Originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes and now approved for weight loss, GLP-1 drugs mimic the naturally-occurring GLP-1 hormone that regulates blood sugar and appetite. They lower blood sugar, slow digestion, increase satiety, and reduce overall food intake. The impact on Canadian consumer behaviour is measurable: fewer eating occasions, smaller portions, and more deliberate (and healthier) food choices.
In Canada, GLP-1 adoption is no longer a distant concern for consumer packaged goods and retail professionals. According to Numerator’s ongoing Canadian GLP-1 Research, roughly 13% of Canadian households already include a GLP-1 user, with almost 1 in 5 (18%) consumers expressing openness to future use. As adoption accelerates and reshapes how consumers eat and shop, the commercial implications extend well beyond healthcare into grocery, fast food, health and beauty, and more—requiring organizations across the spectrum to prepare. This guide outlines what the shift means for major functions, and the key questions each team should be asking now to stay ahead.
CMO: Is Our Portfolio Balanced?
Core questions: Where is GLP-1 changing demand in ways that require us to reallocate brand, media, innovation, or portfolio bets — now? Which brands in my portfolio need defensive messaging vs offensive innovation?
At the executive level, GLP-1 adoption will become a portfolio and investment allocation issue. Chief Marketing Officers and their teams can start by:
- Understanding what % of revenue comes from current GLP-1 users, GLP-1 curious households, and, as more consumers lapse from GLP-1 medications, lapsed users to better adjust strategies
- Determining whether GLP-1 adoption will be a headwind to manage— or if the expanding Canadian user base is a growth opportunity
- Tracking share changes with GLP-1 households across the portfolio
- Identifying which brands need defensive messaging and which need offensive innovation to grow with GLP-1 users
The most effective CMOs will assess the potential impact to their portfolios and track ongoing behavioural shifts due to GLP-1 medications before reallocating their investments.
Brand Management: Is My Brand GLP-1 Friendly?
Core questions: Are we gaining share, losing share, or neutral with GLP-1 users? How can I find new growth or innovation opportunities with GLP-1 users and their households?
Brands within the same category have experienced divergent results with GLP-1 households. In our November 2025 webinar, we highlighted a focus brand that experienced greater declines in penetration in relation to the overall category, but to a lesser degree than some of its top competitors.
Brand managers can quantify:
- Brand-level exposure to GLP-1 households and household penetration shifts among GLP-1 adopters
- Share movement vs. competitors among GLP-1 households
- When, why, and how GLP-1 households interact with their brand by surveying GLP-1 users upon purchase
This enables a better understanding of whether changes in brand performance are due to category-wide struggles, a brand-specific decline, or macroeconomic headwinds.
Brand Management: For Brands Not Naturally “GLP-1 Friendly”
Core questions: What is our true level of exposure to GLP-1 risk? Are there credible ways to evolve our offerings or messaging? Where are there opportunities to innovate without alienating our core consumer base?
Indulgent or high-calorie brands are at higher risk from GLP-1-driven behavioural changes—but while GLP-1 adoption is growing, the majority of Canadians remain unaffected by GLP-1 medications. Before panicking, brands managers in the ‘GLP-1 Unfriendly’ space can:
- Determine the true exposure level of their brand to both GLP-1 users and GLP-1 curious consumers
- Survey GLP-1 users to understand how they expect their consumer behaviour to shift over time
- Test marketing, messaging, and packaging changes with verified brand buyers or buyers who have lapsed since starting a GLP-1 medication to understand what resonates most
- Identify whitespace opportunities with GLP-1 users, whether by incorporating protein, fiber, lower calorie alternatives, or another feature that would appeal to GLP-1 users to their brand lineup, or innovating in adjacent categories
Category Management: What is my Category’s GLP-1 Growth Strategy?
Core questions: How exposed is my category to GLP-1 users and their households, and what does that mean for my retail partners? Will GLP-1 adoption advantage or disadvantage my category?
GLP-1 households already demonstrate lower overall grocery spend, reduced snack intensity, and shifts in trip frequency. For category managers, who need to bring objective category insights to retail partners to guide planograms, product assortment, promotional tactics, and more, while driving category growth and penetration of their brands at a retailer, it will be crucial to identify strategies for category growth with GLP-1 users and their households.
Category teams should:
- Quantify category exposure to GLP-1 headwinds (or tailwinds, for better-for-you and high-protein categories)
- Identify how disadvantaged categories, from sweetened drinks and snacks to alcoholic beverages, can grow despite the impact of GLP-1s
- Explore how shelf allocation should shift to best engage GLP-1 users
- Develop category best practices based on the verified behaviour of GLP-1-using category buyers
Consumer and Research: Who is My GLP-1 Consumer?
Core questions: How do GLP-1 users perceive my brands, and how do they interact with my brands or categories? How can I provide the right research and consumer insights to my internal stakeholders?
As GLP-1 adoption grows, understanding how these consumers perceive and interact with your brand is critical to guiding internal strategy. Verified purchase behavior paired with direct consumer feedback enables teams to move beyond assumptions and quantify how GLP-1 usage influences loyalty, trial, repeat, and brand equity, so that stakeholders across the organization are aligned on where risks and opportunities truly exist.
