NEW YORK (Reuters) -Nestle’s new food brand for people taking weight-loss drugs like Wegovy will note that the meals are high in protein, fiber and nutrients, but will not name the blockbuster medications, a company executive told Reuters.
The world’s largest food maker is keeping the names of the drugs off the packaging due to regulatory concerns, Tom Moe, Nestle USA’s president of meals, said in a recent interview. Nestle will instead market its Vital Pursuit line of $5-and-under frozen meals on social media, he said.
“We won’t directly make the connection (to the drugs) on the food package,” Moe said.
Nestle’s hesitancy to name drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic on its packaging shows the uncertainty facing global food companies as they place big bets on selling products specifically geared toward millions of people taking the appetite-suppressing medicines.
The medications, from a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, threaten to dent profits of snack-makers and fast food chains as people taking them cut way back on the amount of food they consume.
When its fajita melts and pizzas hit store freezers this autumn, Nestle will face a sea of competitors making specific claims about their products targeting people on the medications.
The maker of Biocare, a drink that sells for $4.50 per serving, touts on the packaging that it can “alleviate side effects” such as nausea, for people taking semaglutides, a reference to the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic.
The medications can cause gastrointestinal side effects, but doctors recommend people using them keep eating, especially protein-rich foods, to maintain energy and avoid losing muscle.
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