Nestlé to launch frozen pizzas, other foods targeting users of weight-loss drugs
Nestlé is launching a new frozen-food brand, Vital Pursuit, aimed at the growing market of consumers who are using GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Nestlé is launching a new frozen-food brand, Vital Pursuit, aimed at the growing market of consumers who are using GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Over the last year, the buzzy weight loss and diabetes drugs have taken off as more options hit the market and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk endorse them. Roughly 1 in 8 adults in the U.S. has used a GLP-1 drug at some point, according to a recent survey from the health policy research organization KFF. Roughly half of those Americans, or around 6% of U.S. adults, are currently using one of the treatments. The total number of U.S. consumers taking the medication could soar to 31.5 million, or 9% of the total population, by 2035, according to Morgan Stanley research.
As the drugs’ popularity has soared, investors have grown concerned about what their rise means for food and beverage companies and fast-food chains. People who take the medication typically eat less frequently because they have fewer cravings and desire more protein and less sugary and fatty foods. In October, Walmart’s U.S. CEO John Furner told Bloomberg that people who pick up GLP-1 drugs from its pharmacies are buying less food, typically with fewer calories.
But Nestlé sees an opportunity to cater to those consumers through Vital Pursuit.
“The reality is, for the last 25 years, the diet has been dying, in a sense. ... For me, what we’ve done is actually given consumers a new tool that actually gives them confidence and success on this journey,” Nestlé’s North America CEO Steve Presley told CNBC.
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