America's anti-obesity craze, courtesy of GLP-1-based weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, produced by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, continues to create anxiety among the food-industrial complex after a new study cited by Morgan Stanley shows households on the weight-loss drugs are spending less at the supermarket.
Market research provider Numerator's new survey shows households using GLP-1 drugs decreased monthly supermarket spending by 6% to 9% versus non-GLP-1 households.
Many GLP-1 households increased purchases of fish, vegetables, and yogurt while sales of snacks, pastries, and ice cream fell.
MS noted the Numerator survey from January used data from more than 90,000 households, with 12.3% of households indicating they were on GLP-1 drugs, up from 11.4% in October.
The main driver of GLP-1 has been weight-loss treatment, and MS pointed out more and more consumers are paying out of pocket for the drug.
Last year, we asked if America's anti-obesity craze courtesy of GLP-1 drugs would trigger a "food revolution." And quickly, Wall Street analysts took notice by downgrading some junk food companies, such as Krispy Kreme, citing GLP-1 impacts.
Last August, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said shoppers who pick up appetite-suppressing medications at in-store pharmacies are spending less money on food:
"We still expect food, consumables, and health and wellness primarily due to the popularity of some GLP-1 drugs to grow as a percent of total in the back half."
And portion sizes at Thanksgiving 2023 were much smaller for the folks who could cough up $1,000 per month for the weight-loss drugs.
In a separate note, Bank of America analyst Geoff Meacham recently said weight loss will trigger a "wardrobe replacement cycle."
Despite the decline in GLP-1 mentions on earnings calls...
Wall Street is still piling into Goldman's GLP-1 Obesity drug basket to capitalize on slimming down Americans while trimming companies with potential downstream risks related to obesity drugs, as indicated by the Goldman Sachs Global HLC GLP Risk index.
Make America Skinny (again).
Hmm.
Maybe consumers should ditch vegetable oils.