Nestlé and supplement makers push companion nutrition products for GLP-1 users

Food, supplement and ingredient companies are racing to sell products positioned alongside GLP-1 medications, a fast-forming category the industry calls "companion nutrition." Nestlé, supplement makers and drug companies are all targeting the practical fallout of eating far less: protein shortfalls, digestive discomfort and nutrient gaps ^[1]. No randomized trial results showing that these products change GLP-1 treatment outcomes have been reported ^[1].

The audience is large. A Gallup web survey of 5,065 U.S. adults, conducted May 28 to June 5, 2026, found that 11% of U.S. adults were currently taking the medications for weight loss ^[1]. Nestlé Health Science launched a GLP-1 nutrition platform in 2024 that drew on its Garden of Life, Boost, Nature's Bounty, Nuun and Vital Proteins brands and covered muscle preservation, gut health, micronutrients, hydration, skin and hair, and weight rebound ^[1]. Two years later, the company is using artificial intelligence to speed research, product development and consumer analysis ^[1].

Drugmakers are moving in too. Novo Nordisk and biosolutions company Novonesis announced a partnership in September 2025 to study whether microbiome-targeted supplements can enhance the effectiveness of GLP-1 weight-loss medications ^[1]. Scott Dicker, senior director of market insights at SPINS, said investment from food, ingredient, supplement and pharmaceutical companies around the same consumer need is a sign the opportunity is reaching a new level of maturity ^[1]. He said consumers ultimately "shop for benefits, not mechanisms," and predicted the category could broaden into protein, fiber, probiotics, hydration and targeted micronutrition even if the GLP-1 label fades ^[1].

The financial stakes show up in projections reported by The Food Institute. Morgan Stanley projects 15% of the U.S. population will be taking GLP-1 drugs by 2035, and J.P. Morgan predicts revenue losses for the food and beverage industry exceeding $30 billion by 2030 ^[2]. PwC estimates 20% of U.S. households include at least one person taking the drugs, and the American Medical Association estimated spending on the drugs reached $71.7 billion in 2023 ^[2]. NielsenIQ data cited in the same report show that after nearly a year on a GLP-1, consumers buy 15% less pizza, 8% fewer potato chips and nearly 10% less bacon, while spending on beef, yogurt, strawberries and Brussels sprouts rises by double digits and purchases of foods carrying 20 grams of protein rise nearly 20% among long-term users ^[2]. Food makers are responding: Conagra is testing recipes, and General Mills is using artificial intelligence to model shopper reactions ^[2].

Not every nutrition claim rests on the same evidence. Kantha Shelke, a senior lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and principal of Corvus Blue, said protein and muscle preservation have the strongest scientific rationale, because appetite suppression can lead people to eat less protein as they lose weight, and higher protein intake can help support lean mass, particularly when paired with resistance training ^[1]. Collagen, by contrast, is marketed around skin changes and so-called "Ozempic face," but facial fat loss is not caused by a collagen deficiency, and there is no evidence that consuming collagen restores lost facial fat or tightens loose skin, she said ^[1]. Micronutrients and hydration have a more straightforward rationale, she added, though products addressing those needs are not necessarily unique to GLP-1 users ^[1]. She said many companies are repositioning existing products rather than changing them: "Currently, companies are merely relabeling. Far fewer are reformulating." ^[1]

Why it matters for patients

The products arriving on shelves address common nutrition concerns — protein, fiber, fluids, vitamins and minerals — and their labels are not required to show that they change weight loss, muscle mass or how well a GLP-1 drug works. Shelke's caution is that marketing can run ahead of evidence, particularly for collagen and skin claims ^[1]. For someone eating much less, the questions worth raising with a prescriber or dietitian — protein intake, muscle mass, digestive discomfort, nutrient gaps — are the same ones these products claim to answer, and no single product is matched to an individual's specific gap ^[1][2]. Whether any of these products are covered by insurance has not been reported.

What happens next

Novo Nordisk and Novonesis said they would study microbiome-targeted supplements alongside GLP-1 medications; results have not been disclosed ^[1]. Nestlé has not disclosed a timeline or specific products for its expanded GLP-1 strategy ^[1]. The Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan figures are forecasts for 2035 and 2030, not outcomes ^[2].