GLP-1 medications are beginning to influence more than just consumers’ waistlines. They’re also changing what Americans are putting in their grocery carts, creating new opportunities for parts of the animal agriculture industry.
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Brian Earnest, lead economist for animal protein with CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, says an estimated one in four U.S. households has someone using a GLP-1 medication. And because many of those individuals are making grocery decisions for their families, their changing dietary habits are beginning to show up in the marketplace.
He says, “I think I heard the number last year was like one in four households has a GLP-1 user in the U.S., and a lot of those users are the decision maker for the household in terms of the groceries that they are buying. What I think about is occurring, and we’re finally starting to see some good data on, survey data on, what GLP-1 users are doing, what their dollars, what they’re spending their money on animal protein. Chicken works very well with a GLP-1 user who is trying to reduce caloric intake, but also increase protein as the portion of their caloric intake.”
Earnest says those consumers are also becoming more selective about the type and portion size of the products they purchase. And they’re showing a willingness to spend more for quality.
He continues, “What I’m seeing in the data suggests that GLP-1 users are willing to pay a little bit more for quality. So, when we think about the beef side of the equation, they’re more receptive to a high-quality beef item, but they may not need a tomahawk ribeye, you know, to satisfy their itch on beef for the day. It may be a higher-quality ground beef item in a small four-ounce portion.”
Earnest says that shift toward smaller, leaner beef portions also has implications for the domestic cattle industry. With larger carcasses and increasing fat content in U.S. cattle, processors need additional lean beef to meet consumer demand. He says that is one factor contributing to increased beef imports.
As GLP-1 medications become more common, Earnest says the animal agriculture industry will need to adapt to consumers looking for more protein, higher quality and smaller portions.
