GLP-1 Meds Market Steals $971 Million In Commercial Weight Loss Company Revenues

Sept. 24, 2024…

Marketdata LLC, Tampa, FL, a market research firm that has tracked the U.S. weight loss market since 1989, estimates that the top commercial competitors in the U.S. weight loss market lost at least $971 million in revenues in 2023, due to competition from the juggernaut of GLP-1 medications. This is a huge transfer of sales from commercial and retail weight loss programs and product segments to medical programs.

The non-medical weight loss companies have weathered fads and market cycles in the past, but these cycles usually did not last more than nine months. This time it’s different, as more GLP-1s and other meds will be entering the market over the next 3-4 years. These companies will have to specialize, run leaner, offer virtual services, possibly franchise, and up their game in terms of the quality of their staff and support, and devote more to marketing, to survive and grow. There will be a certain segment of dieters that don’t want to take drugs, cannot afford them, or have side effects and drop out. Hormone replacement therapy is one such specialization.

Here’s the tally, by company, comparing 2023 revenues of each company to 2022 sales…

Weight Watchers: Lost $150 million in sales (2023: $889 million, 2022: $1.03 billion)

Medifast (Optavia brand): Lost $526 million (2023: $1.072 billion, 2022: $1.598 billion)

Herbalife (weight management sales in North America): Lost $82 million (2023: $636 million, 2022: $718 million)

Atkins Product Line (Simply Good Foods): Lost $13 million (2023: $527 million, 2022: $540 million)

Regional and small commercial weight loss chains: Lost $80 million (2023: $486 million, 2022: $566 million).

Noom (weight loss app, virtual service): Lost $26 million (2023: $308 million, 2022: $282 million).

2024 Expected Revenue Losses

The carnage is continuing into this year. Four weight loss leading competitors are expected to lose another $587 million in sales during 2024. Following are the expected revenues, based on first half 2024 results and company guidance.

Weight Watchers ($119 less revenues, $770 mill. estimated in 2024 vs. $889 mill. in 2023)

Medifast ($386 mill. less revenues, $686 mill. in 2024 vs. $1.07 bill. in 2023)

Herbalife ($55 mill. less revenues, $581 mill. in 2024 vs. $636 mill. in 2023)

Atkins (Simply Good Foods) ($27 mill. less revenues, $500 mill. in 2024 vs. $527 mill. in 2023).

Financial information is not available for Jenny Craig or Nutri/System, since they are now part of the privately owned Wellful Company. However, it’s likely that the Jenny Craig brand also suffered falling sales in 2023, due to its bankruptcy filing and closure of its 600 retail centers. It’s also likely that the small, regional, commercial weight loss companies (some are franchises) suffered more than Marketdata estimates. Most of them did not add a medical weight loss protocol to their service, due to a lack of experience with this model.

“It’s fair to say that the rush by consumers to obtain GLP-1 medications has put severe pressure on the non-medical companies to survive, either by adding a medical component (such as Medifast and Weight Watchers), cutting prices, cutting costs, cutting staff, going virtual to increase availability and flexibility, or adding complementary services.”, according to John LaRosa, Research Director at Marketdata.

About Marketdata’s Weight Loss Studies

Find all the details and analyses in Marketdata’s March 2024 “2024 Weight Loss Market Status Report & Forecast”, a 107 -page market research study. Table of Contents and purchase option available at: marketdataenterprises.com. Also: “The Telehealth Weight Loss Market”, April 2024. Marketdata has published more than 50 in-depth reports on the U.S. weight loss market.

About Marketdata

Marketdata, since 1979, has published industry and market studies covering a wide variety of healthcare, personal service and niche markets, as well as custom studies and consulting. Analyst John LaRosa, a 35-year independent weight loss market analyst since 1989, performs phone consults and is available for media interviews. BOGO Offer, limited time. Purchase a Marketdata weight loss or other industry report and get another report FREE of charge (equal or lesser value). See: marketdataenterprises.com for reports or call 813-971-8080.

Contact Information

John S. LaRosa

Research Director, President

Marketdata LLC

(1) 8139718080

john@marketdataenterprises.com