Medication to Mealtime: How Dietary Trends Impact Consumer Trends in Grocery

Diet trends, and the introduction of new food products, are nothing new. Slim Fast shakes and South Beach Diet bars are not too distant memories for some of us. Now consider that one in eight Americans have used a GLP-1 medication like Ozempic or Wegovy for weight loss, and it makes sense that brands are taking notice.  In fact, Nestle is launching its first major U.S. brand in 30 years to meet the needs of consumers taking these medications and those focusing on weight management. The frozen food line, Vital Pursuit, aims to appeal to the portion size preferences and nutrient needs of consumers who utilize new weight loss medications.  

As an agency with many food and beverage clients, we can’t help but explore this from an industry perspective. Food costs are already high with inflation rates and consumer purchasing adjustments cutting into profits. Now, the increase in these medications has led to a decrease in how much consumers are spending in grocery stores as portion sizes and calorie consumption diminishes. It’s a critical time for brands to level out the see-saw effect of diet vs. dollar.  

Nestlé saw this as an opportunity. And they have the experience to back it up. Nestlé has a long history of launching brands that align with popular consumer trends. In 1981, the company introduced Lean Cuisine to help people reduce their caloric intake. Five years later, it unveiled Nespresso, enabling consumers to make barista-quality espresso at home. By 2030, analysts expect 30 million U.S. adults to be GLP-1 users. Driven equally by diabetes and obesity, the GLP-1 market is expected to exceed $100 billion by 2030. Our take? Nestlé saw the opportunity that this cultural shift provides and created the Vital Pursuit line to consumers where they are.  

We predict Nestlé will be the first of many to see the opportunity. In fact, Walmart and CVS recently released new private labels, focusing on products that cater to dietary needs and are made without any artificial flavors, colors, or added sugars.  

Bottom line? It comes down to credibility.  Specifically two pillars of credibility that we advise our clients on all the time – authority and visibility. Certainly the rise in GLP-1 medication usage doesn’t mean food will be ignored, but consumers are looking at meals in a very different way. Brands in the food space are already trusted authorities.  They have the opportunity to increase their visibility by appealing to their customers in a new way with a new value proposition. We say kudos to Nestlé in this pursuit and anticipate more brands following suit.