Food companies worried about weight loss drugs can just make healthier food, Eli Lilly CEO says

CEO David Ricks says he has received calls from Walmart and other companies seeking advice on how they should navigate the growing impact of weight loss drugs

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In 2023, sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound reached $5.3 billion.
In 2023, sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound reached $5.3 billion.
Image: Bloomberg / Contributor (Getty Images)
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David Ricks, the CEO of Mounjaro and Zepbound maker Eli Lilly, says that food, diet, and fitness companies have called him for advice regarding the growing popularity of the company’s diabetes and weight loss drugs.

Ricks said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that his advice to these companies is that they need to adapt to a world that has fewer obese people.

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Zepbound and Mounjaro are part of a class of diabetes and obesity medications known as GLP-1 — that same class to which Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic belongs. Demand for the appetite-suppressing drugs has skyrocketed in the past couple years.

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In 2023, sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound reached $5.3 billion, and they’re still soaring this year. Unrelenting demand for GLP-1 drugs has led to ongoing shortages, and the pharma giant has committed billions of dollars to build new facilities to keep up with demand.

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Morgan Stanley analysts anticipate the global market for GLP-1s will reach $105 billion by 2030, up from a previous projection of $77 billion. The investment bank also expects the adoption of these drugs to reach about 31.5 million people in the U.S., or about 9% of the nation’s population, by 2035. Beyond that, analysts expect the slimming drugs to help boost the fitness industry and reshape the food sector.

Walmart US CEO John Furner said the company is already noticing changes in consumer behavior that he’s attributed to the drugs. He told Bloomberg in October that, in comparison to the general population, users are buying fewer things.

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Ricks said he has talked to Walmart and other big food stores and told them that they should make adjustments if they’re afraid of losing sales.

“If they’re worried about salty snack foods high in fat, saturated fat, or selling less? I’d say, ‘Well, why don’t you make healthier ones?’” Ricks said.