The number of US adults taking GLP-1 drugs surged in 2025 and shows no sign of slowing in the new year, and while the medications are lowering obesity rates, their impact on food and beverage sales hasn’t been as bad as the industry once feared.
A recent survey by the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index found the number of Americans taking semaglutide or tirzepatide drugs for weight loss more than doubled in the past year and a half with 12.4% of respondents taking the medications compared to 5.8% in February 2024. It also revealed a corresponding drop in the country’s obesity rate from 39.9% three years ago to 37% in 2025.
When GLP-1 agonists were approved for obesity treatment in the US in 2021, the packaged food industry feared the worst – that sales would plummet as those taking the medications cut their consumption by upwards of 1,000 calories a day. But, that didn’t happen, much to the industry’s relief.
However, GLP-1 user spending on food and beverage did shift, according to research by Circana – pushing retailers and manufacturers to protect their market share by adapting product selection and advertising to align with the fast-evolving needs of health-conscious consumers.
In this episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s Soup-To-Nuts podcast, Circana Global Executive Vice President and Chief Advisor for Consumer Goods and Foodservice Insights at Circana Sally Lyons Wyatt shares how the rise in use of GLP-1 medications is reshaping the food and beverage landscape, including what categories, claims, ingredients and channels are growing and which are declining. She also offers suggestions for meeting the needs of consumers across their weight loss journey, including those taking the agonists, those cycling off and those who are managing their weight without prescription drugs.
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The rising popularity of GLP-1s
According to Lyons Wyatt, the rise of GLP-1 medications is a huge moment for the CPG industry. And while she acknowledges it may feel like the drugs exploded overnight, their popularity has actually grown steadily for years – giving market analysts time to map their impact and fast-thinking food manufacturers and retailers a chance to test different responses.
“How consumers have embraced GLP-1 medications vastly changed over the last, call it, five years,” as consumer awareness of their weight loss side effect grew, Lyons Wyatt notes.
She explains that the drugs initially were prescribed for long-term management of diseases, such as diabetes, but according to Circana research a whopping 78% of users say they take GLP-1s now for weight loss – which is up 41 points from 2021.
Who uses GLP-1s depends in part on why they are taking them, which, of course, impacts how food manufacturers and retailers should respond. According to Lyons Wyatt, GLP-1 users’ motivated weight loss tend to be more affluent, while those who take to manage disease states tend to have larger households and come from the lower and middle income range.
No matter why they take GLP-1 drugs, Lyons Wyatt notes that these consumers remain high-value for manufacturers and retailers, given how they spend both before and after starting treatment.
“Consumers taking GLP-1 medications over-index, in general, across purchasing food and beverage,” before they start taking the medication, she said. Once they go on GLP-1s, their appetites are curbed and they spend about 1.6 index points less on retail food and beverage. But because they start from a higher place, they remain high value.
GLP-1s are an ‘and’ moment for food brands and retailers
Lyons Wyatt notes this dip is not an “oh no” moment for food manufacturers or retailers – rather she says it is an “and” moment in which savvy stakeholders can win back volume, market share and maybe even new consumers.
“I do not feel this is an ‘oh no’ moment, at all. I think this is an ‘and’ moment and an opportunity for CPG manufacturers to lean in. This is such a great opportunity to assess portfolios and figure out” what products meet the needs of GLP-1 users and if they should make adjustments in mix or marketing to appeal to more health-conscious consumers, she said.
Where are there ‘easy wins’ for food manufacturers and retailers?
Lyons Wyatt notes some categories and channels will be easier for industry players to win in than others.
For example, she noted that deli and produce have both gained share among GLP-1 users.
Deli is appealing because it offers more portion control than pre-packaged options that may be too large for GLP-1 users to finish before they spoil. And produce is doing well because it offers high-fiber options and whole foods that health care providers direct GLP-1 users to eat.
Other winners include snack bars, yogurt, sports drinks and carbonated beverages with lower or no sugar to help with hydration but without ‘empty’ calories.
Food service, c-stores emerge as unexpected winners
Where GLP-1 users shop is shifting and creating new opportunities for brands and retailers across channels – some of which might be counterintuitive.
Circana’s research shows GLP-1 users tend to spend more at restaurants and food service than before they took the medications, which Lyons Wyatt attributed to needing viable, convenient options for people in the same household and a reluctance or inability to cook multiple meals each night.
GLP-1 users also are gravitating to convenience stores where they can buy more single-portion products – including both healthy and indulgent options. For example, if they want a treat, they can buy one pretzel rather than a large multi-serve format at retail that they might not finish.
“The power of one is something we found permeating not just in convenience and fast-food,” but food operators that offer smaller meals or tasting menus with single-bites of multiple dishes also are winning with this group, she said.
What categories face challenges?
For all the opportunity created by GLP-1 medications, there are some categories suffering significant declines.
“We see some declines in dip mixes and salad dressing and those things that have high saturated fat” or sugar, and alcohol, Lyons Wyatt said.
But even within those categories she said there is opportunity.
“Everybody wants to reward themselves” and so players in these categories can benefit by talking about moderation or the extent to which they pair well with products that GLP-1 users want, Lyons Wyatt said.
GLP-1 users are a subset of a much larger health-conscious consumer group
Clearly there is significant opportunity in catering to the needs of GLP-1 users, buy Lyons Wyatt also cautions brands not to pigeonhole innovations to overly focus on the medications. Rather, she encourages brands and retailers to think about how they can meet the needs of this group and the health-conscious consumers more broadly at the same time.
She advises brands to think about reformulation or innovation to support longevity, which includes weight management but which has broader appeal.
Likewise, she said, brands might not need to reformulate or develop new products – they might just need to reposition existing products. So, play up the benefits – be it key ingredients, portion control, functional benefits – of existing products in marketing and on social media, she said.
Next steps
As Circana research shows, GLP-1 medications are clearly changing the way Americans eat, but it isn’t all bad news for the packaged food industry. Rather, as Lyon Wyatt notes, there are many new opportunities for brands and retailers who are ready to adapt.
For those seeking more guidance on how to adapt, Circana has gathered insights on GLP-1s and their impact on consumer spending at an easy to navigate hub on its website.
