GLP-1s elevating interest in chewy snacks

CINCINNATI — Chewy and multi-textured snacks like Nerds Gummy Clusters, beef jerky and gum are trending in part due to the increased use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, according to market research firm Alpha-Diver.

GLP-1 users have reduced appetites while on the medication and may seek snacks that prolong the sensory experience to compensate for reduced consumption, rather than stop snacking altogether to achieve weight loss.  

“Chewy snacks help us relieve stress, so it stands to reason that GLP-1 users are eating less snacks, but eating more chewy things because it better delivers more emotional relief and bang for the caloric buck,” said Hunter Thurman, founder of Alpha-Diver. “If you understand the emotional role of these things, it’s not all a good thing to take (snacks) away. If I were a marketer purely targeting GLP-1, I’d be reminding people that this isn’t just calories in and calories out. You can have a rewarding experience in smaller quantities.”

Thurman added that chewing gum, which has been on a steady sales decline for years, could make a comeback due to increased GLP-1 use.

“It would not be news to any gum marketer out there that gum has been declining,” Thurman said. “I started my career in gum with brands like Orbit and Eclipse. Confections and gum (sales) have declined for the last 20 years, but GLP-1 might be the white knight of gum because gum fits the GLP-1 lifestyle with emotional relief and sensory benefit.”

Snack innovation

Thurman said food companies should never prioritize the perceived nutritional or medical benefits of certain snacks – such as low-sugar, high-protein, better-for-you, functional, etc. – when they are marketing products aimed at consumers on GLP-1 medications, for example. Instead, taste should be emphasized first.

“That’s the key,” Thurman said. “People play back the experiential part first and then look at gut support or anti-inflammatory or GLP-1 or whatever. As long as (companies) keep it in that order (for marketing), the brand should do pretty well. But many still have it wrong, like, ‘It’s high protein that also tastes really great.’ You’ll lose with that sequence.”

As far as R&D to create new chewy snacks for the growing number of people on GLP-1 medications, Thurman said artificial intelligence (AI) is currently an underutilized tool that can help brands avoid simply mimicking products that are already on the market.

“Anybody can look at the sales data and go, ‘Hey, beef jerky and gum and chewy things have been doing better.’ With AI, they might find a pattern of, ‘What do all these things have alike?’” Thurman said. “AI is good at regression analysis and putting like with like. It does have a lot of forward-looking power, and even for teams that are not trying to be predictive; it’s just more diagnostic. It’s better at unpacking why something is successful. When you have that you can plan your strategies and your product development, which is a much tighter brief.”