Is the Snack Food Industry Declining Due to Diet Pills?

How is the explosive rise of obesity and diabetes weight-loss medications changing Americans’ snacking habits? Will the medications kill the snack food industry?

Prescriptions for appetite-suppressing diabetes medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are surging as Americans use the drugs for weight loss. The drugs are altering Americans’ snacking habits—benefiting drugmakers but threatening the snack industry’s bottom line. 

Here are the two views on whether or not the snack food industry will decline.

Snack Food Industry Crisis

The snack food industry faces an existential crisis: Popular new weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are reducing people’s appetite for snacking, marking an unprecedented threat that could upend the snack food industry as we know it.

Background

Between 2020 and 2022, prescriptions for injectable diabetes medications Ozempic and Wegovy skyrocketed 300% as Americans discovered that the injectable drugs induce remarkable, and rapid, weight loss by suppressing appetite and reducing feelings of hunger. Patients taking the drugs have reported cutting their daily calorie consumption by 20% to 30%. Notably, they also say the medications have curbed their urge to snack. 

Although the US savory snacks market is projected to grow 6% annually from 2022 to 2027, recent data suggest that weight-loss drugs’ popularity may disrupt this:

• Shares for Oreo and Ritz cracker maker Mondelez dropped 7.7% in early October.
• Nestle’s shares have dropped 3.4%, with most of its losses occurring since May.
• Shares for Unilever, the maker of Ben & Jerry’s, fell 2%. 

If the use of these medications continues expanding, experts warn that the baked goods sector could see up to $3 billion in lost revenue by 2035.

View 1: Weight-Loss Drugs Will Decimate the Snack Food Industry

Some Wall Street analysts and food company executives argue that appetite-suppressing weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy could doom the snack food industry.

Wall Street has been trying to forecast the effects of the drugs on food and other sales. Some believe that consumers’ reduced consumption of high-sugar and high-fat items such as cookies and salty snacks put companies like Hostess, Campbell, and Mondelez at greatest risk of losses. One report concludes that candy makers, which rely on daily consumers for roughly one-third of their sales, may be most vulnerable.

View 2: The Snack Food Industry Will Adjust

Other Wall Street analysts and food industry experts say it’s too early to predict the demise of the snack food sector. They argue that the rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy is unlikely to substantially undermine the snack food market for the following reasons:

• Accessibility remains a significant hurdle. These drugs face wide adoption challenges due to ongoing supply shortages, high out-of-pocket costs, and limited insurance coverage.
• The medications are difficult to administer and have unpleasant side effects, which could deter widespread use.
• Snacking is a deeply ingrained, enjoyable habit for many who will be reluctant to give it up.
• Food companies have a history of adapting to changing consumer behaviors.

Looking Ahead

Many experts say that although the rise of weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy may slow snack sales in the near term, their long-term impacts are unlikely to be catastrophic. Instead, they predict that gradual snacking habit changes will simply require snack companies to adjust product offerings to align with evolving consumer behaviors. 

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