GLP-1s are changing consumer behaviour. Are your Category Entry Points changing too?

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have moved rapidly from medical conversation to cultural phenomenon. With uptake growing and consumers reporting significant changes to appetite, portion size and food preferences, the implications for food, drink and FMCG brands are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

But while much of the conversation has focused on what people are consuming less of, there is another question that deserves more attention: are GLP-1s changing the occasions, needs and motivations that bring consumers into categories in the first place?

Because if they are, brands need to think beyond reformulation and smaller pack sizes. They may need to reconsider the Category Entry Points they compete around.

A significant shift in the way people consume

The potential scale of change is substantial. GLP-1 drugs suppress appetite and can alter people’s relationship with food, with users frequently reporting smaller portions, reduced cravings and changing preferences across categories.

Recent PwC research suggests this is less about consumers simply cutting things out and more about rebalancing their diets, with increases in protein and fibre consumption alongside reduced demand in some traditional indulgence categories. PwC suggests that, for brands seeing volume decline, mini sizes and portion-controlled premium formats could offer one route to protecting margins.

This is important because the implications go well beyond the relatively small proportion of consumers currently taking GLP-1s. The rapid growth of the category is part of a much wider cultural shift towards health, moderation and more intentional consumption.

We’ve already seen evidence of this in our own work at 2CV. In research exploring the reasons behind declining sales for an alcoholic drinks brand, health emerged as the key macro trend influencing the category. Almost half of UK respondents said they were cutting back for health reasons, while one in five said they were switching beers and choosing to drink less, but better.

GLP-1s are adding another dimension to an existing change in how people think about consumption.

The bigger question for brands: what happens to the occasion?

Much of the current discussion around GLP-1s has understandably centred on products. Should portions become smaller? Should formulations change? Is there greater opportunity for protein, fibre or nutrient density?

These are important questions, but they don’t tell the whole story.

Consumers don’t enter categories simply because they want a product. They do so in response to a need, motivation or occasion. They might want a treat after a difficult day, something to share with friends, a reward at the weekend, a convenient solution when they’re short on time, or an affordable way to create a moment of indulgence.

These are Category Entry Points: the cues and situations that bring a category to mind.

If GLP-1s change appetite, cravings, attitudes to indulgence or the role food plays in social occasions, those entry points may change too. Some may become less frequent. Others may evolve. And entirely new opportunities may emerge.

The question for brands is therefore not only “How do we adapt our products?” but “Where, when and why will consumers choose us in future?”

Less, but better, could create new opportunities

Changing consumption doesn’t necessarily mean the disappearance of indulgence. In fact, there may be significant opportunities for brands that understand how its role is evolving.

PwC has suggested that consumers are unlikely to stop eating unhealthy foods entirely, but may consume them less frequently or in lower volumes. This creates an opportunity to rethink how products are designed for indulgent occasions, whether through smaller portions, premium formats or products intended to be enjoyed differently.

Our own research into alcohol consumption points to a similar dynamic. If consumers are drinking less but better, the occasion hasn’t necessarily disappeared. Its meaning has changed.

The same could be true across food and beverage categories. A large sharing bag might become a smaller, more premium treat. Everyday indulgence could shift towards a more deliberate reward. The need for convenience might remain, but with different expectations around nutrition and portion size.

The brands that succeed will be those that understand these shifts at the level of real consumer behaviour, rather than assuming that established occasions and motivations will remain static.

Category Entry Points aren’t fixed

Category Entry Points are sometimes treated as a relatively stable map of how consumers enter and navigate a category. But significant cultural, technological and behavioural shifts can change that map.

GLP-1s offer a particularly interesting example because they have the potential to affect something deeply embedded in everyday life: hunger itself.

For FMCG and food and beverage businesses, this makes understanding the evolving category landscape increasingly important. Which occasions are growing? Which are declining? Are familiar needs being expressed differently? Where are new opportunities emerging? And does your brand have the credibility to compete for them?

There may not yet be definitive answers to all of these questions. But waiting until behavioural change shows up clearly in declining sales is unlikely to be the best time to start asking them.

For brands navigating the impact of GLP-1s and the wider shift towards more intentional consumption, the opportunity is to understand not only what consumers are changing, but why, when and where those changes are happening.

That’s where the next source of growth may be found.

By Emily Jackson, 2CV