Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Spruengli said on Tuesday that US households using GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro are buying chocolate at higher rates than the wider population, challenging expectations that the medicines would curb confectionery demand.

The company said an internal analysis based on February data from market researcher Circana found that around 15 per cent of US households use GLP-1 drugs, yet those households account for 17.5 per cent of total chocolate sales. The findings suggest that appetite suppression linked to the drugs has not translated into weaker confectionery spending.

Lindt also reported that sales of premium chocolate to GLP-1 users in the United States increased by nearly 17 per cent in 2025. That compares with a 6.5 per cent rise among consumers not using the medications, according to the company’s analysis of Circana data.

The results contrast with earlier expectations from analysts at Berenberg, who had forecast that wider use of GLP-1 medicines would weigh on food and confectionery sales in coming years. The investment bank predicted the expansion of oral versions of the drugs could reduce Lindt’s sales volumes by about 0.9 percentage points by 2027.

Berenberg analysts said the introduction of pill-based GLP-1 treatments is expected to broaden the market beyond patients currently using injectable medicines. They anticipate the drugs will reach more men and younger consumers, partly because oral treatments are projected to produce less dramatic weight loss than injectable versions.

Separate medical research is also revealing broader behavioural effects linked to GLP-1 medicines. In a study published in The BMJ, Dr Ziyad Al-Aly of the VA Saint Louis Health Care System said findings from a large analysis of US veterans showed the drugs were associated with lower rates of substance use disorders.

“That breadth was quite a surprise,” Al-Aly said of the findings, which suggested the medications could reduce the likelihood of developing addictions to substances including alcohol, nicotine and opioids.

The study examined data from more than 124,000 patients with type 2 diabetes treated with GLP-1 drugs and compared them with more than 400,000 patients taking a different class of diabetes medication known as SGLT-2 inhibitors. Researchers found that patients using GLP-1 treatments had 14 per cent lower odds of developing a new substance use disorder over the following three years.

For consumer goods companies, however, Lindt’s data indicates that demand for premium treats has so far remained resilient even as the medicines reshape eating habits.

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