Weight loss drugs like GLP-1s are rapidly reshaping how Americans think about appetite, health and food – forcing CPG brands to reconsider everything from formulation to front-of-pack messaging.
GLP-1s have moved from medical breakthrough to market power. GLP-1 use continues to rise with 12.4% of US consumers now on the weight loss drug, up from 5.8% in 2024, according to a recent white paper by The Hartman Group. That growth represents 31 million current users, with 137 million eligible out of 258 million US adults.
Adoption remains bifurcated between affluent consumers and seriously ill patients who have access to the drug. But regardless of entry point, GLP-1 users are no longer marginal, according to Hartman. The report argues GLP-1s are structurally changing the consumer base that food and beverage brands design for.
The behavioral shifts are measurable, according to the paper. Among GLP-1 users, 73% say they feel better, 72% report eating healthier foods and beverages, and 71% say they eat less. Household impact follows this trend, too. Grocery spending declines 5.3%, savory snack spending drops 10.1% and quick-service restaurant spending falls 8.0%. Declines are strongest in processed and impulse categories, while fresh fruit and vegetable purchases rise, per the paper.
Hartman links this to reduced “food noise,” leading to planned, intentional, lower-volume purchasing. For volume-driven categories, that is structural pressure, not a temporary dip.
A cultural reframe: From willpower to biology
The shift in how GLP-1 users approach foods is not just behavioral, it is cultural, according to Hartman.
Sixty-seven percent of GLP-1 users say the drugs changed how they think about weight management. Meanwhile, 62% of all US. adults report actively managing weight, regardless of drug use. GLP-1 has shifted the idea that weight loss is part of a willpower narrative and toward a biology- and science-first framing centered on the gut-brain axis.
Appetite, cravings and metabolism are increasingly understood as physiological phenomena rather than moral ones, according to the report. That reframing raises scrutiny on foods perceived as contradictory to metabolic health, like ultra-processed foods.
At the same time, consumers are converging around shared wellness priorities. Seventy-five percent prioritize protein, 69% fiber, 56% probiotics or prebiotics, 55% Omega-3s and 56% gut health, according to Hartman. Benefit clusters center on satiety and glucose regulation (resistant starches and fiber), muscle maintenance (complete proteins), gut healing (fermented foods) and inflammation reduction (fatty acids, antioxidants and phytochemicals).
Hartman’s conclusion: “intrinsic functionality” is the new premium. Benefits must be naturally present, not bolted on.
Packaging at a crossroads
As brands respond, packaging strategy is becoming a flashpoint.
Much of the early GLP-1 packaging reaction was “reactive trend adoption,” explained Sean Bisceglia, CEO of packaging design firm PV&COHO. In past cycles, popular diets like Atkins, Weight Watchers, gluten-free and Whole30 prompted brands to add badges aligned to these diet movements and sales rose, he said.
But GLP-1, he argues, is fundamentally different.
“It is a medicine,” Bisceglia said. “There’s absolutely zero regulation that makes [a product] GLP-1 friendly.”
Unlike prior diet frameworks, GLP-1 has no regulatory definition that governs on-pack claims. “It’s not reacting on a label to a diet or salt or kosher or gluten free or caloric intake,” he said. “It’s like a drug that, by the way, we don’t even know the full side effects yet.”
Early GLP-1 drugs established efficacy, and highlighted gastrointestinal side effects
Exenatide was the first approved GLP-1 medication by FDA in 2005 for type 2 diabetes patients. A 2015 study found side effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists include gastrointestinal symptoms, mainly nausea. Semaglutide drugs like Ozempic and Exenatide were shown to deliver comparable results, according to research from the American Diabetes Association.
For that reason, when clients propose GLP-1 badges, PV&COHO often pushes back. The firm often says “You shouldn’t do this,” he said, noting internal tension within large organizations weighing potential sales lift against legal and reputational risk.
Hartman’s findings underscore the stakes. While 27% of GLP-1 users say they choose foods designed for GLP-1 users, the report warns that over-medicalized positioning risks alienating non-users and replicating past health-washing failures. Reformulation, not messaging is the safer path.
Attributes over badges
Both perspectives converge on one recommendation: highlight GLP-1 applicability through attributes, not drug alignment.
Bisceglia advises brands to focus on protein, fiber, caloric density and portion size. These “different signals” may resonate with GLP-1 users without explicitly referencing the drug. He cautions against one-off badge additions to struggling SKUs, instead recommending cohesive brand systems across portfolios.
Hartman similarly calls for reformulation emphasizing fiber, complete proteins, fermented ingredients and Omega-3s, while reducing artificial additives. Smaller portions – aligned with reduced intake – may support a “less but better” consumption logic, but must deliver on taste.
