This month, Daily Harvest, a popular meal delivery service, has joined the Ozempic movement by introducing a specialized meal collection catering to individuals on GLP-1 medication like Ozempic or Wegovy. As part of their January Jumpstart program, designed to last for five days, the curated selection aims to align with the dietary needs and goals of customers on GLP-1 medications. In addition to this initiative, Daily Harvest has expanded its market appeal by partnering with diet company Noom, allowing customers to use flexible spending account funds for their offerings.
Daily Harvest President Ricky Silver highlighted the noteworthy connection between the foods consumed and the health goals of those taking GLP-1 medications. The company based its GLP-1 meal collection on insights from a survey of 2,000 individuals commissioned from OnePoll. While concrete data on the demand for this specific offering is not yet available since its mid-January launch, the move appears to be a strategic marketing approach.
Daily Harvest’s existing offerings, characterized by being low-calorie, low-carb, and high in fiber, naturally align with the dietary preferences of GLP-1 medication users. This positions the company advantageously in the market, emphasizing its compliance with the recommended diets of individuals on GLP-1 medications. In a manner reminiscent of other food industry trends, Daily Harvest’s inclusion of GLP-1 language in its marketing strategy may attract a new customer base, drawing parallels to the rise of gluten-free diets in the late 2000s.
Furthermore, the collaboration with Noom adds another layer to Daily Harvest’s offerings, incorporating color codes to align with Noom’s calorie-count classification system. This multifaceted approach not only addresses specific dietary needs but also positions Daily Harvest as an adaptable and responsive player in the evolving landscape of health-conscious meal services.
In a strategic move to diversify revenue streams, Daily Harvest is exploring financial support from insurers, allowing customers to apply their flexible spending accounts towards their products. This aligns with a broader trend in the health and nutrition sector, with services like Instacart Health adopting similar approaches. Daily Harvest’s foray into this intersection of healthcare and food is seen as a positive development, emphasizing a symbiotic relationship between the two industries. While Daily Harvest President Ricky Silver acknowledges the potential but cannot predict the exact impact on the business, he emphasizes the interconnectedness between the healthcare and food sectors as a significant advantage.
Expanding its market reach, Daily Harvest began selling products in supermarkets such as Wegmans last year. This move, coupled with its recent initiatives related to GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, has allowed the company to reshape its narrative, moving away from a past incident in 2022 when an ingredient in some meals caused illness among customers. Daily Harvest has since revamped its ingredient-sourcing process to address these concerns.
While other industry players like Walmart and Nestlé are anticipating potential impacts on their offerings and bottom line due to the adoption of medications like Ozempic, Silver remains measured in his assessment. He notes the historical role of the food industry as a driver of consumer behavior but suggests that the evolving landscape might see the industry responding more to consumer behavior than driving it. The precise influence of GLP-1 medications on the industry remains uncertain, but Silver believes it will undoubtedly have some impact.