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- PepsiCo says the impact of weight-loss drugs on its sales has so far been "negligible."
- Instead, the food and beverage giant is seeing "meals becoming more mini-meals."
- Analysts say companies will have plenty of time to prepare for the impact of weight-loss drugs.
PepsiCo is the latest food corporation to weigh in on the sales impact of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, telling analysts Tuesday the effect has so far been "negligible."
"There's obviously a lot of question marks," CEO Ramon Laguarta said about the drugs' longer-term influence on consumer behavior, adding that the company will continue monitoring the trend.
Laguarta pointed to more people snacking as a bright spot for the owner of food brands ranging from Lay's potato chips to Sabra hummus and beverages ranging from Mountain Dew to Bubly sparkling water.
PepsiCo is seeing growing popularity among urban, middle-class consumers, with "meals becoming more mini-meals and much more unstructured during the day," Laguarta said.
He also highlighted a multiyear effort to improve the nutritional value of PepsiCo products, reducing sodium, fat, and sugar, as well as using "new cooking methods."
Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, reported about $5 billion in North American sales in the first six months of 2023, causing some industry leaders to worry if the drugs' increasing popularity was coming at a cost to food retailers and brands. The drugs work by suppressing appetite and helping users feel full.
Mentions of "Ozempic" in consumer product earning calls, company documents, and related news more than tripled in the last 90 days, per data from AlphaSense, while mentions of "GLP-1" have doubled.
But analysts say any impact will be far enough down the road that these companies have time to prepare.
"This is not going to have a material impact on the food industry in the next six months to one year," CFRA analyst Arun Sundaram told Insider. "In our opinion, the concerns are a bit overblown."
"The food industry overall will continue to evolve and innovate," he added.