Eka’s Weekly Roundup (6 October 2023)
Issue 49 l Butterfly effect for Wegovy
This week, the Walmart CEO mentioned that the company were seeing evidence of decreased food volumes from customers who were taking Wegovy. This could be the start of the Butterfly Effect in broader consumer staples as a result of GLP-1 drugs.
Early signs of shifting food consumption 🗞️
We’ve written about the growth in Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs over time. This week, consumer staples stocks have seen share price decreases as a result of seeing early impacts of Wegovy on staples sales.
The CEO of Walmart's U.S. operations noted a slight change in consumer behavior, with fewer food units and calories being purchased. Walmart is analyzing anonymized data to understand the impact of these drugs on consumer habits, although it's too early to draw definitive conclusions.
Other companies, including snack producers, are also studying the potential influence of these drugs on dietary behaviors. Despite their popularity, semaglutide-based drugs have faced criticism for potential harmful side effects, including pancreatitis, bowel obstructions, stomach paralysis, and blocked intestines, leading to recent FDA warnings.
Other companies, such as Kellanova, the maker of Pringles and Cheez-Its, are also studying the potential impact of these drugs on dietary behaviors. Despite the decrease in food purchases, Walmart expects overall sales to remain robust, as customers taking weight-loss drugs tend to spend more on other items.
Week in Impact Articles ✍🏽
Monday: Meta to charge users in EU for ad-free Instagram and Facebook
Tuesday: BlackRock Launches Climate Transition-Focused Private Debt Fund
Wednesday: Critical Minerals: The Opportunity in Direct Lithium Extraction
Thursday: Healthcare Payments: Dive
Friday: UK launches national full-body scan platform to accelerate drug discovery
3 Key Charts 📊
1. The impact of education on life expectancy: it’s big
2. The bottom 50% in the United States are growing their share of wealth
3. Another chart on the impact of eduction, across four panels
Deal Capture 💰
Deals in the impact space across the UK and Europe
FlexSea
Bioplastic producer FlexSea raises £2m. Led by Indico Capital Partners.
Granular Energy
Energy management software Granular Energy raised E8m. Led by Norrsken.
Greenwood Power
Power and voltage sensor startup Greenwood Power raised E5m. Included eQventure and tecnet equity.
Helio
Sustainable cloud computing platform Helio raised E5m.
Langaware
Mental health prediction and monitoring player Langaware raised E2m. Led by Eleven Ventures.
Purpose Green
Decarbonisation player Purpose Green raised E3m. Included Speedinvest and Atlantic Labs.
Responsibly
AI-driven sustainability tracking play Responsibly raised $2m. Led by Hambro Perks and Pi Labs.
Swish
EV charging startup Swish raised E47m.
Umiami
Alternative meat company Umiam raised E33m. Included SPI fund and French Tech Seed.
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