GLP-1, protein drinks, fiber-enriched products… behind this diversity, it is the same dynamic that is taking hold in the food aisles. A silent revolution which is already redesigning these supermarket shelves. Lighting by Cindy Lombart and Nejla Znaidi, experts on consumer behavior at Audencia, the Nantes business school.
What consumers drink or eat is no longer just designed to hydrate or satiate but to provide a functional response., nutritional and targeted. In the background, a phenomenon from the United States acts as a powerful accelerator of this shift : the rise of GLP-1 type treatments (like Ozempic or Wegovy), originally developed for diabetes and now widely prescribed for weight loss. Across the Atlantic, almost a quarter of food consumers are already affected with direct effects on their purchasing habits. By changing behaviors (reduction in intake, rapid search for satiety, systematic arbitrage on nutritional density), this phenomenon highlights a broader evolution of consumption which goes far beyond the medical field alone..
The first visible mutations
With the still limited diffusion of treatments and a regulatory framework, the subject remains largely underestimated in France. Nevertheless, this development is already leading to several visible changes : increased nutritional requirements ; recomposition of food baskets to the detriment of high-calorie products ; upscaling of functional foods as a response to reduced intakes. All in a blurring of the boundaries between drinks, snack and meal, and the development of smaller and denser formats.
How to approach this new issue ?
Different angles of complementary approaches make it possible to identify this emerging stage in the evolution of consumer behavior. There is of course the most current : the impact of GLP-1 treatments on global food demand and its repercussions in France. More fundamental, the transition from a logic of volume to a logic of nutritional density opens a new page. The consequences of this trend are manifested in several aspects. It impacts the transformation of food shelves towards functional and hybrid products, but also the recomposition of baskets and new consumption hierarchies. Finally, it highlights both risk categories and emerging opportunities.
