Trend Analysis
»Weight Loss Injections«
Disruption for the food industry?
What are weight loss injections?
Weight loss injections or diet injections are an option for weight loss that has gained enormous popularity since last year.
A special combination of medication and nutrients is administered by injection and produces amazing weight loss results within a very short time. Weight loss injections are often advertised as a quick solution to boost the metabolism, reduce appetite and prolong the digestive process. This also has direct consequences for the food industry.
Some of these preparations originally came onto the market as diabetes drugs and are now being used inflationarily as lifestyle drugs to combat obesity. Problem: As a result, the drugs have recently become frequently unavailable, leading to bottlenecks in the supply of diabetes sufferers.
Experts emphasize that diet injections alone are not a long-term solution for healthy weight loss. A balanced diet and regular exercise must be part of the weight loss process, otherwise weight regain will occur once the medication is discontinued. People who want to lose weight should therefore only use diet injections under medical supervision and after thoroughly weighing up the pros and cons.
In Europe, weight loss injections are legally classified as medicinal products. Such products must be approved by the EU Commission before they are placed on the market. Preparations such as Wegovy and Ozempic are currently only available on prescription in Europe and the costs are not covered by health insurance companies.
Risks and side effects
The idea of administering weight loss drugs by injection has been around for some time. Some of the earliest examples of diet injections date back to the 1950s and 1960s, when amphetamine-based preparations such as Dexedrine were used for weight loss. However, these preparations were later heavily regulated due to their serious side effects and high potential for addiction. Likewise, the product "Ayers Long Acting Seltzer", which became popular in the 1970s and contained phenylpropanolamine (PPA). PPA was later withdrawn from the market due to safety concerns.
However, even with modern preparations such as Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro, there are concerns about safety and efficacy. Some products can have potentially serious side effects, including cardiovascular problems, inflammation of the gallbladder and mental disorders.
Nevertheless, weight loss injections are already an integral part of the weight loss lifestyle, especially in the USA. This can be seen on TikTok, for example, where weight loss diaries are viewed millions of times under hashtags such as #ozempicweightloss and doctors recommend the drugs for rapid weight loss.
Economic players
The currently popular syringes Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy are developed by the pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk.
Novo Nordisk is known for its insulin preparations and drugs for the treatment of diabetes and other metabolic disorders. One of its products for the treatment of obesity is Saxenda (active ingredient: liraglutide).
The company Eli Lilly has also developed drugs that can be used to treat obesity and diabetes. One well-known product is Trulicity (active ingredient dulaglutide), which is approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and can also be used for weight loss.
Due to the extreme increase in demand, Eli Lilly is currently the most valuable pharmaceutical company in the world - and is currently building a new factory worth billions in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Classification
Many meta-topics continue to drive
the trend of weight loss injections
Data collection: Obesity, body cult/body crisis,
vegan lifestyle, healthy eating
Media response in the last 12 months (D-A-CH, online)
The greener, the stronger the influence of the meta-topic on the topic of weight loss.
Weight loss injection – Key aspects of media coverage
The result of the pressrelations lead media analysis:
"How a injection is changing the world" was the headline in the Handelsblatt newspaper at the end of November 2023. 70 % of Americans and 50 % of Europeans are overweight, and by 2035 it will be 50 % of the entire global population. The weight loss injections Wegovy and Ozempic made the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk the most valuable European company with a market capitalization of 400 billion euros and its US competitor Eli Lilly (Zepbound) is currently the most valuable pharmaceutical company in the world.
Semaglutide (Novo) and tirzepatide (Eli) are based on GLP-1 analogs that mimic the intestinal hormone GLP-1. When food is ingested, it increases the release of insulin by the pancreas and thus ensures an early feeling of satiety - and therefore a surprisingly reliable weight loss of between 17 and 27 %.
Video source: YouTube / CBS News / 6/2/2023
"A medical sensation with enormous social consequences" (Handelsblatt). Although only 2 % of Americans take GLP drugs, they are considered a "game changer", at least comparable to mRNA vaccinations.
The major bank Barclays lists GLP-1 drugs as one of the big issues that will shape the next few years – alongside artificial intelligence and the energy transition.
The Economist estimates that the market will be worth 77 billion dollars by 2030 and that the injections will have further unexpected economic consequences.
The US economy is expecting profound upheavals if diet injections become a mass phenomenon and the costs of obesity in the healthcare system, 173 billion dollars (2019), would fall significantly. For example, airplanes would need less fuel, saving airlines millions of dollars a year – as calculated by financial analysts at Jefferies.
People would consume up to 30 % fewer calories in the long term. 77 % would go to fast food outlets less often and 62 % would drink less alcohol.
