Ozempic craze slims demand in grocery aisles: report

Published

2 years ago

October 6, 2023

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The proliferation of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic is having an unintended side-effect on snack makers — a reduction in sales, according to a report.

Walmart said customers who have been taking the popular meds to slim down are cutting back on high-fat and salty treats because the weight-loss drugs help to suppress appetites.

“We definitely do see a slight change compared to the total population, we do see a slight pullback in overall basket,” John Furner, the CEO of Walmarts US operation, told Bloomberg.

Walmart, which sells weight-loss drugs at its pharmacies, is able to study changes in sales patterns using anonymized data on shopper populations, according to the outlet.

With those data sets, the Bentonville, Ark.-based can see how many customers are on diabetes-turned-weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro and compare their shopping habits to those not taking the medications.

Furner said people on weight-loss drugs are purchasing “less units, slightly less calories,” but said that it’s too soon to conclude what effect the meds are having on Walmart’s overall sales.

Representatives for Walmart did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

One woman who takes Mounjaro said the reduction in appetite has cut her grocery bill by as much as 20%.

I still have a fully stocked kitchen, theres chips and pretzels in there. I dont find it tempting, Carolyn MacBain-Waldo told the Wall Street Journal.

Another Mounjaro user said she doesnt think about food all the time anymore and eats far fewer snacks.

The other day I had a single jelly bean, which is unheard of for me, Karyn Carlton, 47, told The Journal, adding that she also recently ordered a kids meal from a fast-food restaurant and felt satiated.

The drug, which stimulates the body to produce insulin and lowers blood sugar, has historically been used to treat Type 2 diabetes but was popularized after patients discovered their slimming effects, and particularly exploded when it was revealed celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and Chelsea Handler admitted to using it.

Their use has filtered to middle America and is only expected to grow, despite disturbing case studies where the medications paralyzed some users’ stomachs and even burned off one woman’s genitals.

Morgan Stanley estimated that 7% of the US population, or 24 million people, will be taking hunger-suppressing weight-loss drugs by 2035 — cutting their daily calorie consumption by as much as 30%, according to the firm, which surveyed over 300 patients.

For a person on an FDA-recommended 2,000-calorie daily diet, that could mean eliminating a one-ounce bag of salted potato chips, a bottle of soda, and more each day.

“The food, beverage, and restaurant industries could see softer demand, particularly for unhealthier foods and high-fat, sweet, and salty options, said Morgan Stanleys tobacco and packaged food analyst Pamela Kaufman.

Kaufman said major food companies like Conagra Brands, Mondelez, and Campbell Soup could see a 3% hit to their bottom lines by 2035.

Kellogg’s Brands, which is behind popular snack foods like Cheez-Its and Pringles, has reportedly been studying the potential impact popular weight-loss drugs could have on consumer behaviors.

“Like everything that potentially impacts our business, well look at it, study it and, if necessary, mitigate,” Kellogg’s chief Steve Cahillane told Bloomberg.

Cahillane called it “very, very early days” for the drugs, but said the company, which also makes Rice Krispie Treats, was “by no means complacent,” suggesting Kellogg’s would make changes to its products if overweight Americans on weight-loss medications continued limiting their calorie intake.

The Post has sought comment from Kellogg’s.

Despite being “early days,” US sales for GLP-1-containing drugs have experienced a whopping 300% increase in prescription volume from 2020 to 2022, according to Trilliant Health.

Of those prescriptions, Ozempic was the most-prescribed GLP-1, and national spending on semaglutide — the peptide name for Ozempic and Wegovy — now exceeds $10 billion, Trilliant Health said.

