Highlights
- GLP-1 drug users in the US account for 17.5 per cent of all chocolate sales despite making up only 15 per cent of households.
- Premium chocolate sales among GLP-1 users rose by nearly 17 per cent in 2025 compared to 6.5 per cent among non-users.
- A separate study found GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro can also help prevent substance use disorders.
The results go against predictions from analysts at Berenberg, who had expected oral GLP-1 drugs to hurt the confectionery industry, forecasting a 0.9 percentage point drag on Lindt's sales in 2027.
GLP-1 pills are expected to reach new groups of patients including more men and younger users, though the tablet form is likely to cause less dramatic weight loss than injections.
Addiction benefits emerge
In another finding, a large study of US military veterans published in The BMJ found that GLP-1 drugs including Ozempic and Mounjaro may also help people overcome addiction.
The drugs showed a protective effect against a wide range of addictive substances including cocaine, opioids, alcohol, nicotine and cannabis.
Those taking GLP-1 drugs had 14 per cent lower odds of developing a new substance use disorder over three years compared to patients on other diabetes medication.
Dr Ziyad Al-Aly of the VA Saint Louis Health Care System in Missouri, who led the research, told Reuters that "That breadth was quite a surprise.
In addiction medicine, there's not a single drug that works across all these substances."
The study looked at 124,001 GLP-1 users with no history of substance abuse, comparing them against 400,816 patients on alternative medication.
The results add to growing evidence of benefits beyond weight loss and diabetes, raising new questions about how widely these drugs could one day be used in medicine.
