GLP-1 drugs have dominated the food and beverage conversation for the past two years. <\/p>\n
They\u2019ve reignited an industry-wide fixation on weight loss as body positivity wanes, driven waves of new product development, and proven a massive crowd draw at presentations and panel discussions on the subject.<\/p>\n
But has the industry jumped on the GLP-1 bandwagon too soon?<\/p>\n
With health and cosmetic concerns emerging, there are signs the trend is already losing its appeal.<\/p>\n
![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/H6IELO5AJJDKFBBYTUDHJFVLEU.jpg\")
Is the tide turning on GLP-1s? (Image: Getty\/agrobacter)Is the tide turning on GLP-1s?<\/p>\n
There are some signs to suggest the pace of GLP\u20111 adoption is cooling after its initial surge. Prescription data from Truveta shows that while overall GLP\u20111 use continues to rise, growth in anti\u2011diabetic prescriptions had largely flattened by mid\u2011to\u2011late 2024, with only a 0.9% net increase between March and June after much faster expansion in prior quarters. <\/p>\n
Added to this, Novo Nordisk has publicly acknowledged the slowdown, cutting its 2025 outlook after reporting \u201cslower\u2011than\u2011expected growth\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mounting reports of side effects<\/a> \u2013 from gastrointestinal distress to more serious risks such as blindness and acute pancreatitis \u2013 are said to be dulling the shine of the so\u2011called wonder drugs.<\/p>\n Added to this, the term \u201cOzempic face\u201d is becoming increasingly recognised as a way of describing either puffiness from the effects of the drugs or facial hollowness \u2013 sagging skin and increased wrinkles \u2013 from rapid fat loss.<\/p>\n But while this might be turning some consumers away from GLP-1s their appeal continues to grow, if at a slightly slower pace than before. This is particularly true amongst first timers, as they become increasingly accessible.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first pill formats are just now hitting the market,\u201d says Matthew Barry, global insight manager for food at Euromonitor International. \u201cSemaglutide patent protections are expiring in much of the world, and the more potent multi-agonists are likely to become commercially available relatively soon.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, far from declining, Barry argues we are \u201conly at the beginning of the GLP-1 revolution\u201d.<\/p>\n Although price remains a major barrier to wider adoption and unless they \u201cfall significantly in cost\u201d they\u2019ll fail to reach full market penetration. \u201cThe greatest risk to enthusiasm is if no significant progress is made in reducing costs and increasing coverage rates.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds that a \u201csignificant number of people\u201d still expect \u201cdevastating long-term side effect to be discovered\u201d, despite little evidence to support such concerns. \u201cThat belief is having at least a minor effect on uptake.\u201d<\/p>\n Though he\u2019s quick to point out that what is known about the health implications of GLP\u20111s is based solely on drugs already in circulation. \u201cPills and multi-agonists could be different in how significant they are in their side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n As well as looking at the behaviours of new and existing GLP-1 users, food and beverage manufacturers are also focusing their attentions on the people they live with, in what\u2019s now being termed the \u201chousehold effect\u201d.<\/p>\n This effect is notoriously hard to fully understand. And that, says Barry, is what makes it so compelling. <\/p>\n Most of the research on GLP\u20111s remains tightly focused on the individual user, yet eating is rarely an individual act. Food purchasing, meal planning and consumption decisions are made at the household level. When one person starts eating less, shopping differently, or avoiding certain foods altogether, those changes ripple outward to partners, children and other household members.<\/p>\n Only a handful of studies even attempt to capture these dynamics, and in much of the analysis to date the household effect is effectively invisible. That blind spot matters. Ignoring the indirect influence GLP\u20111 users have on the diets and buying habits of those around them risks materially understating the drugs\u2019 real-world impact. For the food industry in particular, this means demand shifts may be broader, faster and more structural than individual usage rates alone would suggest.<\/p>\n While industry attention has been focussed heavily on the impact of GLP-1 drugs, there\u2019s been a reluctance to admit the impact they could have on volume sales.<\/p>\n There will, says Barry, be gains in healthier categories but there is no way that entirely compensates for declines elsewhere. <\/p>\n \u201cIf people eat less, food companies will sell less and there is no escaping that.\u201d <\/p>\n What\u2019s more, this is just one of many volume headwinds the industry is facing, with high prices, weak consumer confidence, and a tough demographic outlook all weighing on demand.<\/p>\n For food and beverage companies, GLP\u20111s represent both a genuine growth opportunity and a structural threat.<\/p>\n There\u2019s clear potential in products tailored to smaller appetites, higher protein needs, improved nutrient density and digestive comfort. Brands that can credibly deliver satiety, reassurance and functional benefits may find new relevance not only with GLP\u20111 users, but with entire households adjusting to changed eating patterns.<\/p>\n Yet the risks are just as significant. If calorie intake falls meaningfully at scale, volume-led growth models begin to creak. <\/p>\n Reformulation alone won\u2019t solve that problem, and not every category can trade down on portion size while trading up on value. <\/p>\n Over\u2011indexing on GLP\u20111\u2011specific innovation also carries danger if consumer enthusiasm softens, side effects gain prominence or access stalls on cost and reimbursement. The industry could end up chasing a moving target \u2013 or worse, overbuilding around a trend whose full shape is still emerging.<\/p>\n Crucially, there is still far more that the industry doesn\u2019t know than it does. Long\u2011term usage patterns remain unclear. Will people stay on GLP\u20111s indefinitely, cycle on and off, or abandon them altogether? Will pills and multi\u2011agonists change adherence, outcomes or side\u2011effect profiles in ways that materially alter eating behaviour? How will children in \u201cGLP\u20111 households\u201d be affected over time? And how will regulators, insurers and health systems respond as usage expands?<\/p>\n What is clear is that GLP\u20111s are forcing the food and beverage industry to confront some uncomfortable questions it has long skirted around \u2013 what happens when less food really is eaten, and when health outcomes, not consumption, become a more explicit organising principle of the market.<\/p>\n GLP-1s in food and beverage<\/p>\n![\"Ozempic;](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SPIE5DRYUREMHFSGAYWWNI2HNY.jpg\")
GLP-1 household impact. (Image: Getty\/Olga Shefer)GLP-1 household impact<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/NRT5S4LS2VFLTHOUL3K3Q7B37E.jpg\")
Food and beverage sales decline. (Image: Getty\/Svitlana Pietukhova)Food and beverage sales decline<\/p>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/UARRWQX66VBB3MTFEGUXEMJXFM.jpg\")
For food and beverage companies, GLP\u20111s represent both a genuine growth opportunity and a structural threat. (Image: Getty\/Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc.)Where does this leave the industry?<\/p>\n