Some people using GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic for weight loss have a problem: Eggs are suddenly expensive and hard to find.
Eggs aren't just big with fitness fans and Gaston from "Beauty and the Beast." They're a logical protein option for people taking Ozempic, Wegovy, or similar medications, said Amanda Oren, vice president of industry strategy for grocery in North America at Relex, a supply-chain platform. Moreover, they naturally contain little fat, salt, or sugar — good for weight loss plans.
They're one of the foods that GLP-1 users buy more of than people not on the medication, according to a December report by market research provider Circana. The report found GLP-1 takers buy fewer fatty proteins — think big, greasy burgers, for instance, and less alcohol and salty snacks.
Many users — 49% — said in December that their households spent less on food after they started taking the drug, according to a survey conducted by Purdue University. Users generally have lower appetites and eat less.
When they are buying food, "it's eggs, and it's the meat and seafood departments that have seen the bump" in sales, Oren said.
But egg fans — whether on weigh-loss meds or not — are taking a big financial hit right now, thanks to the spread of avian influenza among egg-laying chickens in the US. The disease has led farms to cull their flocks and cut back production. In January, the US had 8% fewer egg-laying hens than it did three years earlier, a CoBank report published on Thursday found.
While avian flu has been hitting egg production in the US for a few years, prices have spiked recently. As of January 30 the cost of a dozen Midwest large eggs was $7.08, according to the US Department of Agriculture. That's up from $1.65 three years earlier.
Retailers and restaurants have reacted. Diner chain Waffle House cited avian flu on Monday as it added a 50-cent surcharge to each egg it sells. Grocery store Aldi has limited customers to buying two dozen eggs at once at some stores.
Another factor: Two laws, one in Colorado and another in Michigan, took effect on January 1 and require all eggs sold in the states to be from cage-free farms. Some suppliers weren't ready for the switch, which has contributed to shortages, Oren said.
"All of these different factors of increasing demand, and then multiple factors decreasing supply, has led to what I would call a perfect storm," she said.
High egg prices are likely to stick around, according to CoBank. A solution to avian flu isn't obvious. Demand, meanwhile, is about to take a seasonal step up, with Easter falling on April 20. Projections from the US Department of Agriculture suggest that prices could start falling in the second quarter of 2025, however.
Fortunately, people taking GLP-1s have other protein choices, Relex's Oren said.
Besides meat options — think chicken breasts — the number of lean, meat-free protein options has multiplied in recent years, she said. The options vary from long-established options like tofu to Just Egg, a mung bean-based egg substitute that previously advertised itself as avian flu-proof.
"There are a lot more alternatives today than there used to be," Oren said.
US consumers have another option, said Joseph Balagtas, director of the Center for Food Demand at Purdue University: They can keep eating eggs — and eat the price increases.
Even for GLP-1 users, eggs make up a small amount of shoppers' total grocery budgets. That, plus the fact that there are fewer good substitutes for some uses of eggs, such as in baking, means that many people are likely to continue buying.
"Many Americans are lucky enough to earn enough where it hurts, but not very much," Balagtas said. "So I don't reduce my consumption very much."
Have you or your business been affected by high egg prices and/or the egg shortage? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@bjinnox.com