Sales of fast food, alcoholic beverages, sweets, snacks and soft drinks are already declining. This is because Wegovy & Co. apparently reduce the addiction and craving for these products.
Impact on the food industry
The shares of Pepsico, Coca Cola, Mondelez and Hershey's plummeted. Nestlé is planning extensive adjustments to its product portfolio. Danone is hoping for higher yoghurt sales – all due to weight loss measures such as diet injections. Experts believe that the market for sweets, fats and alcoholic beverages is facing a fundamental change – and a recession.
Weight loss injections are (still) extremely expensive at up to 1,500 euros per month and have to be used permanently. Most consumers will not be able to afford this. But the social pressure on overweight people is increasing: Obesity is often judged negatively, so those affected feel all the more compelled to look for alternatives to lose weight.
There are already reports of the increasing abuse of laxatives and that natural and cheap alternatives such as berberine (herbal active ingredient) have become the TikTok trend.
Outlook
1. The weight loss injection is increasing the social pressure to lose weight. This will fundamentally change consumer behavior – towards healthier foods with less fat and sugar.
2. Foods and dietary supplements that explicitly advertise "slimming ingredients" such as berberine will score highly, leading to a "functional food revival" (increasing popularity of foods with healthy ingredients).
3. New (natural) products with supposed miracle ingredients will flood the market, health food stores and drugstores - with dubious promises of healing and weight loss (and spiritual advertising messages).
4. There will be a new hype about diet and light products.
5. Vegan foods are becoming more popular due to their generally low calorie count. On the other hand, there is less demand for alcoholic drinks, sweets and snacks.
Weight loss injection: trend qualification
What makes the topic a trend?
Methodology for
evaluating and classifying new trends
When does an emerging topic become a trend?
The trend relevance check was conducted using the
following classification labels:
#Quantification of the trend
• Early Bird/Weak Signal < 10 hits in media / month
• Evolving Topic: 11 – 100 hits in media / month
• Trending Topic: 101 – 1.000 hits in media / month
• Hype Signal: > 1.000 hits in media / month
• Social Media Buzz: Number of posts with related hashtags
• Search Volume: Number of search queries for related terms (e.g. on Google)
#Qualification of the trend
(at least one tick for the following requirements)
Metatopics as potential pull factors?
✓ Yes, see above
Cross-industry influence/relevance?
✓ Influences healthcare, nutrition and lifestyles, high socio-political relevance
Game Changer?
✓ Even stronger link between health and nutrition,Trigger for a functional food revival
Relevance for the food industry?
✓ The stock markets have already reacted with losses for the manufacturers of unhealthy foods
Hidden giant?
/ Already a media hype, but the disruption potential for the food industry is still underestimated
Long-term influence/trend?
/ As a general rule, diet and health hypes die down after a few years or are replaced by new ones
Old, but newly discovered/reinterpreted subject area?
✘ No
A new perspective on an old topic?
✘ No
Media resonance
(Hits in media)
6.319 Total hits
1.053 Monthly hits
State: Hype signal
12 months, D-A-CH, online
Social media buzz
(Posts with hashtags)
#ozempic 22.333
#wegovy 7.818
#mounjaro 4.135
#semaglutide 2.412
#obesity 1.741
#tirzepatide 955
#berberine 880
#obesidade 498
#liraglutide 477
#dulaglutide 445
#ozempicweightloss 328
#fettwegspritze 249
#semaglutide-weightloss 228
#abnehmspritze 167
#obesitymedicine 159
#ozempicface 153
#semaglutid 128
#obesitycare 54
#abnehmspritzen 53
#obesitydrug 29
12 months, online
No restrictions on countries
Search string: abnehmspritze* OR Diätspritze* OR Ozempic OR wegovy OR fettwegspritze* OR berberine OR obesitydrug
Search volume
(Number of
search queries)
Total search volume:
317.550
12 months, D-A-CH, online
Experts and influencers
Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, Researcher, Novo Nordisk,
inventor of the slimming drug.
John Schoonbee, Global Chief Medical Officer, Swiss Re.
Matthias Blüher, Medical Doctor, Leipzig University Hospital.
Timo Müller, Metabolic Expert, Helmholtz-Zentrum München,
researches active ingredients that help with weight loss.
Hans Hauner, Nutritionist, TU München, is currently developing new guidelines for the treatment of overweight and obesity.
Further Links
Find out more about FirstSignals® and our scrollytelling studies here:
Your Contact
Oliver Heyden
Chief Strategy Officer
oliver.heyden@pressrelations.de
www.pressrelations.com
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