasota, Florida, communications pro Elise Ramer, 42, who has been on Mounjaro for 19 months and lost more than 60 pounds, said she has reallocated her grocery spending “to other foods, like protein shakes, higher-protein foods and less junk food.”
Rather than indulging her carbohydrate addiction to bagels, waffles and ice cream, Ramer’s refrigerator is now stocked with Fairlife shakes, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and hard cheeses.
