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Harsh Goenka says GLP-1 drugs could reshape consumer demand

RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka said wider adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs could change consumer behaviour and disrupt industries. He said drugmakers and healthcare providers could see increased demand, while businesses including packaged-food companies, restaurants, alcohol sellers, grocery retailers and food-delivery firms could face shifts.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 independent reports from 3 outlets · Article text read from 1 of 2 reportsHow it's made

View timeline · 7 entries
3 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 2 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 2 · R 0 · 1 unrated

What happened

Key facts

  • RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka said wider adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs could reshape consumer behaviour and disrupt industries (per businesstoday.in).
  • Goenka named packaged foods, restaurants, aviation, pharmaceuticals and fashion among the industries that could be affected (per businesstoday.in).
  • Goenka said alcohol, grocery retail and food-delivery businesses could face changing demand (per businesstoday.in).

The brief

RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka said wider use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs could reshape consumer behaviour and shift demand across industries. In a post on X, he described the change as one that could create “winners and losers,” according to Business Today.

Goenka identified a broad range of businesses that could be affected, including packaged-food companies, restaurants, aviation, pharmaceutical firms and fashion businesses. He also named alcohol, grocery retail and food delivery as sectors where demand could change. His comments describe possible market effects rather than reporting measured changes in those industries.

He said pharmaceutical companies developing GLP-1 drugs could benefit from increased demand. Healthcare providers offering obesity treatment, diagnostics and metabolic-health services could also see demand rise, according to Business Today’s account of his remarks. The article does not report a forecast of the size of any such increase.

Business Today cited an estimate from a Kotak Institutional Equities report, relayed by Informist, that 275,000 patients in India were using GLP-1 medicines as of July 2026. The estimate included about 175,000 patients using semaglutide and 100,000 using Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro.

These figures describe reported use of the medicines, not a breakdown of effects on consumer spending or the industries Goenka listed. The article says the Kotak report’s findings were based on a survey of 5,065 U.S. adults conducted between May 28 and June 5, 2026.

It does not state the survey findings themselves, so they do not establish which consumer behaviours respondents reported or how those answers relate to demand in India.

The Straits Times and Financial Times headlines also frame the weight-loss economy in terms of “winners and losers.” Those headlines support that both outlets reported on that theme, but provide no further detail about the industries, evidence or claims in their coverage.

In the account of Goenka’s remarks, the central distinction is between businesses that may gain demand from drug development and healthcare services and sectors where he expects demand to shift.

Why it matters

  • Goenka’s account identifies packaged-food companies, restaurants, alcohol sellers, grocery retailers and food-delivery businesses as sectors that could face changing demand.
  • Drugmakers developing GLP-1 medicines and providers of obesity treatment, diagnostics and metabolic-health services are the specific businesses Goenka said could see increased demand.
  • The cited India estimate counts 275,000 GLP-1 medicine users as of July 2026, including about 175,000 using semaglutide and 100,000 using Mounjaro.

What to watch next

  • Whether Goenka’s stated demand shifts become measurable in the packaged-food, restaurant, alcohol, grocery-retail or food-delivery sectors.
  • Whether pharmaceutical companies developing GLP-1 drugs and healthcare providers offering obesity treatment, diagnostics and metabolic-health services report increased demand.
  • Whether later estimates show changes from the cited figure of 275,000 GLP-1 medicine users in India as of July 2026.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
3 source articles · 3 unique outlets · 2 distinct reports
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 67% · Europe 33%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
3 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The FDA approved exenatide (Byetta), the first GLP-1 receptor agonist approved in the United States for type 2 diabetes.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. The FDA approved liraglutide (Victoza) to treat type 2 diabetes.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. The FDA approved liraglutide (Saxenda) for chronic weight management.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. The same drug had received FDA approval as Ozempic for type 2 diabetes on December 5, 2017, putting it on the market before its obesity-specific approval.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. The FDA approved semaglutide (Wegovy) for chronic weight management.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. The FDA approved tirzepatide (Zepbound) for chronic weight management.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. The FDA approved Wegovy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, nonfatal heart attack and nonfatal stroke in certain adults.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

The immediate backdrop was the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s June 4, 2021, approval of semaglutide as Wegovy for chronic weight management, following a 2021 trial in which participants lost an average of 14.9% of their body weight over 68 weeks.

The same drug had received FDA approval as Ozempic for type 2 diabetes on December 5, 2017, putting it on the market before its obesity-specific approval. In 2005, the FDA approved exenatide, the first GLP-1 receptor agonist approved in the United States, for type 2 diabetes; liraglutide followed for diabetes in 2010 and for chronic weight management as Saxenda in 2014.

Original sources

2 of 3 articles · Asia · Show all

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