Walmart has revealed that customers are buying less food thanks to the increasing popularity of “miracle cures” like Ozempic – while restaurants are also reducing portion sizes.
The miracle weight-loss vaccine has proven a huge hit among the wealthy: U.S. health care providers wrote more than nine million prescriptions for appetite-suppressing drugs in the last three months of 2022.
That number is likely to have risen sharply since then, as appetite for drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy has increased this year. Recent analysis suggests that up to 15% of Americans – around 150 million people – have now tried the drugs.
Amid this rapid trend that shows no sign of stopping, retailers have already seen a significant impact on grocery deliveries and restaurant orders.
New York socialite Libbie Mugrabi, 43, who takes Ozempic along with many of her friends, said her restaurant orders have become much more conservative.
New York socialite Libbie Mugrabi, 43, who takes Ozempic along with many of her friends, said her restaurant orders have become much more conservative thanks to the drug
Sammy Muscovic, owner of Sojourn and Sojourn Social in the neighborhood, said the locations have started serving smaller versions of flagship menu items, including burgers without fries and three spring rolls for $8 instead of the usual $12 for five
Top restaurateurs are also feeling the changing habits of their ever-shrinking clientele. “People left a lot of food on the table,” said Thomas Makkos, the owner of Nello on Madison Avenue, New York
The ex-wife of billionaire art collector David Mugrabi said that on a recent trip to the swanky new Caviar Kaspia on New York City’s Upper East Side, her table of six guests had very few orders.
Mugrabi revealed that they had only ordered scrambled eggs with salmon, a crab salad and a $540 baked potato with osetra – one of the most expensive types of caviar – and hadn’t even finished their meals yet.
Regarding the Ozempic vaccination, she told the New York Post: “I can’t even eat all the caviar, but that’s the point of the vaccination!”
Ozempic, known as “Skinny Jab,” is the brand name of the diabetes drug semaglutide, which is taken as a weekly injection and has reportedly helped stars like Kim Kardashian and actress Christina Hendricks shed the pounds quickly.
Top restaurateurs are also feeling the changing habits of their ever-shrinking clientele.
“People left a lot of food on the table,” Thomas Makkos, the owner of Nello on Madison Avenue, New York, told the Post.
Makkos announced that the restaurant is now offering “tapas”-sized portions and smaller versions of popular dishes like the Gnocchi Mona Lisa. The standard version of this meal costs $51, while a newly created, more modest version costs $39.
Ozempic, known as “Skinny Jab,” is the brand name of the diabetes drug semaglutide, which is taken as a weekly injection and has reportedly helped stars like Kim Kardashian and actress Christina Hendricks shed the pounds quickly
Kim Kardashian is reportedly taking the miracle weight loss drug Ozempic
For Walmart, Ozempic is a double-edged sword because as they benefit from sales at their pharmacies, they see consumers spending less on groceries in-store
Several other restaurants on the Upper East Side are developing in a similar way.
Sammy Muscovic, owner of Sojourn and Sojourn Social in the neighborhood, said the locations have started serving smaller versions of flagship menu items, including burgers without fries and three spring rolls for $8 instead of $12 for five.
“Customers have said the food was amazing, but they feel full — we don’t want them to be overwhelmed when they’re not hungry,” Muscovic told the Post.
David Tornek, CEO and founder of Meat Market, said he needed to “double inventory at all locations” to meet the demand for smaller meals fueled by Ozempic.
The Florida-based steakhouse is now serving more and more 6-ounce petite filet mignon, with orders for the 12-ounce version declining.
For Walmart, Ozempic is a double-edged sword because as they benefit from sales at their pharmacies, they see consumers spending less on groceries in-store.
The grocery giant’s CEO John Furner said shoppers are buying “fewer units” while opting for foods with “slightly fewer calories.”
WEIGHT LOSS: Christina Hendricks posted a picture of her new figure after Ozempic
Billionaire Elon Musk, who owns Twitter, admitted that taking the drug helped him lose 30 pounds
“We definitely see a slight change compared to the overall population, we see a slight decline in the overall basket,” Furner told Bloomberg.
The retailer analyzes changes in consumer behavior using anonymized data from people taking Novo Nordisk A/S’s weight loss drug and similar products.
Furner said it’s too early to come to a definitive conclusion about the effect of the diabetes drugs, but he is noticing a pattern.