Weight-loss Pill Approval Set to Accelerate Food Product Overhauls

More Americans are expected to try the drugs as a pill rather than as a shot because the medication will be cheaper and many patients are hesitant to inject themselves.

Eli Lilly's rival pill form medication is expected to gain approval from regulators in 2026.

Food Companies Will Be Forced To Make Changes

Major food brands including Conagra Brands and Nestle are already dealing with shifts in consumer tastes toward higher protein and smaller portions.

This trend change is due to the popularity of weight-loss injections. Analysts believe widespread GLP-1 adoption could mean long-term changes in demand.

To cope, businesses are promoting products with more protein, tweaking labeling to say they are GLP-1 friendly and working with large retailers to better market products.

"We are seeing people cut (back) specifically on salty snacks, liquor, soda, drinks, and bakery snacks, and more focused on protein and fiber." said JP Frossard, consumer foods analyst at Rabobank.

Frossard added, "We expect food companies and also restaurants to cater to this audience that is growing,"

"We'll see more access to those drugs and a higher addressable market for products that have in mind the needs of the GLP-1 user," they said.

Novo's Groundbreaking Pill

Andrew Rocco, stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research, called Novo's approval "groundbreaking" because the pill would be cheaper than the injectable version of Wegovy and deliver the same weight-loss metrics.

"High protein, smaller portions, and functional food innovation will be necessary," Rocco said.

Some 40% of American adults are obese, U.S. government data shows, and around 12% of adults say they currently take GLP-1 drugs, according to a poll published last month by health policy research organization KFF.

Households using GLP-1 medications cut spending at grocery stores by 5.3% and fast-food restaurants by about 8% on average.

This was according to a Cornell Research study published last week that used purchase data collected by Numerator from about 150,000 households.

Those reductions largely faded when households stopped using the medication.

Grocery Store And Fast Food Spending Is Declining

"The decreases we saw will likely show up in a much broader slice of the population" because of weight-loss pills, said Sylvia Hristakeva, one of the study's co-authors.

She said the cheaper price and ease of use of pills will also make it likely that people use the medication for much longer.

While the Cornell study found modest increases to spending only in a handful of categories like yogurt and fresh fruit, companies are taking note.

GLP-1 Friendly Foods

Earlier this year, Conagra started labeling some of its Healthy Choice frozen meals with high protein and fiber as "GLP-1 friendly." A spokesperson said those meals are selling faster than rival products making similar claims on their packaging.

The company plans to introduce new Healthy Choice recipes with the same labeling in May and work with grocers like Walmart and Kroger to market them, the spokesperson said.

French dairy company Danone, which makes Oikos Greek yogurt, said in a statement that it is seeing double-digit growth in its high-protein offerings, a trend that has accelerated with the adoption of GLP-1 medications.

Nestle, the world's biggest food company, has also introduced new frozen meals that cater specifically to GLP-1 users, called Vital Pursuit. The Swiss company did not respond to a request for comment.

Fast-casual Mexican chain Chipotle on Tuesday added a "High Protein Menu" that features, among other items, a single cup of chicken or steak.

In recent months, some restaurant chains including Olive Garden have added menu items for smaller, cheaper portions.

Noodles & Company marketing head Stephen Kennedy said such menu additions were about offering guests "options that satisfy without going overboard."

This story was reported by Jessica DiNapoli and Waylon Cunningham in New York, Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Jamie Freed) at Reuters.