According to reports from Reuters, ice cream companies are strategically transforming the threat posed by GLP-1 weight-loss drugs into business opportunities. The rise of appetite-suppressing GLP-1 drugs, demand for healthier foods and growing ingredient scrutiny are pushing manufacturers to reduce portion sizes, increase protein content and clean up ingredient lists. U.S. ice cream sales volumes fell 1.5% year-on-year through June 13, according to NielsenIQ, while Boston Consulting Group research shows GLP-1 users cut frozen treat consumption by at least 10%. However, manufacturers see little sign that consumers are abandoning ice cream altogether, betting that shoppers will continue to indulge, provided treats come with fewer calories, more protein and simpler ingredient lists.
As reported by Reuters, the GLP-1 market is currently dominated by Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Ozempic. According to Boston Consulting Group, approximately 16 million Americans are currently taking GLP-1 medicines, a figure expected to rise sharply by the end of the decade. The wellness trend is not confined to the United States, with Glacier, one of Europe's largest private-label producers, reporting growing demand for smaller portions, premium products and lower-calorie ice lollies that fit broader health and wellness goals. Dollar sales in the U.S. ice cream market rose about 2.8% over the past year, according to Circana, but NielsenIQ data showed super-premium products were the only segment to post volume growth.
According to Reuters, ice cream companies are using AI tools to process large volumes of clinical research and identify combinations of nutrients that may help support muscle health, hydration and nutritional intake. The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which owns brands including Magnum and Ben & Jerry's, has accelerated its focus on wellness-oriented offerings, citing strong growth in frozen Greek yoghurt brand Yasso. Yasso has delivered average annual growth of around 20% over the past five years, while the group's other brands like Breyers CarbSmart and Popsicle Sugar-Free are particularly popular with GLP-1 consumers. Ferrero's Halo Top brand, which aims to offer the same ice cream experience with half the calories of leading competitors, says it has delivered double-digit percentage sales growth over the last two years, compared with around 2.5% for the wider market.
As reported by Reuters, ice cream companies have developed internal systems to analyse scientific literature, simulate consumer behaviour, identify emerging trends and help product developers navigate a database of roughly 120,000 recipes. The company's internal platform called Food Genie helps scientists and product developers predict recipe performance and identify opportunities for reformulation. Ferrero-owned Blue Bunny is reformulating recipes to remove ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup and artificial colours and flavours, saying demand has been strong for its 150-calorie Mini Swirls. These tools use proprietary recipe and consumer-response data to train models, iterate recipes faster, and test health-claim messaging before broader rollout, favoring scaled incumbents with large data sets and wide distribution.
According to Reuters, ice cream companies are launching products specifically tailored for GLP-1 users, with Magnum's brands making up a 26% share of the $2.2 billion U.S. wellness and functional ice cream segment. Glacier executive director Matt Frost noted that "If you are on GLP-1, if you're going to have a treat, you want it to be a really brilliant thing." However, some nutrition experts question whether specialized products offer significant advantages over conventional foods. Amanda Avery, associate professor in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Nottingham, noted that "It's quite sad that we turn to new products all the time that are more expensive than whole, fresh food that also contain the same protein and nutrients." She pointed out that meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, beans, nuts and pulses remain relatively inexpensive sources of protein and nutrients, but acknowledged that products specifically marketed to GLP-1 users were likely to find buyers, stating "Sadly, we are quite influenced by marketing. Nestle will have done their research."
