The surge in weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy may already be affecting restaurants’ bottom lines

We now have a weapon against obesity that actually works. Glucagon-like peptide-1 medications, better known as GLP-1s, have succeeded where dieting usually fails. They’ve changed the way millions of Americans eat by changing their relationship with food, essentially forcing them to eat more healthfully, and as a result, helping them to lose weight and keep it off.

That’s great for public health, as obesity-related conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes are leading killers among Americans. But it poses challenges for restaurants, many of which have relied on their customers’ cravings for burgers, fries, fried chicken sandwiches, alcohol, carbonated soft drinks, and desserts.

“I’ve heard people [on GLP-1s] say their new midnight snack is cucumber or apple slices,” said Emily Auerbach, innovation manager at Mattson, a Silicon Valley-based insights, strategy, and product development firm. “That’s a craving — it’s just a different kind of craving than we’re used to.”

Mattson has tracked the behavior of a panel of 75 people using GLP-1s, and the way they interact with food has changed.

GLP-1s, with brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy, work by slowing the movement of food through the digestive tract — keeping it in the stomach longer — and also affecting the brain’s reward centers related to food.

Barb Stuckey, Mattson’s chief new product strategy officer, said panelists have discussed how “they have different behaviors and different preferences for food and beverages, and they don’t even know why it’s happening. … It seems to me like these drugs are teaching people to eat healthier food.”

Specifically, according to Mattson’s panel, the medications make their users less inclined to eat red meat, spicy food, fatty and fried food, salty food, and desserts.

They’re also less interested in alcohol, which can result in severe hangovers even if GLP-1 users drink them in small quantities, as well as caffeinated drinks, which can upset their stomachs, and carbonated beverages, which make them feel too full.

“Things like fatty, spicy [food], sometimes dairy, are very irritating,” Mattson’s chief innovation officer Katie Hagen said. “It makes them nauseous. It makes them uncomfortable, and so they’re veering away from them and are gravitating to foods which are leaner, lighter, maybe soothing to their belly.”

But there are foods that GLP-1 users crave, particularly juicy fruits and vegetables like the cucumbers and apples that Auerbach mentioned, as well as still beverages and low-fat proteins like chicken breast and fish.

“We’ve heard that people who didn’t eat fish before all of a sudden are interested in it instead of having steak,” Stuckey said.

At the same time, hydration “is a huge, huge issue for GLP-1 users,” Auerbach said, with value-added still beverages — infused waters, fruit-forward slushies, and herbal teas — emerging as potential draws. In fact, the surge in mocktails and other flavorful spirit-free options seems to have happened at just the right time.

People using the drugs are being told by their doctors to make sure they eat enough protein. That’s because GLP-1s are so effective and result in such rapid weight loss that their users tend to lose muscle mass as well as fat. This opens the way not only for more fish and chicken, but also for nuts and low-fat dairy as well as legumes such as peanuts and beans.

Auerbach hastens to point out, however, that her panelists are hardly starving: They still consume around 2,200 calories per day, around the recommended daily intake for the average American, but that’s around 1,000 fewer calories than what they were eating previously each day.

Seeing the trend toward increased use of the drugs, Smoothie King launched a GLP-1 Support Menu in October 2024. It was comprised of seven drinks intended as meal replacements that had at least 20 grams of protein, as well as fiber, and the hydrating ingredients that the target group craves, such as fruit and almond milk.

Examples were the Berry Keto Champ GLP-1 smoothie with almond milk, almond butter, blueberries, raspberries, a protein blend, and cocoa; the Slim N Trim GLP-1 Mango Greens with mangoes, Greek yogurt, almond milk, a protein blend, kale, ginger, and spinach; and the Power Meal Slim GLP-1 with bananas, almond milk, and a protein blend.

Right now, just around 6% of American adults are taking GLP-1s, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, or about the same percentage of Americans who have any kind of allergy, according to the Centers for Disease Control (6.2%). By comparison, Gallup puts the percentage of vegetarians at 4% and vegans at 1%.

But Mattson puts the percentage of adults who could be on GLP-1s due to obesity and type 2 diabetes at 52%. Many of those potential users are uninsured or underinsured, and others are needle-shy, which is a problem since GLP-1s are injected.

