The following article was written by Schuyler Sanford, an MBA candidate at NYU Stern, who worked with Bullish as a Summer 2025 Miura (Bullish intern). 

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic are everywhere. By 2030, Goldman Sachs predicts 15 million Americans will be on these medications, representing 13% of the adult U.S. population. The market is projected to hit $100 billion in the next five years. It’s likely you already know someone on GLP-1s (even if they don’t advertise it). 

This movement is unfolding as beauty trends swing back to favoring thin bodies after a long period of praising fuller ones. We’ve gone from BBLs and Kardashian curves back to 90’s era “heroin” chic and waifish figures. Only this time, the “thin is in” era has been reignited by the democratization of a self-administered injection. 

The Market Reality  

The GLP-1 economy revolves around three core groups: people with medical necessity (obesity, diabetes, PCOS), those in the "gray zone" seeking aesthetic results without medical qualification, and people transitioning off the medication. Each group has different needs, risks, and relationships with these drugs.

Even if you personally do not fall into one of these groups, chances are you still feel the cultural impact. Google “GLP-1” and you’ll get over 50 million results. Or scroll TikTok’s FYP where GLP-1 content has racked up hundreds of millions of views. In some cities, it’s hard to go more than a few blocks without seeing a billboard or ad on the subway promising a thinner you. 

The conversation is unavoidable, the market is massive, and brands want in. 

GLP-1 Washing < Net New Innovations

All types of businesses are trying to capitalize on this moment. The rush to capture market share has created a frenzy of repositioning, rebranding, and product launches across industries to opportunistically meet this demand.

Pre-existing brands have positioned core offerings to be GLP-1 friendly or as faux-zempic alternatives. Grüns advertises "daily poops even on GLP-1" for their fiber gummies. Pressed relabeled its smoothies and snacks as a "GLP-1 Friendly" pack (without changing the underlying formulas). Veracity's Metabolism Ignite markets itself as a supplement formulated to boost natural GLP-1 production, targeting consumers who want the benefits without the prescription. I can name several more: Armra, Lemme, Arrae. All intend to meet the needs of GLP-1 users, among their other core audiences.

The opportunity for new ventures entering this arena is to build for GLP-1 users from Day One. Purpose-built brands will center the GLP-1 consumer as their muse and win their trust as a source for products that are actually designed to serve their specific needs. Winners will create innovations for users with fundamentally different nutritional requirements. This includes food products for people who struggle to finish small portions and make every bite count. According to Alpha-Diver, many GLP-1 users seek multi-textured foods like gum, jerky, and candy clusters that extend the sensory experience of eating for those consuming less. Moreover, new brands won’t lean on shrinking serving sizes as a solution. They’ll develop net new products with the nutrition density required to support muscle mass and general wellbeing.

Until an era of ozempic-first brands takes hold with users, they’ll have to seek out retrofitted products that address their needs as well as their own solutions to combat side effects. r/Ozempic has over 125,000 members. r/Loseit has more than 4 million. These communities are where people go to swap tips, troubleshoot symptoms, and crowdsource what actually works to round out their diets and mitigate side effects

There’s a clear opening for new brands to own this space, in place of GLP-1 washing, by anticipating the needs of GLP-1 users by listening to their concerns and creating targeted products and solutions that support changing nutritional needs for bodies in flux. 

Impersonal Acquisition < Thoughtful Community And Support

Telehealth companies offering GLP-1 drugs are laser-focused on onboarding. Platforms like Willow and Ro tailor their marketing of weight loss to aesthetics, not medical need. One Willow ad says it outright: “Girl, you don’t need to be obese to be on a GLP-1.” Ro’s ad with Charles Barkley, calling GLP-1s his “best shot yet,” is clearly aimed at men who’d normally ignore weight loss messaging.

Their intake processes are quick and rely on easily-gamed BMI assessments that allow people with normal BMIs to access prescriptions for aesthetic reasons. That’s how you get 659% growth in GLP-1 prescriptions among women 18–25 between 2020 and 2023.

But once someone’s on the drug, support around the experience largely disappears (unless users seek it out in their own right). Given this underserved need within a massively growing cohort, there's a clear opportunity for new platforms focusing on mental health support and nutrition education during the journey. Emerging brands could look to Weight Watchers as inspiration for how to think holistically about the intersection of the emotional and physical transformation that happens as your body changes.

Tunnel Vision < Building For The Aftermath

Today, brands are obsessed with serving the active user. So much so, that they are missing the next obvious opportunity: the millions who will eventually come off these medications. The vast majority of aesthetic users will stop due to financial reasons or grow fatigued with the side effects, and gain the weight back.

A JAMA study found that 65% of non-diabetic users stopped within one year. Some restart, but most don’t have a plan for maintaining the changes to their bodies. They may no longer be navigating GLP-1-specific side effects, but they're still managing appetite, weight stability, and psychological impact.  

To that end, most people gain back 12% of their body weight within a year of stopping GLP-1s. The return of hunger and fear of regaining weight require guidance and support. This phase, the "what happens after", is not yet owned. Brands supporting adequate nutrition, maintaining healthy habits, and combating weight loss-related mental health woes have the opportunity to create guardrails for the millions who will find themselves navigating their post-ozempic physical and emotional journeys alone.

Beyond new products supporting nutrition and side effects and platforms to support transformations mid-journey, this area of post-ozempic support represents perhaps the largest (but most-missed) opportunity in the entire GLP-1 ecosystem. The companies that meet these consumers at the moment of this transition will serve a desperate and rapidly growing market.

The Opportunity

GLP-1s are officially mainstream, but there’s still much to be done around the holistic journey for consumers. The brands that thrive won't just capitalize on today's GLP-1 moment, they'll anticipate what comes next. The companies that break through to drive the post-ozempic economy will design for the full lifecycle of this cultural shift. They will think about the unique needs of every user, and their physical and emotional goals, during and after their GLP-1 journey.