Costco, Hims, Noom, and more: 6 companies that started hawking weight loss products this year
Costco, Hims & Hers, and several others entered the weight loss business this year, offering branded and off-brand products
Exploding sales of prescription weight loss medications have catapulted Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY) to become the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical companies. This relentless demand has not only led to ongoing shortages but also boosted Denmark’s GDP last year. Morgan Stanley (MS) analysts project that the global market for GLP-1 prescription drugs could reach $105 billion by 2030.
With so much money at stake, a range of companies — Costco (COST) among them — have begun offering these weight loss medications. Additionally, telehealth companies including Hims & Hers (HIMS) and Ro are also providing lower-cost, off-brand alternatives. And even a Kardashian has joined the fray with a supplement that taps into the hype.
Check out these companies and others that have entered the weight loss market this year.
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Ro started selling compounded semaglutide in February
Ro was one of the first telehealth companies to start selling compounded semaglutide — an off-brand and cheaper version of the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. The company had been selling branded weight loss drugs since 2023. — Bruce Gil
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Costco, the membership warehouse club known for its $1.50 hot dogs and $2,000 gold bars, started selling prescriptions to Ozempic, Wegovy, and other weight loss drugs in April. — Bruce Gil
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The millennial-skewed tele-health platform Hims & Hers announced in May that is now offering customers a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. — Bruce Gil
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The digital health care company Sesame announced in August that it will start offering customers off-brand Wegovy for $250 a month. This is among the cheapest prices available for the popular weight loss drug. — Bruce Gil
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The psychology-focused digital healthcare platform Noom announced Thursday that is now offering off-brand weight loss drugs for one of the cheapest starting prices in the industry. The new offering is $149 for the first month and then $279 a month for the subsequent months, well below Wegovy’s $1,349 monthly price tag.— Bruce Gil
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Kourtney Kardashian’s wellness brand, Lemme, launched a new weight loss-themed supplement in September, saying in a press release that it delivers “significant weight management benefits.” Since the product is a supplement, Lemme’s claims have not been evaluated or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. — Bruce Gil