Consumer and Research teams can:
- Track brand health, loyalty, and equity with verified buyers of their brand who also use GLP-1 medications or are open to using GLP-1 medications, with cuts for weight-loss and diabetes usage
- Analyze brand equity compared to their brand’s competitive set among GLP-1 users
- Develop learning plans tailored to verified, GLP-1-using brand buyers
- Quantify new product performance and longevity among GLP-1 users and their households
- Segment verified buyers based on GLP-1 usage and intent to use, verified purchase behaviors, demographics, psychographics and more—and track the behaviour of and performance with each segment
Innovation: What Should We Be Building?
Core questions: What do GLP-1 users actually want? How can I make sure we deliver new products that meet the needs of GLP-1 users and their households?
GLP-1 users have cut back on grocery spending, making fewer trips, shopping across more retailers, and shifting away from categories perceived as unhealthy, from alcohol to pasta and noodles. The implications will vary across brands, categories, and sectors, but innovation teams can leverage consumer purchase data and verified buyer feedback to drive a product development pipeline based on deep understanding of GLP-1 users and their households.
Innovation teams can:
- Keep track of market trends that capture customer needs, wants, and preferences
- Identify whitespace in portion-controlled, nutrient-dense, or protein-forward formats
- Test flavor and packaging concepts directly with verified buyers of their brand who are GLP-1 users or GLP-1 curious
- Survey GLP-1 users to understand their pain points with existing product options
- Benchmark GLP-1 user vs. non-GLP-1 user trial and repeat across products in their portfolios
- Track the performance of competitive market offerings within weeks of launch
Marketing: How Do We Make It Into the GLP-1 User’s Consideration Set?
Core questions: How do GLP-1 households perceive our brand— and should our messaging evolve to stay relevant with these households? How should we shift our marketing plan to capitalize on opportunities or minimize risks due to behavioural shifts?
According to Numerator psychographic data, compared to the general Canadian population, GLP-1 users are 29% more likely to find advertising entertaining, 46% more likely to trust advertised brands, and 20% more likely to be influenced by TV ads. They watch and listen to distinct movie, TV, and music streaming services and are more likely (15%) to use TikTok.
To best adapt their plans amidst GLP-1 adoption, Canadian Marketing teams can:
- Identify what percentage of their target audience includes current GLP-1 users and how large the “likely future adopter” segment is
- Survey verified brand buyers who use GLP-1 medications for weight loss or diabetes to understand how brand perception and loyalty has shifted by segment
- Link campaign exposure to real purchase behavior among GLP-1 users through verified purchase data
- Test Marketing messaging and campaigns with those verified brand buyers who use GLP-1 medications
Quick-Serve Restaurants: How Is GLP-1 Changing Dining Behavior?
Core questions: Where are GLP-1 users shifting their restaurant dollars? How can I launch new items that resonate with my core guests and items that win with GLP-1 users? How should my marketing strategies evolve?
Numerator’s U.S. research provides directional insights for the Canadian QSR market. GLP-1 users say they are: eating out less (36%) and cooking at home more (63%), but their verified purchase data tells a different story. U.S. GLP-1 household fast food buy rate is up 2%, purchase frequency up is 0.9%, spend per trip is up 1.0%, while units per trip down 3.7%, suggesting that GLP-1 users and their households may spend more per trip on healthier, more expensive QSR menu items.
Not all QSR brands are equally positioned—Numerator U.S. purchase data indicates that chicken and sandwich chains tend to over-index with GLP-1 users, while burger, pizza, and dessert chains face greater visit declines among GLP-1 users.
Canadian Quick-Service Restaurant Marketing and Insights professionals can:
- Identify whitespace opportunities with GLP-1 users and their households based on their omnichannel purchase behaviour across restaurants and traditional retail channels like grocery and discount
- Track the performance of new items tailored to GLP-1 users, from smaller portion sizes to fresher or more protein-forward menu items
- Test new item flavors, packaging, and nutritional information to understand how best to engage GLP-1 households
Shopper Insights: How Can I Become the GLP-1 Expert with Retailers?
Core questions: What is the exposure and risk for my retail partners? How can we grow together with GLP-1 households?
Even one GLP-1 user can influence the entire household’s basket behavior—a ripple effect observed in purchase data. Retailers will need to adapt to fewer (and different) shopping trips, as GLP-1 users shop less often and gravitate towards the Hard Discount, Mass, and Dollar channels.
Shopper teams can:
- Analyze how GLP-1 users and their households shop by banner, retailer, and channel, and track changes
- Quantify leakage among GLP-1 households and survey shoppers whose dollars are leaking to competitive retailers to understand why
- Bring retailers regular shopper metrics, from household penetration, buy rate, and purchase frequency, to guide their understanding of GLP-1 users
- Develop strategies tailored to their retail partners’ verified GLP-1-using customers
A Forward-Looking Perspective: Why Act Now?
GLP-1s mark a dramatic shift in Canadian consumer behaviour. Organizations that wait for visible top-line sales declines risk reacting too late. Reach out to your Numerator account team or get in touch with us today to learn how Numerator can help you understand, track, and action on how GLP-1s impact your verified buyers’ behaviour.
