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UK supermarket profits down as more people are using GLP's

30 replies19 peopleJun 11, 2026☆ Follow
Summary

how GLP-1 weight loss drugs are changing supermarket sales and household food spending

Forum users report noticeably lower grocery bills from reduced snacking and smaller portions after starting GLP-1 medications, with crisps, chocolate and similar items hit hardest. Some households still spend more overall due to inflation or shifts toward higher-protein options, while others note stable alcohol intake and new product lines aimed at users. Manufacturers appear to be responding with protein-enriched versions of the same processed foods at higher prices.

What this discussion establishesWhere people disagree

Whether the term chips refers to crisps or fries, and whether alcohol cravings reliably disappear on these medications

Still open

Long-term effects on overall grocery budgets once inflation and new product pricing are factored in

Nothing here is advice.

30 replies · 19 people
PatientPebble33archiveopening postJun 11

I figure the figures might line up the same way across North America, or perhaps even stronger there. Folks are just taking in fewer meals and bites overall, which leads to major declines in earnings for food companies. The situation could keep sliding downward once additional individuals turn to those GLP treatments. An uptick in slimming shots is already affecting grocery chain results, signaling the start of a market built around smaller appetites as shoppers lose weight.

PatientFenwick91archiveJun 11

A four-hundred-plus drop in spending per household versus non-users is bigger than I expected. Does that figure cover alcohol and cigarettes too? Glad more people are finding these drugs, getting healthier, and cutting costs at the same time. Crisps and chocolates took the biggest hit, while oral-care items rose because of side effects like bad breath. I had not heard bad breath was common. Odd they left out any rise in laxative sales.

PlainAnchor17archiveJun 11

There are always winners and losers in any shift.

PatientPebble33archiveJun 11

Since I began using a GLP my craving for potato chips has vanished. I used to go through huge amounts. At least my interest in alcohol has stayed the same.

GreyCinder78archiveJun 11

We are probably eating a normal amount now instead of the oversized portions the industry pushes.

RustBeacon82archiveJun 11

Smaller menu portions? No thanks. I like getting three meals out of one order and keeping the leftovers.

PlainCompass58archiveJun 11
↳ replying to @PatientPebble33

My desire for alcohol never went away either.

PatientPebble33archiveJun 11
↳ replying to @PlainCompass58

It fades for some people. I almost feel bad for them.

QuietFenwick11archiveJun 11

My grocery bill actually went up from inflation even though I buy less food now. The only thing cheaper than last year in my routine is the GLP-1 medication itself.

KeenKettle50archiveJun 12
↳ replying to @QuietFenwick11

I switched to Greek yogurt and ultrafiltered protein milk because regular whole foods have become too expensive, especially while lifting weights.

WarmMeadow92archiveJun 12
↳ replying to @PatientFenwick91

In the UK chips means crisps and fries are called chips.

CopperSignal27archiveJun 12

That four-hundred figure is only a small slice of total grocery sales. Stores are trying to make up for lost cheap-calorie volume by pushing new high-protein items that still pack plenty of calories and cost twice as much as the regular versions.

PatientFenwick91archiveJun 12
↳ replying to @WarmMeadow92

In the US chips usually means fries and crisps means chips. Being British I adjust when talking to Americans, so I asked what the original poster meant.

WarmMeadow92archiveJun 12
↳ replying to @PatientFenwick91

I am viewing this from a US angle. The only time fries are called chips here is fish and chips. Otherwise potato chips almost always means the snack. The original poster is Canadian so probably uses the same wording as the US. The linked article is British and talks about crisps, so I think the poster meant the US-style chips.

RustAnchor27archiveJun 12
↳ replying to @PatientPebble33

I used to want chocolate every night after dinner but now I do not care. Like you, my interest in alcohol is still going strong and it is currently my main carb source.

PatientFenwick91archiveJun 12
↳ replying to @WarmMeadow92

Unless the original poster is another Brit living in North America. Still, your reading makes sense.

SlowMeadow76archiveJun 12
↳ replying to @QuietFenwick11

I agree, though a large share of my higher bill comes from choosing actual food instead of heavily processed items. Prices have risen, but paying extra for real ingredients rather than a chemistry experiment is its own problem.

PatientPebble33archiveJun 12
↳ replying to @RustAnchor27

I mix vodka with club soda or lime juice. Almost no carbs and very few calories. After a night of drinking I do not gain weight; I usually drop a pound or two.

RustLantern55archiveJun 12

I saw a single-serve frozen meal labeled as friendly for these medications. The ingredients were still poor quality and it only had thirty grams of protein for a chicken dish. Some people will buy it just because of the label and think they are eating well.

RustAnchor27archiveJun 12
↳ replying to @PatientPebble33

Good for you. I cannot manage that. I am quite into wine and living in Italy does not help.

PlainAnchor17archiveJun 12

Someone pulled out the universal translator.

ClearKettle55archiveJun 13

This trend makes me wonder if some food-industry group will push to ban these drugs.

PatientPebble33archiveJun 13
↳ replying to @ClearKettle55

The drug companies will push back hard against any ban attempt.

LevelThistle44archiveJun 13
↳ replying to @PatientPebble33

Alcohol has seven calories per gram. A standard drink has fourteen grams, so that is ninety-eight calories just from the alcohol.

CopperAlder72archiveJun 13

On the other side there is now a worldwide shortage of whey protein and prices have jumped because manufacturers are adding it to everything so they can claim high protein and sell to these medication users.

CopperAlder72archiveJun 13
↳ replying to @RustLantern55

This approach will probably spread. Makers have noticed that users care less about taste and more about protein and nutrient density. Reports say companies want to create new items for this group, but so far they are just dusting regular ultra-processed food with protein powder, shrinking portions, and charging more while using marketing claims.

PatientPebble33archiveJun 13
↳ replying to @LevelThistle44

Either way, drinking vodka with club soda has not caused me to gain weight, so I will keep doing what works.

SlowHarbour21archiveJun 18
↳ replying to @PatientPebble33

Does your liver get any say in the matter?

BrightCompass30archiveJun 19

Things in my fridge now expire before I finish them, so I have started buying smaller amounts.

LevelCinder55archiveJun 19

Supermarket profits are also down in Thailand. A store manager there blamed rising prices because everything is imported and fuel costs have become unaffordable after the attack on Iran and the closure of the strait of Hormuz.

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