by As diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have advanced over the past few years, many people have turned away from established diet and nutritional products.
Now, two retailers that specialize in nutritional supplements – GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe – are trying a new approach to win over people who are taking or are interested in these drugs.
GNC is dedicating a wall of supplements in its more than 2,300 stores to products it believes will attract people to Ozempic, which contains the compound semagglutide, and other drugs known as GLP-1 medications. The chain is also training workers to help customers assess the substances that could help them manage the common side effects of those prescription drugs.
Michael Costello, the chief executive of GNC, said his company saw a “big opening” in helping individuals take such drugs for weight loss.
“As we look at the trends with people, where people are going, Ozempic and obviously Wegovy and other GLP-1s started blowing up,” Mr. Costello said in an interview. “We saw that many of those drugs had significant side effects.”
It is not clear exactly how many Americans are taking Ozempic and similar drugs for weight loss, but Mr. Costello pointed to a Goldman Sachs study that estimates that up to 70 million Americans have tried the medications. by 2028.
GNC thinks it can expand its weight management category through this push. Currently, less than 10 percent of GNC’s business comes from its weight management products, but recently, he said, sales in the category have increased by more than 20 percent.
Retailers, food companies and other companies are trying to figure out how Ozempic’s drug will hurt or help their businesses and what, if anything, they should do in response.
In October, Walmart, which has a significant pharmaceutical business, said it saw that people taking GLP-1 drugs bought slightly less food than other customers. The previous month, an executive at Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, expressed optimism about consumers turning to their Lean Cuisine meals, which are “exactly what you would be eating these kinds of drugs” “. And the fitness club chains Life Time Fitness and Equinox are offering training programs tailored to people on the medication.
GNC executives said they had developed more than 20 products that could be used to treat common side effects such as occasional fatigue, nutrient deficiency, decreased bone density and loss of muscle mass. Some of these products he was already selling, but others are new to the retailer. The supplements include women’s once-a-day multivitamins, ginger root capsules and a chocolate milk shake. On the wall, signs list side effects alongside shelves of supplements that can alleviate them.
None of the supplements that GNC has in its repertoire have been specifically formulated or clinically tested for users of the new weight loss drugs. Medical experts say that most people can get all the nutrients they need from a well-balanced diet. In addition, experts say that some supplements may not be effective and may cause their own side effects.
“Most patients will not need any supplements,” said Dr. Maria Daniela Hurtado Andrade, an assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., whose research focuses on reducing obesity. She also treats patients who take GLP-1 medications.
Executives at the retail chains said they kept the variety in their displays after consulting with outside doctors, toxicologists, nutritionists and other professionals.
“All of the recommendations that GNC is making regarding GLP-1 support are consistent with the scientific basis, the result of our consultation with doctors and a review of the posts of accredited professionals on this topic,” said Rachel Jones, chief innovation officer product and science of the CNG, in a statement.
Some retailers have gone a step further. The Vitamin Shoppe is partnered with WellSync, a telehealth company that fulfills prescriptions for GLP-1 medications. This is the first time the Vitamin Shoppe, which started in 1977, has worked with another business to offer customers a pharmaceutical option – a sign of how seriously retail executives are taking Ozempic and its relatives.
“I think there’s no question that we’ve seen people who have said, ‘Hey, if this isn’t what you offer, I’m going to look elsewhere,'” said Lee Wright, chief executive of the Vitamin Shoppe, in an interview.
In a Vitamin Shoppe survey of more than 1,500 customers, 40 percent of respondents said they would be “extremely” or “very likely” to use a telehealth service offered by the retail chain. Mr. Wright said learning that some employees in his stores were already on GLP-1 drugs helped convince him to work with WellSync.
The Vitamin Shoppe is keeping an arm’s length from the evaluation and prescription process, which involves an online questionnaire about medical history and goals and in some cases a live video interview with a licensed medical provider. (One of the questions is about body mass index.) WellSync manages that process, which includes working with clinicians. The companies created a subscription service called Whole Health Rx, which starts at $219.
To bring people back to the chain, the Vitamin Shoppe offers subscribers a $25 voucher to use in its stores or on its website.
Like GNC, the Vitamin Shoppe is emphasizing products like protein powders in its locations to lure people onto Ozempic or similar drugs. In early May, Vitamin Shoppe and its sister brand, Super Supplements, will have displays in each of its 700 stores announcing its telehealth partnership and providing a QR code that will direct consumers to the telehealth portal.
The market for GLP-1 related supplements is fairly new. There have been no significant trials testing the effectiveness of these products in alleviating the discomforts associated with drug use. And some doctors say that many of the common side effects from weight loss medications can be easily managed or reduced over time, reducing the need for long-term use of supplements.
For example, Dr. Hurtado Andrade said that instead of recommending probiotic supplements, which have live microorganisms like bacteria, she encourages her patients to eat food that contains those microorganisms, like yogurt or kefir. After a detailed assessment, she has, in some cases, recommended protein shakes, powders and supplements for patients who do not consume enough protein, she said.
“I think that medical supervision is very important because we can mitigate or reduce serious side effects that I believe could occur if the patients were not followed closely,” said Dr. Hurtado Andrade.
CNG and Vitamin Shoppe executives said their workers – whom they refer to as health enthusiasts or coaches – were not standing in for medical professionals. The executives also said that the company’s approach and strategies were designed in consultation with staff.
“We don’t want our health enthusiasts to try to act,” said Mr Wright at the Vitamin Shoppe. “They are not doctors. They don’t want to give out any medical advice.”
The CNG’s Mr Costello said his workers were trained to empathize with the challenges. To that end, he asked retail workers to watch Oprah Winfrey’s recent Ozempic special. The company also taught them to ask “lifestyle questions” before targeting supplements such as “What are your goals?” and “What are you currently doing to achieve your goals?”
That’s all well and good, said Dr. Hurtado Andrade, but she worries that retail workers aren’t as well-informed as medical professionals about how to interpret and address symptoms. That requires knowing what questions to ask, which practitioners and trained health providers are trained to do, she said.
“I don’t think a retailer will have the ability to think about the questions that need to be asked to reduce that differential and understand what diarrhea or any other side effect is related to,” she said.
Those concerns, however, are unlikely to stop retailers and supplement makers from diving deeper into what many analysts believe will be a fast-growing market.
Four years ago, before Ozempic became a giant drug, Supergut, a Los Angeles-based company, began selling prebiotic supplements, which feed on microorganisms. He marketed these products, like shakes and snack bars, in part as a way to help people control their blood sugar levels.
Two years ago, Supergut began highlighting the potential benefits of its products for gut health and dedicated a section of its website to GLP-1 drugs.
“This is how we’re going to connect with the consumer consciousness,” said Marc Washington, Supergut’s chief executive. “We are very relevant to this period and this Ozempí era,” he said.
In the last six months, sales have quadrupled, he said. GNC is stocking Supergut on its shelves in the GLP-1 section of its stores, the first time the brand has been sold in a national chain. Mr Washington said he was also talking to other national retailers.
