Weight-loss medicines redesign the supermarket cart in the United States

Medicines used to lose weight, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, begin to appear in the checkout line. According to Exame, in the United States, families who started using these medications reduced their food expenses, and the change is already noticeable in what goes in the cart.

What the report describes is an effect on food consumption, and not just on the health of those taking the medicine. When the purchasing habits of a group of families change, the effect tends to appear first on the shelves and then in the results of those who sell and manufacture what is on them.

Sweets, cookies and snacks lost space in these baskets. At the same time, yogurts and fresh fruits saw an increase in spending, which indicates a change of items within the cart, and not just a cut in total.

For those who follow the stock market, the central point is the predictability of demand. Industrialized food companies depend on recurring sales, and a change in habit in this type of product affects the accounts of those who depend on it. The article, however, deals with a movement observed in the United States and does not report the size of this effect.

Important numbers are also missing from the report: how many families use these medicines, how much each one spent less and how this appears in the balance sheets of listed companies. Without this data, the reading remains that of a trend being observed.

What changes for the investor

For those who invest, the topic deserves to be on the list of topics to follow, without this being a buy or sell signal. If the exchange of products is confirmed in other markets, companies with a strong presence in sweets, biscuits and snacks may need to review growth plans, while manufacturers and retailers linked to yogurts and fresh fruits may benefit. The next balance sheets and consumption data should offer a firmer basis than any forecast made today.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.