However, Ely Lilly has developed an oral version of the medication, Orforglipron, that the pharmaceutical company plans to submit to the Food & Drug Administration for approval by the end of the year, and for type 2 diabetes treatment in 2026. That could increase the use of the weight-loss drugs significantly.

Already, many restaurants are stymied by declining traffic, and the increasing use of weight-loss drugs could exacerbate that, according to a survey by consulting company EY Parthenon.

Don Johnson, a principal in the firm, said more than half of GLP-1 users are eating out less, and that percentage rises to 65% of those using the drugs for weight loss, as opposed to treatment for type 2 diabetes or other conditions.

Furthermore, when they do eat out, they tend to visit full-service restaurants.

“They can control portion size and pick and choose from the menu,” he said. “It kind of makes sense that dinner might be the meal when they do this.”

He said those people on the drugs for weight management originally skewed affluent, because many insurance plans don’t cover GLP-1s for weight loss.

“The early adopters in the weight management group were clearly more affluent because they were able to get access to the drugs,” he said. However, that’s changing as GLP-1s become more widely available, he added.

Johnson said those using the drugs for weight loss also tend to cycle on and off of them, both because of the expense and because of the side effects, but many of them say they maintain the behavior they adopted while using them of eating leaner protein and more vegetables, which he said could be problematic for quick-service restaurants.

“I could see that for QSRs this could definitely be a headwind,” he said. “For folks on GLP-1s, they may decide, ‘It’s not how I want to consume my calories today.’”

Indeed, Cavenagh Research said in a recent report that McDonald’s traffic and sales struggles in 2024 were “likely due to the rise of GLP-1 medications, which suppress appetite and reduce food consumption,” adding that their use was likely to reduce meal frequency and snacking occasions for McDonald’s core demographic.

Citing recent research by financial services firm JP Morgan, Cavenagh said GLP-1 users reported a 23% reduction in daily meals and a 50% decrease in snack consumption.

Skydeo, which aggregates mobile and loyalty card data, has correlated GLP-1 users with their restaurant and grocery store habits.

Over the past 18-36 months, “what we’ve seen … is that customers are moving from traditional QSRs like McDonald’s and Burger King toward brands like Chipotle … where you can build your own,” CEO Mike Ford said. “Even the quick salad places seem to have increased as well.”

Noting that consumers also have reacted to rising prices at many quick-service chains, adjusting portion sizes, and pricing accordingly, could help attract customers using weight-loss drugs.

“If restaurants are readjusting pricing and lowering portion sizes, they may have an advantage … versus the people who are still in the post-COVID, let’s-get-our-money-back era,” he said.

Hagan of Mattson made a similar observation, noting that restaurants such as taquerias that sell individual tacos, or other chains that sell single sliders, could win over customers who no longer see value in large portions.

“Or that big latte from Starbucks. There’s just way too much milk in there … they’re looking for smaller. They’re looking for less,” she said.

Of course, GLP-1 users aren’t a monolith. Kerry, a global taste and nutrition firm, recently identified five distinct groups who use the weight-loss drugs: “Dynamic Dads” are busy parents looking for portable, protein-packed meals; “Trailblazing Trendsetters” are wellness-savvy urbanites who value mental clarity, energy, and boosted immunity; “Future-Focused Improvers” are typically Gen X women prioritizing long-term health and aging well; and “Balanced Maintainers” are members of Gen Z looking to maintain weight with minimal dietary changes and little disruption to their day-to-day lives. Similarly, “Steady Stickers” are practical Midwestern women focused on familiar foods and routines.

“Appetites are shifting toward a more holistic and personalized approach to nutrition,” Kerry North American vice president of marketing, Elizabeth Horvath, said in a statement about the report. “Consumers want more than weight loss. They’re looking for gut health, immune support, stress relief, and high-protein foods that still taste great.”

That aligns with findings from Mattson and Skydeo: Success with GLP-1 users isn’t just about reducing portion size, but about satisfying cravings for hydration, nutrient density, and intentional eating.

Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@informa.com

Source https://www.nrn.com/menu-trends/glp-1s-are-reshaping-american-appetites

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