US households with GLP-1 users cut their grocery spending

The news: Households with at least one GLP-1 user slashed their grocery spending by approximately 6% within six months of medication adoption, according to a recent study by Cornell University and Numerator.

The impact was even more stark among higher-income households—defined as earning over $125,000 annually. Their grocery spending fell by almost 9%.

Cornell and Numerator analyzed a dataset linking survey responses on GLP-1 adoption and timing with transaction data from a representative US household panel to inform the study.

Digging into the data: People spent less on groceries overall, and a large driver was fewer purchases of calorie-dense, processed foods.

• Spending on chips and other savory snacks declined by 11%, for example.
• Purchases of sweet bakery items decreased by nearly 7%.

The impact of GLP-1 use extends beyond just calorie-dense items, with most food categories experiencing declines in purchases. The only exceptions are yogurt and fresh produce, which experienced an increase in spending among consumers taking GLP-1s for weight loss.

Why it matters: An estimated 15.5 million US adults have used or are currently using GLP-1s for weight loss, according to Gallup. And consumers have made it clear that their demand for these drugs isn’t going away—some 26% plan to take a weight loss drug to achieve their 2025 New Year’s resolution goals, per a recent Tebra survey.

This presents an opportunity for consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and food sellers to introduce new products and retool their marketing strategies with a health-focused spin.

Our take: Food retailers need to adapt to GLP-1 users’ changing buying habits.

Food sellers and CPG marketers should keep the following in mind in their messaging:

Focus on portion sizes and their food’s health benefits. Smaller meals can satiate consumers on GLP-1s, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less nutrient-dense. Since consumers on GLP-1s can lose muscle mass, food sellers and CPG companies offering or introducing smaller portion sizes should highlight ingredients their products contain—like protein—to let consumers know their specific nutritional needs will still be met.

Emphasize their food’s expected effects. Positioning food products as a companion to GLP-1s can offer consumers a more comprehensive, holistic approach to their weight loss goals. Nutritional giant Nestlé recently did just that with a new pre-meal drink under its Boost brand that claims to promote a natural GLP-1 response to meals.

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