Fat jabs are blamed for shrinking supermarket sales: Shoppers buying less food as weight-loss medication stifles appetites

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

Fat jabs have hit grocery sales as demand for chocolate, crisps and biscuits is predicted to wane.
Supermarkets are selling fewer groceries thanks to an uptick in Brits taking weight-loss drugs including Wegovy and Mounjaro, according to market research firm Kantar.
Their research found that total grocery volumes fell by 0.4 per cent over the last four weeks compared to the same period last year. This was the first month this has happened this year so far.
The decline represents 'new territory' for food heavyweights as four in 100 households in Great Britain now include at least one user of Ozempic-style drugs, Kantar's head of retail and consumer insight, Fraser McKevitt said.
He added: 'That's almost twice as many as last year so while it's still pretty low, it's definitely a trend that the industry should keep an eye on as these drugs have the potential to steer choices at the till.
'Four in five of the users we surveyed say they plan to eat fewer chocolates and crisps, and nearly three quarters intend to cut back on biscuits.'
It comes as grocery inflation hit 4.7 per cent this month - thanks to rising prices on key items such as cocoa and steak. This is the highest level since February 2024.
Supermarkets in the US, where fat jabs first became popular a few years ago, have already seen an impact.
In 2023, Walmart said it had seen a 'slight pullback' in the amount people were purchasing due to the jabs.
In January, veteran fund manager Terry Smith dumped his stake in drinks giant Diageo arguing that the rise of drugs could hit demand for its products.
He warned that the drinks sector was 'in the early stages' of being hit by the rising popularity of weight-loss jabs.
Other companies to lose out at pharma giants' expense include WeightWatchers, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year as it struggled to compete with obesity drugs.
The slip in grocery volumes is the biggest suggestion yet that Ozempic demand is resulting in Brits eating less.
Wegovy is taken as a weekly injection and tricks the body into thinking it is full. It is available on the NHS.
Sister drug Ozempic, which has the same key ingredient, has taken off in the US. Celebrities who have taken it include actress Amy Schumer and TV host Kelly Osbourne.
As of just this week, obese patients in England are now able to access jab Mounjaro for free, directly from their family doctor.
The weekly injection, also known as tirzepatide, is now on offer to around 220,000 people over the next three years under new NHS prescribing rules.
GPs can now prescribe the drug to patients with a BMI over 40-classed as severely obese-and at least four obesity-related health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or sleep apnoea.
More than a million people are already using it via private clinics in the UK. This costs around £250 a month.