A range of pizza and pasta dishes is being launched specifically aimed at those taking weight loss medications such as Wegovy or Ozempic.
Nestlé will initially launch the new line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pasta in the United States.
The world’s largest food company said it developed the new products with more protein, iron and calcium for people who take the hugely popular appetite suppressants called GLP-1 agonists.
Tom Moe, president of Nestle USA’s meals division, said it will offer the meals under a new brand, Vital Pursuit, as “food solutions” for people who want to supplement their drug use with “the right diet – high protein, good fiber, that.” “real minerals” such as potassium and vitamin C.
Nestle, whose biggest brands include KitKat chocolate bars and Nescafe coffee, began working on companion products to the GLP-1 drugs last year.
“We have moved very quickly here,” Moe said.
The products, which hit supermarkets in October, cost $4.99 and under, making them slightly more expensive than a DiGiorno four-cheese personal pan pizza that sells for $4.79 at Target.
Nestle CEO Mark Schneider said in October that the company was monitoring whether increasing use of the drugs could hurt demand for its food products.
Some investors fear that food companies will suffer a loss in sales because of the hunger-suppressing drugs. But executives at companies like Nestle and Conagra see the drugs as a new opportunity to promote products like beef jerky, popcorn and frozen meals. Mondelez executives said their snack bars fit perfectly into a GLP-1 patient’s diet.
About one in eight U.S. adults have taken the GLP-1 drugs, but Goldman Sachs estimates that 10 million to 70 million U.S. consumers could take them in the next four years.
Moe said Nestle has spoken to people who take the drugs to develop the meals and will soon offer them samples. The Switzerland-based company launched the brand first at Walmart and then at other major retailers such as Kroger and Target, he said.
People taking GLP-1 drugs are at risk of losing muscle mass because they lose weight and often don’t feel like eating much, said Ethan Lazarus, an obesity doctor in Colorado. Some who take the drugs develop an aversion to protein and fat, said Lazarus, a spokesman for GLP-1 drug makers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
Nestlé already makes weight-loss shakes and supplements tailored to people taking these medications who may experience side effects such as nausea and constipation.
Nutrition company Herbalife began selling some of its most popular shake mixes and fiber supplements in packages aimed at people who use drugs earlier this year.
Herbalife is considering expanding the packages to other markets, including South America and especially Brazil, where GLP-1 drugs are becoming increasingly popular, said Luigi Gratton, chairman of the company’s nutritional advisory board.
Meal kit provider Daily Harvest also offers a GLP-1 Companion Food Collection, a meal box that includes a broccoli white bean soup and a bean and cabbage bowl for $118.46.
Sales have been “relatively slow,” Daily Harvest CEO Ricky Silver said. The company is not aggressively pushing to sell its kits to people taking medications, he said.
“We definitely see it as an opportunity (but not something we need to drastically shift our focus on”), Silver said. “Our foods are already fundamentally good for people taking these medications.”