Did Kroger lose a little fat on its rump?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
GLP-1s like Ozempic limit hunger signals in the brain and raise sensitivity to blood sugar changes. That’s why people use it for weight loss. But what does that mean for grocery stores?
Ask Sylvia Hristakeva and team from Cornell University. They surveyed GLP-1 users’ food purchases over one year.
On average,grocery purchases dropped by about five percent. That’s four hundred dollars annually! Shoppers bought fewer snacks like chips and more yogurt or fruit! But AFTER stopping GLP-1s, people often returned to their old purchases.
So watch out! Side effects may include fatter wallets and skinnier quarterly profits!
Reference: Hristakeva, S., Liaukonytė, J., & Feler, L. (2025). EXPRESS: The No-Hunger Games: How GLP-1 Medication Adoption is Changing Consumer Food Demand. Journal of Marketing Research, 0(ja). https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437251412834