GLP-1 treatments are changing consumer habits and creating new challenges for the food industry. Discover how consumer needs, food formulation and portfolio strategies are evolving, and how AI and sensory analysis can help companies navigate this new landscape.
The food industry is entering a new phase in which health, technology and consumer behavior are becoming increasingly interconnected. The growth of GLP-1 treatments is accelerating this transformation and raising new questions for food and beverage companies: how are consumption habits changing? What do consumers now expect from products? And, most importantly, how can the industry anticipate these changes?
This was one of the key themes of Maha Tahiri, Co-Founder & CEO of S2BGroup, at ftalks Food Summit Valencia 2026. Under the title “How AI, GLP-1, and Health Are Rewriting the Food Industry,” Tahiri, whose professional experience includes companies such as General Mills, Coca-Cola, Danone and Mars, explored the potential impact of GLP-1 treatments and artificial intelligence on the future of the food industry.
To illustrate the scale of the phenomenon, Tahiri used a striking image: a tsunami. Her starting point is straightforward: the effects of GLP-1 treatments extend beyond the pharmaceutical sector and could ultimately reshape behaviors across the entire food value chain.
One of the first changes can be seen in the way people relate to food. As Tahiri explained during the session, users may consume smaller overall volumes of food and turn to smaller portions, while also changing their shopping habits. This is accompanied by greater attention to labels, a search for specific nutrients and more intentional purchasing decisions.
The challenge for the industry is to detect these shifts before they become clearly visible in sales figures. Market behavior can begin to change well before those changes appear in commercial indicators, as preferences, shopping habits and the relevance of certain categories evolve.
This new landscape is giving rise to a profile that Tahiri describes as the “consumer-patient”: a person who simultaneously occupies the role of consumer and patient.
The distinction matters. This consumer is not simply choosing products based on their traditional characteristics. Health considerations, nutritional composition and specific needs may increasingly become part of the decision-making process. They are also actively looking for information and, according to the data presented during the session, their decisions can influence the rest of the household.
Tahiri highlighted this family effect in particular. In certain US households, she explained, the GLP-1 user may play an important role in deciding which foods are purchased for the entire family. The impact, therefore, does not necessarily remain at an individual level.
The industry is consequently facing a consumer who arrives at the supermarket with more information, more questions and different selection criteria. For food companies, this creates a need to understand not only which products consumers like, but which attributes they are looking for, what needs are driving their choices and how preferences evolve across different consumer profiles.
Changes in consumption habits are also opening up a broader discussion around food development and formulation.
One of the issues raised during the session was the need to respond to new requirements related to protein, fiber and micronutrients while consumer expectations continue to evolve. This is where what Tahiri called the “formulation ceiling” comes into play: the limits that can emerge when companies try to modify a product’s nutritional profile while maintaining the characteristics consumers expect.
Formulation therefore becomes more complex. It is not simply about adding or reducing certain components, but about understanding how far these changes can go and how they fit with consumer expectations.
Tahiri also introduced another relevant point: taste expectations may change for certain consumers. This raises an important question for food innovation: how do preferences evolve when needs and consumption habits are changing at the same time?
The impact of GLP-1 treatments may also extend to portfolio decisions. As needs evolve, companies may face consumers with different expectations and new consumption occasions.
During her presentation, Tahiri described a journey through different stages of the consumer-patient experience, from the beginning of treatment to later stages. To illustrate this, she drew parallels with categories such as baby food and pet food, where needs change over time and product offerings adapt to different stages.
The comparison raises a broader question for the industry: which products will remain relevant as consumer needs and habits change?
Sales can show that something is happening, but they do not necessarily explain why. When a category loses frequency or a product takes up less space in the shopping basket, understanding what is behind that shift becomes a strategic issue.
If GLP-1 treatments are changing certain consumption behaviors, artificial intelligence is changing how consumers look for answers.
This was the second major theme of Tahiri’s presentation. The shift is particularly relevant for brands: consumers no longer have to limit themselves to searching for information about a product or company. They can ask an AI model a question directly and receive a recommendation.
The difference may seem small, but it has significant implications for the industry. Brands need their product information to be accessible, consistent and comprehensive enough to become part of this new ecosystem of AI-generated answers.
And GLP-1 users are already turning to these tools to answer food-related questions. During the session, Tahiri showed the example of a query about high-protein, low-sugar yogurts available in Canada, for which AI generated a selection of products. She also pointed out that these types of responses can vary depending on the country.
The implication for companies is clear: part of the purchase decision can now take place in an environment where brands do not directly control the conversation.
The two trends discussed during the presentation converge around the same challenge for the food industry: understanding how consumers are changing.
GLP-1 treatments can influence habits, needs and selection criteria. At the same time, AI is transforming how consumers search for information and make decisions. Together, these trends require companies to look beyond traditional indicators.
For food and beverage companies, this means combining market information with a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and preferences. It also means identifying which attributes remain relevant, which are becoming less important and how different consumer profiles respond to products.
Tahiri’s perspective points towards an industry that will need to adapt to a more informed consumer, with new needs and access to tools that can directly influence purchasing decisions.
And this raises a particularly relevant question for innovation: how can companies turn all this change into actionable knowledge about their own products?
This is where Sensesbit’s Sensory Intelligence comes in. As consumer habits, needs and expectations change, companies need tools that help them understand how preferences are evolving and what those changes mean for their products.
At Sensesbit, we help food and beverage companies turn sensory analysis data into actionable insights for decision-making. Our platform allows companies to analyze how different consumer profiles respond to a product, identify the attributes that influence acceptance and detect differences between consumer segments.
In the context of GLP-1, this knowledge can support decisions around product innovation and development, reformulation and portfolio management. It can also help identify changes in acceptance and preferences that may not yet be visible in commercial indicators.
The goal is to take the next step: move from knowing that the market is changing to understanding what is changing in consumers and what that change means for your products.
This is where Sensesbit’s Sensory Intelligence comes in. As consumer habits, needs and expectations change, companies need tools that help them understand not only whether a product is liked or disliked, but how the overall consumption experience is changing.
In the GLP-1 context, variables such as taste, sensory intensity, texture and changes in perception throughout consumption may become particularly relevant. Two concepts that we believe will be fundamental to new product development are satiation and satiety. Although they are often used interchangeably, they do not mean exactly the same thing. Satiation is related to the process that leads someone to finish a meal or stop consuming a product, while satiety refers to the feeling of fullness that persists after eating and delays the next eating episode.
This opens up a significant field for sensory analysis: which flavors and textures work best for these new consumer profiles? How does perception change as a product is consumed? Which attributes contribute to a satisfying experience with smaller portions? And how can we incorporate the perception of satiation and satiety into the development and validation of new foods?
At Sensesbit, we help food and beverage companies turn sensory analysis data into actionable insights to answer these types of questions: analyzing how different consumer profiles respond, identifying which sensory attributes influence acceptance and detecting changes that are not yet visible in commercial indicators.
And we are taking this a step further. At Sensesbit, we are developing a dedicated framework to address the impact of GLP-1 from a sensory perspective, integrating taste, texture, perception throughout consumption, satiation and satiety. We will be sharing this framework very soon.
Because in the context of GLP-1, the challenge goes beyond nutritional reformulation. It becomes increasingly important to understand how the sensory experience of eating may change.
If you are working on new products, reformulation or portfolio strategy, Sensesbit can help you turn your sensory studies into useful insights for making more confident decisions. 👉 Talk to our team and discover Sensesbit