Finding Foods That Users of Weight-Loss Drugs Will Love
What does the rise of Ozempic mean for the food industry?
A pharmacist holds a box of Novo Nordisk A/S Ozempic brand semaglutide medication.
Photographer: George Frey/BloombergThe rise of GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, is a potentially existential threat to the makers of salty, sugary, high-calorie snack foods. But it's obvious that the gigantic food industry will search out ways to adapt. So what types of new products will they sell? How will they be flavored? How will they be packaged and marketed? On this episode of the podcast, we speak with Barb Stuckey. She is the chief innovation and marketing officer at Mattson, a San Francisco Bay Area company that helps food producers find the next big flavor. Her team recently undertook a big study of Ozempic users to get a better understanding of how it changed their diets. She speaks to us about what they learned, what new types of products are in development, and how food manufacturers find the next big thing. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Key insights from the pod:
Role as chief innovation officer at Matson — 5:37
Recent study into GLP-1 drugs and food — 6:50
GLP-1 users’ experience of the drug — 10:03
Food preferences of GLP-1 users — 13:13
What can junk food makers do? — 16:37
Products that resonated with GLP-1 users — 18:33
Recreating the taste of ‘fresh’ foods — 22:21
How new flavors and food products get made — 24:51
What makes a great flavor? — 28:01
What makes a food go viral? — 31:10
Who owns the IP to viral foods? — 36:02
How to identify the next big thing in food — 37:39
What is the next big thing in flavors? — 39:28