Food Matters Live Podcast · Food Matters Live

GLP-1 - How should the food industry respond?

·26 min·1 clip

Cornell's "No Hunger Games" study found household food spending fell 6% in value, with snacking hit hardest.

1. The Food Matters Live Podcast, recorded live at the Dublin event in November 2025, examines how GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic are changing food demand and how the food and drink industry should respond. 2. Host Anthony Zahra introduces Cyril Fillot, global strategist for consumer foods, packaging and logistics at Rabobank, whose research group has 80 analysts covering food and agribusiness. 3. Fillot's thesis is that anti-obesity medication "might or will gradually become part of the diet," and that with about 5% of UK adults already using it, the segment is as large as vegetarians and vegans and worth catering to. 4. He traces the market from Walmart's CEO telling Bloomberg two years ago that the drugs affected volumes, to Walmart's "GLP-1 journey" landing page, which mostly sells supplements, and to the American College of Cardiology's June recommendation to use GLP-1s as step one rather than step three. 5. He cites a drug pipeline that includes a Lilly pill with lower efficacy than injections and a Novo Nordisk drug with 22% weight loss, plus a 2.6 billion investment by Eli Lilly in a Dutch factory, against adoption of about 12% in the US and 4% in the UK. 6. Cornell's "No Hunger Games" study found a 6% drop in household spending by value, with chips, savory snacks and salad dressings hit hardest and protein (including Oikos Greek yogurt), fresh bread and produce, meat snacks and nutrition bars growing. 7. Kantar's August 2025 UK survey found that users eat 25% to 35% fewer calories and cut spending on pizza, takeaways and snacking, while only 23% mentioned reduced alcohol consumption. 8. Fillot asks how to market to this group, noting that Nestle launched Vital Pursuit in early 2024 and Conagra promoted "GLP-1 friendly" food, but "the market really doesn't know" whether users feel shame or pride, and he cites Weight Watchers' pivot after its bankruptcy. 9. He says users regain about 66% of lost weight after stopping and that their first stated wish is to return to McDonald's or Burger King, and he sees January rather than Christmas as the month to watch, with a maintenance-dose scenario five to 10 years out as the biggest opportunity. 10. Suited to food, beverage, retail and hospitality professionals planning for GLP-1 demand shifts.

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