Weight-loss drugs may trigger the next restaurant crisis |
Chad Finkelstein is a partner at the law firm of Dale & Lessmann LLP and chair of the firm’s franchising, licensing and distribution group. His clients include U.S. and Canadian franchisors.
Survey quick-service restaurants right now and you’ll likely hear a version of the same story: Customers are still coming in, but they’re ordering less. Fewer sides. Fewer toppings. Smaller portions.
The explosive rise of GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy is not just changing waistlines. It is changing consumer behaviour in ways that may alter the restaurant industry as we know it. A recent survey shows that one-third of Canadians on such drugs are eating less often, and nearly another third are eating smaller portions.
Unlike fad diets or short-lived wellness crazes, GLP-1 drugs reshape hunger signals at a biological level. People feel fuller, sooner. They snack less. They skip the impulse purchases that drive revenue for many food businesses – the extra topping, the appetizer, the dessert, the “make it a combo” nudge.
This is likely to prove more than a trend, and may reshape restaurant menu design and pricing forever. It could also spell the next battleground of legal disputes between franchisors and franchisees. Chains........