Key takeaways:
- GLP-1 medication resembling Ozempic could also be lowering general meals consumption, however they don’t seem to be eliminating indulgence.
- Knowledge cited by Lindt & Sprüngli suggests some GLP-1 customers are buying and selling as much as premium chocolate slightly than abandoning treats altogether.
- Snacks that rely closely on frequent, impulse purchases may face higher strain as customers grow to be extra selective about what they select to bask in.
For a lot of the previous yr, the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss medication has been mentioned in meals circles as if it factors in just one path. If folks taking Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro are consuming much less, then certainly indulgent classes resembling confectionery, biscuits and salty snacks should be heading for a squeeze.
However the image coming via from chocolate appears extra layered than that. What appears to be rising isn’t the tip of indulgence, however a change in its form. Customers utilizing these drugs could be reducing again on on a regular basis, impulsive snacking, but that doesn’t mechanically imply they’re turning their backs on treats altogether. What it might imply is that once they do select to indulge, they need one thing that earns it.
That distinction suggests the strain might fall hardest not on indulgence itself, however on merchandise constructed round frequency, behavior and simple attain. The snacks most uncovered might be those that depend on repeat, low-thought purchases – the grab-and-go bar, the checkout add-on, the acquainted candy deal with tossed into the basket with out a lot consideration. If customers have gotten extra selective, these merchandise have extra to lose.
Latest information cited by Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli provides that argument some form. An inner examine primarily based on Circana buying information discovered that whereas round 15% of US households at the moment are utilizing GLP-1 medication, those self same households accounted for roughly 17.5% of chocolate gross sales within the dataset. That isn’t what a clear collapse in indulgence appears like: if something, it hints at a market starting to separate.
A smaller deal with chosen with intent
Lindt mentioned US premium chocolate gross sales rose by practically 17% amongst GLP-1 customers in 2025, in contrast with about 6.5% development amongst non-users. The corporate’s rationalization is simple sufficient: as customers in the reduction of on heavier meals resembling pizza and pasta, they’re nonetheless making room for pleasure, solely in a extra measured means. The deal with continues to be there, however the logic behind it has modified. It’s much less about consuming casually and extra about selecting fastidiously.
“They’re upgrading to premium merchandise. Much less is extra – small rewards with second of bliss slightly than senseless munching,” mentioned Lindt CEO Adalbert Lechner.
Chocolate, particularly on the premium finish, is effectively positioned for that change as a result of it already trades on ritual, temper, gifting and private reward. It’s lengthy had one foot in snacking and the opposite in self-treating. In a GLP-1 market, that second identification might grow to be extra vital.
Lechner additionally mentioned he doesn’t see GLP-1 medication as a menace to future enterprise. He expects Europe, as soon as regulatory approvals broaden, to indicate an analogous sample to the US. Oral GLP-1 medication may widen that impact additional, bringing in additional males and youthful customers who could also be much less possible to make use of injectables and extra prone to enter the class via capsules that typically ship much less dramatic weight reduction.
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That studying of the market additionally chimes with wider snacking behaviour. Mondelez Worldwide’s 2024 State of Snacking analysis has repeatedly proven that folks don’t flip to snacks just for starvation. They use them to change off, to raise a uninteresting second, to create a small pocket of delight within the day. In its newest survey, greater than eight in 10 customers mentioned they snack to deal with themselves, whereas an analogous share mentioned snacks give them small moments of pleasure.
“Indulgent snacking is the right expression of ‘little deal with tradition’ – a handy and comforting escape from day-to-day routines,” mentioned Melissa Davies, senior supervisor, International Insights & Trendspotting at Mondelēz Worldwide. “Individuals see snacking as a well-deserved reward and method to unwind after an extended day.”
That emotional position doesn’t vanish just because appetites shrink. What might change is how usually customers indulge; how a lot they purchase every time; and what normal they count on the product to fulfill.
Much less meals general, sharper selections inside it
None of this implies the broader warning indicators for the snack trade have gone away. Analysis launched in December 2025 by Cornell College and printed within the Journal of Advertising and marketing Analysis discovered that households taking GLP-1 drugs decreased grocery spending by a mean of 5.3% inside six months of beginning remedy. Amongst higher-income households, the drop was greater than 8%.
“The primary sample is a discount in general meals purchases,” mentioned Sylvia Hristakeva, an assistant professor and co-author of the Cornell examine. “Solely a small variety of classes present will increase, and people are modest relative to the general decline.”
The declines have been particularly pronounced in classes related to cravings and informal consumption. Spending on savoury snacks fell by about 10%, with equally steep drops in sweets, baked items and cookies. Spending at fast-food and different limited-service eating places was additionally down by about 8%.
That’s the place the strain level for producers begins to return into focus. If general buying is falling, and if the most important drops are turning up in classes tied to comfort, frequency and impulse, then not all snacks will probably be equally susceptible. Some will wrestle as a result of they’re simple to skip. Others might survive – even thrive – as a result of they really feel value protecting.
Mintel’s analysis helps clarify why. The agency has discovered that snacking is more and more wrapped up in emotion slightly than pure starvation, with seven in 10 US customers saying they snack to loosen up and 4 in 10 UK customers saying they snack to deal with themselves. Youthful customers are particularly possible to make use of snacks to alleviate boredom or stress. On the similar time, Mintel has pointed to a broader shift in worth, with high quality, components and premium positioning more and more carrying extra weight than sheer frequency or quantity.
That opens the door to reinvention. Premiumisation isn’t just for boxed sweets or luxurious truffles. Nearly any snack could be pushed in that path if the proposition is robust sufficient – higher components, sharper flavour profiles, cleaner labels, extra refined textures, smarter portioning, packaging that indicators event slightly than behavior. The class strains don’t disappear, however the worth equation adjustments.
The merchandise in danger could be the ones purchased on autopilot
The actual divide might not be wholesome versus indulgent, and even chocolate versus all the things else. It might be intentional versus automated.
Manufacturers constructed round gifting, seasonality, discovery and perceived high quality have a level of insulation as a result of they already ask the buyer to cease, select and justify. Their merchandise are purchased with some thought. Against this, merchandise that rely closely on frequent, impulse-driven consumption may come underneath extra pressure as baskets get tighter and each buy has to make a stronger case for itself.
And as GLP-1s push customers in direction of fewer consuming events, meals makers throughout the board might should work tougher to reply a extra demanding query: why this and why now?
Lindt’s full-year figures counsel the upside for these that may reply it effectively. The Kilchberg-based firm posted natural gross sales development of 12.4% in 2025, taking revenues to CHF 5.92 billion ($7.51 billion), even after elevating costs by roughly 19% to assist cowl hovering cocoa prices.
The contradiction on the coronary heart of this market is turning into tougher to disregard. GLP-1s might effectively scale back how a lot folks snack. They might additionally increase the bar for the snacks that stay. For the merchandise customers purchase out of behavior, that’s a severe menace. For manufacturers in a position to flip indulgence into one thing chosen, savoured and price paying extra for, it might be the opening of a brand new premium chapter.
Research:
Hristakeva S, Liaukonytė J & Feler L. (2025). EXPRESS: The No-Starvation Video games: How GLP-1 Remedy Adoption is Altering Client Meals Demand. Journal of Advertising and marketing Analysis,0(ja). https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437251412834
