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Nestle Uses AI To Build Foods For GLP-1 Users
The company is targeting muscle loss and other rapid weight-loss side effects as around 16 million Americans take GLP-1 medicines
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2 mins
What’s going on here?
Nestlé is using AI to design foods and supplements for people taking GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, a group Boston Consulting Group estimates at about 16 million Americans
What does this mean?
Wall Street has worried that GLP-1 medicines like Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound could shrink demand for snacks and other packaged foods. Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, argues the trend also creates new demand: products that help users manage rapid weight-loss side effects like muscle loss and skin changes sometimes dubbed “Ozempic face.” Its chief technology officer told Reuters the firm is using AI to scan clinical resear
ch and speed up product development, then pairing that with internal data from a roughly 120,000-recipe library and simulated consumer feedback. Nestlé has already launched “GLP-1-adjacent” items such as Boost Advanced Nutrition Shake in the US, marketed with 35 grams of protein, and it has added collagen protein to some Vital Proteins products. Skeptics note that protein and key nutrients are readily available in everyday foods like eggs, dairy, beans, and fish, but targeted branding could still persuade shoppers.
Why should I care?
For markets:Nestlé’s Food Genie and 120,000 recipes turn GLP-1 into a speed game
If GLP-1s leave consumers eating less, packaged-food companies may win or lose on how quickly they can pivot toward higher-margin “functional nutrition” lines rather than on snack volume alone. Nestlé says tools like its internal Food Genie can use its proprietary recipe and consumer-response data to train models, iterate recipes faster, and test health-claim messaging before a broader rollout. That shorter product-development loop favors scaled incumbents with large data sets and wide distribution, while smaller brands may face slower research and pricier marketing to stay visible. Over time, the aisle could shift from competing for calories to competing for credible protein and collagen positioning tied to muscle and skin concerns.
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