It’s certainly an interesting time now with the arrival of GLP-1 or ‘fat jabs’ as I like to call them. If you asked me years ago, I would have said that yoyo dieting, and other fads were just a way of life for many people. Doesn’t everyone have two sizes of clothes in the wardrobe?
The reality is that obesity is a global epidemic now effecting almost all walks of life and having a huge impact on the resources of healthcare systems. Food has become more delicious and, in some cases, more processed. We have also become less active, and, with that, the old timber has started to appear and not the kind that a day with a chainsaw can sort out.
So, hooray for fat jabs which were an accidental discovery (the best ideas usually are). They offer dramatic results and are a new approach to weight management for many people.
With their rapid rise and the development of the not-so-secret ‘GLP club’ - think Fight Club minus Brad Pitt - whereby I have witnessed many friends who are now happier, sleeker and slimmer. Unless you are in this club, they will never tell you how they got their new bodies.
This is a trend that is likely to continue unless there is some nasty long term health impact. So, the question I am being asked is what will this mean for the food industry and the products people will want to consume?
How will weight loss injections impact food?
Firstly, I think we will see reduced portion size across most things. For more indulgent products this will mean bolder, stronger flavour profiles. I think we will also see more attention placed on nutritionally dense foods with increased levels of protein, vitamins and minerals and a boat load of reformulation across all sectors.
The beverage market will see huge shifts into drinks containing healthy greens along with the spectrum of vitamins and minerals. This was something I witnessed first-hand on a recent trip to Miami where brands are now focusing on complimenting a GLP-1 lifestyle and are even mentioning it in their brand messaging.
We have seen how consumers have been drawn to the protein messaging trend currently on packaging to help them make purchasing decisions about those products which will enhance their diet, and the same is likely to happen with packaging making claims such as ‘GLP-suitable’. It will be interesting to see how this plays out from a regulatory perspective.
And last, but not least, there will be an explosion in health supplements as our GLP-1 club members will look to plug the gaps in their diets. I think there will be tough times ahead for some brands and untold success for others, but I wonder whether people will still want to eat the things that probably made them overweight in the first place but in lower amounts because old habits die hard.
Us consumers are a fickle bunch.
And remember that ‘mass cannot be created nor destroyed’ that explains why we are gaining everyone else’s weight at present.
So, who knows...until next time, stay hungry!
About the author
Owner of specialist flavour house, I.T.S - a company he founded in 2009, with the mission to bring ‘energy, creativity, and fun’ into the flavour world - Mike Bagshaw is a regular voice on industry panels and talks, where he shares his expertise and enthusiasm for pushing boundaries in food and drink.
