Ozempic is changing the way people eat. Snack companies are paying close attention – CBC

From Coca-Cola to yogurt-maker Danone, companies are monitoring the drug’s impact

Jul 04, 2024

Raegan Sather says her appetite has completely changed — and so has her approach to grocery shopping — since she started taking the diabetes drug Ozempic for weight loss two years ago.

Sather, a marketing professional in Edmonton, buys fresh produce, fresh meat and high-protein foods to supplement the popular medication. But the biggest change is that she now skips right past the snack aisle.

The drug “completely eliminated any snacking,” said Sather — doing away with her previous evening habit of eating popcorn, for instance. “I had dinner and that was it.”

With a growing number of North American adults using Ozempic and other popular, injectable drugs like Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound for weight loss, food companies are carefully watching to see how the craze is impacting their bottom line — and cooking up ways to market their products toward people on those medications.

Nestle has launched a line of prepared meals aimed at patients taking GLP-1 drugs (the drug class to which Ozempic and Wegovy belong), while executives at yogurt company Danone and beverage giant Coca-Cola have touted high-protein, low-sugar products, also to appeal to GLP-1 users.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/snack-companies-ozempic-changing-shopping-habits-1.7253087