Editor's Take: Ozempic reframes the concept of weight management

Among the first reactions to GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic reframing the concept of weight management might have been that “natural” alternatives like weight loss supplements would be skipped over in favor of the powerful pharmaceuticals, but what has emerged instead is a range of opportunities matched to consumers at different stages in their GLP-1 journey.

In Nutrition Business Journal’s newly published Supplements in the Ozempic Age Special Report, those opportunities are described in a before/during/after format.

“Before” refers to rising consumer interest in weight management supplements positioned as alternatives to the GLP-1 drugs. We’ve already seen berberine go viral as “nature’s Ozempic,” but brands are making claims that prebiotics and other ingredients can “stimulate GLP-1.” Though measurable evidence of weight loss on the scale of the pharmaceuticals is lacking for the supplements, a GLP-2 halo appears to be lending its glow, as indicated in the report’s sales and growth data. Additional findings in the NBJ report include that only 12% of consumers in the “before” group said they tried weight management supplements and were not pleased with the results, suggesting that many could be open to new products.

Consumers in the “during” segment—those currently on the drugs—are more likely to have tried weight management supplements and report astonishingly high levels of satisfaction with the products. A whopping 73% said they were “pleased with the results.” 

That “pleased with” finding could be important as those consumers transition into the “after” populations. It is widely reported that a relatively small number of patients stay on the drugs even a full year; the opportunity to help consumers keep the weight off after they stop taking the drugs could be the biggest upside in the Ozempic era for supplements. At some point, there will be millions more consumers who have come off the drugs than are currently taking them.

It is very early in the game, but NBJ is already seeing an uptick in weight loss supplement sales. NBJ predicts 6.7% growth in 2024 to take the weight management supplements market to 6.7% from 5.4% in 2023, but the market remains difficult to predict. A breakout ingredient could transform the industry, though at this stage spiking sales of prebiotics, berberine and the like have not moved the needle far in a category overwhelmingly dominated by meal replacements.

Subscribe to the NBJ Analyst's Take.