Like a gym bro about to tackle leg day, food companies are all in on protein.
Driving the news: As weight-loss drugs like Ozempic become more popular, some of the world’s biggest food companies are beginning to steer into the skid with products that can accompany the drugs or, in some cases, replace them, per The Wall Street Journal.
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Nestle, the world’s biggest food maker, already sells complimentary products for weight-loss drugs, like lean meals, and is creating new ones to limit weight gain.
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Supergut, a food supplement startup, markets its line of appetite-suppressing fibre powders as a natural replacement for weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.
- BellRing Brands, which creates shakes and powders, is reformulating its products to provide people who eat less with specific nutrients that they might be short on.
Why it’s happening: Goldman Sachs estimates that the market for weight-loss drugs could reach US$100 billion by 2030. The expected market gains of weight loss drugs have pushed food executives to develop a game plan for a scenario where consumers eat and drink less.
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BellRing Brands has seen its shares double in the past year while the Packaged Food and Meats subindex, which tracks key food company stocks, has dropped 14%.
Bottom line: Whether it’s making the portion sizes of existing products smaller or creating new ones that cater to consumers of weight-loss drugs, food makers are hedging their bets against what is expected to become a bigger threat to the industry: shrinking appetites.—LA