Mars, the owner of M&M’s, is shelling out $35.9 billion to acquire snack food company Kellanova, which makes beloved crunchy delicacies like Cheez-Its and Pringles. While not long ago, the growing popularity of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro had experts predicting that snacking was a dying pastime, the whopping price of the sale suggests perhaps not.
Andrew Clarke, global president of Mars Snacking, certainly hopes snacking is growing. He says the Mars buyout hopes to create a “broader, global snacking business” for consumers.
“The Kellanova brands significantly expand our Snacking platform, allowing us to even more effectively meet consumer needs and drive profitable business growth,” Clarke said in the press release.
It certainly doesn’t seem like snacking is going anywhere. According to 2023 research published in PLOS Global Public Health, Americans are pretty dedicated snackers. The average American without diabetes, as represented by the study, enjoyed over 400 calories in snacks daily. Some of them are likely Cheez-Its.
Still, in preparing for a shift away from snacking, many brands have created lines of food specifically for those taking GLP-1 drugs. Nestlé and GNC both introduced such lines earlier this year. But on top of GLP-1 specific foods, these days, there are so many snack brands to choose from, and not all of them are high-calorie, or sodium-laced.
Some healthier brands, or at least brands marketed as healthy, such as RXBar and Nutri-Grain, will be part of Mars’s acquisition, too. So, those on weight-loss journeys, either with the help of Ozempic or without, have far more options than chips and dip.
Weight-loss drugs are clearly becoming more widespread, and they are no longer only used by the Hollywood elite. According to a May 2024 Gallup Poll, about 3% of Americans are now using the drugs to lose weight. But while the treatment isn’t going anywhere, the price tag on the injections is not likely to budge as quickly as waistlines do.
While GLP-1 drugs can be covered by insurance for conditions like diabetes and heart disease, that’s not often the case for weight loss. Medicare doesn’t cover weight-loss drugs unless they are being used for another condition. The price of the treatment has been highly scrutinized, but experts say it will be a while before prices come down.
At $1,349 a jab, the average American can’t afford Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro. Honestly, with the price of groceries, we can barely afford the Cheez-Its, let alone the shot.