Environment

Fiat launches beachy Topolino Vilebrequin as Stellantis ramps up EV production

Published

3 hours ago

July 20, 2025

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Fiat launches beachy Topolino Vilebrequin as Stellantis ramps up EV production

Fiat Celebrates the Advent of Summer With the Topolino Vilebrequin, an Easygoing Beach Car

The Fiat Topolino Vilebrequin is a new beach town cruiser that captures the elegance, glamour, and relaxed vibe of the French Riviera. More significantly, the updated EV also heralds Stellantis’ plans to double EV production at its Kenitra Assembly Plant in Morocco.

Closer to a Mercury Villager Nautica or Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson than a new model on its own, the new Topolino Vilebrequin features colors and fabrics inspired by the French surfwear brand, and is based on the Dolcevita version of Stellantis’ electric microcar. With its open sides, a soft rollback roof, and turtle-tastic fabric prints, it’s ready to whisk you off on a carefree summer adventure in France or Italy – which are, coincidentally, the only two markets the “collector’s edition” Vilebrequin Topolino is currently available in.

“This encounter between the Fiat Topolino and our iconic sea turtle gave rise to a high-quality, lower-impact, and perfectly whimsical design,” says Roland Herlory, CEO of Vilebrequin. “(It is) the definitive summer toy, and the perfect witness to sun-soaked memories still to come.”

Like the standard Topolino, the new Vilebrequin model remains electronically limited to a top speed of 45 kph (just under 30 mph), and is equipped with a 5.5 kWh battery pack that ensures up to 75 km (about 45 miles) of electric range. Prices start at €13,490 ($15,810), and if you don’t want one you’re dead inside.

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Fiat Topolino Vilebrequin

The Vilebrequin Topolino is just the latest version of Stellantis’ electric microcar platform that underpins the Citroën Ami, Opel Rocks-e, and Fiat Topolino. Annual production of the little EVs has grown from 20,000 units and is reportedly on track for 70,000 in 2025.

Now, Mopar Insiders is reporting that number is about to get even bigger. Stellantis’ Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, Samir Cherfan, announced plans to more than double the production capacity at the company’s Kenitra Assembly Plant in Morocco, from some 230,000 vehicles per year to more than 530,000.

The factory was opened in 2019, and the planned €1.2 billion ($1.4B) expansion is expected to add around 3,100 new jobs to the factory’s employee roster.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Stellantis.

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Business

Lakeland-owner Hilco eyes swoop for stricken jeweller Claire’s

Published

4 hours ago

July 20, 2025

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Lakeland-owner Hilco eyes swoop for stricken jeweller Claire's

The prolific high street investor which owns Lakeland and has backed chains including HMV and Superdry is sizing up a takeover of the UK operations of Claire’s, the struggling jewellery chain.

Sky News understands that Hilco Capital, which was also one of the recent bidders for Poundland, is among the parties expected to submit offers for Claire’s in the coming weeks, according to banking sources.

Other parties expected to examine offers for Claire’s British chain, which trades from about 280 stores, would include Alteri Investors and Modella Capital, which recently bought WH Smith’s high street chain.

The Telegraph reported earlier this month that Claire’s had hired Interpath Advisory to find a buyer for the UK business as it explores options – including bankruptcy – for its US-based operations.

Prospective buyers of the business have been told that a sale of the British chain could lead to significant numbers of store closures.

One retail industry boss speculated that as many as a third of the UK shops could be axed in a deal to salvage the rest of the chain, potentially putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

Claire’s has been a fixture in British shopping centres and on high streets for decades.

Houlihan Lokey, the investment bank, is advising on the sale of the US arm.

Claire’s, which is reported to trade from 2,000 stores globally, is owned by former creditors Elliott Management and Monarch Alternative Capital following a previous financial restructuring.

Hilco could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Politics

Embedding human rights into crypto isn’t optional, it’s foundational

Published

5 hours ago

July 20, 2025

admin

Embedding human rights into crypto isn’t optional, it’s foundational

Embedding human rights into crypto systems is a necessity. Self-custody, privacy-by-default, and censorship-resistant personhood must be core design principles for any technology. The future of digital freedom depends on it.