While most might assume the typical GLP-1 user is overweight or obese with little interest in nutrition, the market data paints a very different picture of typical user demography.<\/p>\n
According to European market insights from Lumina Intelligence, a large portion of medication users are not obese, but are health-conscious consumers who want support shifting stubborn pounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we think of consumers using GLP-1 medications we tend to think that we are talking about less healthy people, but in reality, in every respect, these consumers are not profiling like the typical person with obesity,\u201d said Morgan Griffiths, commercial lead at Lumina Intelligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s actually people who tend to make more healthy lifestyle choices. They have been trying to loose weight, doing exercise, taking supplements, and struggling to lose that last bit of belly fat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Actively increasing supplement use<\/p>\n
For the sports and active nutrition industry, which already sells many products perfectly aligned with the needs of GLP-1 users, this paints a \u201cvery interesting picture as to the scale of the opportunity\u201d, Griffiths argued, discussing data collected by Lumina from consumers across Europe.<\/p>\n
Asked whether using GLP-1 medication has caused them to increase their spend on supplements, nearly 60% of respondents said they have increased supplement use since starting the course.<\/p>\n
Looking at which specific supplements these consumers take, or consider taking, the data reveals the most commonly used supplement is protein (50.6%), closely followed by vitamin D (49.73%), multivitamins (48.3%), fiber (45.89%), and probiotics (36.91%). <\/p>\n
Also featured fairly high on the list are other typical sports nutrition ingredients; creatine (31.65%) and HMB (14.57%).<\/p>\n
The data further details which side effects and challenges consumers regularly face when taking the medications, helping to paint a clear picture as to the reasons behind their nutrition choices.<\/p>\n
The most commonly experienced side effects include: Nausea (26.83%), constipation (25.41%), mood changes (22.02%) and fatigue or low energy (21.69%). <\/p>\n
Loss of muscle or strength, a commonly discussed side effect, was experienced by a smaller 12.16% of users.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat low energy and fatigue side effect helps explain the interest in ingredients like creatine and indicates that simply changing the messaging of traditional sports nutrition products allows you to tap into this huge market of consumers,\u201d Griffiths noted.<\/p>\n
The missed opportunity<\/p>\n