UK supermarkets go all out for ‘Jab-uary’ with food for those on weight-loss drugs | Food & drink industry

Veganuary and dry January are among the new year’s health recommendations enthusiastically promoted by supermarkets, but this year there is excitement around “Jab-uary” as pricey diet foods targeted at people taking weight-loss pills hit the shelves.

Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Asda, Ocado and Co-op are among the big names targeting customers using weight-loss injections, known as GLP-1 agonists but better known by brand names such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.

Ocado’s new virtual “weight management” aisle features “selected GLP-1-friendly products” ranging from small (100g) portions of steak priced at £3.50 to trendy “powdered greens” supplement AG1, priced at £107 a pack.

The online supermarket said it was seeing strong demand for protein-rich staples such as steak, chicken, cottage cheese, health drinks, vitamins and supplements.

Ocado is also selling M&S’s new “Nutrition Dense” range of snacks and drinks, which it says contain a “high amount of nutrients per calorie”. The £7 chicken satay ready meal and £2 coconut water shot “H₅O” are ideal for people “reducing their food intake”, he says. Meanwhile, the Co-op is offering “mini meals” of 250g-280g pots “inspired by global cuisines”, costing £3.50 per person.

Jonny Forsyth, a senior analyst at market research company Mintel, said around 6% of adults in the UK are thought to be using GLP-1 drugs. But he argues that the hype surrounding them has a “huge impact” on consumer behavior and reinforces other dietary trends, such as consuming high-protein foods.

In their latest Christmas shopping updates, some high street names said the drug was starting to change the way people shop. This included eating fewer hot dogs, and Greggs’ managing director Roisin Currie said people were looking for “smaller portions” and healthier options.

Sainsbury’s also identified new behaviour. “We are seeing many of the customers using these products moving towards healthier choices, fresh foods and fibre,” said Simon Roberts, the company’s CEO. This month, the grocer introduced more low-calorie, high-protein ready meals. The 300g “Small but Mighty” range includes dishes such as teriyaki chicken and costs £3.

Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy said the supermarket was watching “very closely” how the GLP-1 trend developed.

In fact, while total UK grocery sales rose 2.5% in value terms in the four weeks to December 27, the amount of food and drink sold fell 0.2% in volume terms, according to market researcher NielsenIQ.

The fear for food and hospitality businesses is that the widespread use of these drugs will hurt profits. A. 2024 Cornell University The research found that households with at least one GLP-1 user reduced their shopping expenses by 5.3% in six months, while this rate was 8.2% in high-income households.

Although there were declines in most food categories over the period reviewed, some regions saw a 10.1% drop in tasty snacks such as chips and an 8% drop in spending at fast food chains and cafes. Almost 20% of adults in the US use weight loss medications.

But given that consumers are fed up with shrinkage (where shoppers buy fewer items for the same or higher price), can supermarkets turn small portions into a virtue? There is also a question mark over whether ranges with “GLP-1” stamped on the front should be required because people are not open about the fact that they are taking medication.

Morrison’s own-labeled “GLP-1 friendly” ready-made meals with chicken casserole weigh just 280 grams but cost the same price as meals from other diet lines. The £3.75 price is pretty typical for ready meals, but comparing the price per kilo reveals a different story. said Charlotte DerraFMCG category consultant.

“Morrisons Counted and Protein ranges are typically the same price for the 380g and 280g GLP-1 friendly range,” he said. “At £0.99 and £1.34 per 100g for GLP-1 friendly ranges, this has a 35% price advantage.” M&S Nutrient Dense ready meals come in 400g packs and cost £7 (£1.75/100g), which it said was typical ready meal pack sizes.

Forsyth said M&S, Co-op and Iceland had “rightly” avoided explicitly mentioning GLP-1 drugs on the front of packs. “This is smart marketing because we know from our data that if you group people into a club like Weight Watchers, where people feel there is a stigma in belonging, you limit your potential audience.”

Forsyth, who found it “odd” that Greggs had said drugs were hitting sales, added that the M&S range was “the one most likely to do well because its user base is among the minority of Britons who can afford to pay for them privately”. “I suspect this is more to do with people cutting back on discretionary food spending in response to much higher food prices since 2022. Even Greggs’ iconic sausage roll has increased in price by 30%,” he said.

GLP-1 ready meals at Morrisons mean it now sells four healthy chicken tikka masala dishes. However, in the cut-throat £250bn-a-year UK grocery market, food market product developers are under pressure to respond given the outlook for some food categories is “quite bleak”, said Mark Whalley, co-founder of video analytics company Explners.

“Supermarket retailing in the UK is dominated by everyone worried that others are up to something,” he said. The hard part will be convincing shoppers: “Small size is an advantage in itself. They’re effectively saying this when the price doesn’t drop with portion size.”

“It matters whether these products are really needed or whether people can eat a little less than the products they currently buy. Does it specifically need a new product, something extra on the shelf that’s just 100 grams smaller?”