Printing Profits: Capitalizing on the Weight Loss Drug Trend

As we have mentioned in our previous report, weight loss drugs are expected to take society by storm. We firmly believe that the domino effect of these miracle pills hitting the mass market will create a significant and transformative structural change in industries more than one—brace yourselves, it’s going to be huge!

Even South Park couldn’t resist and came up with an “End of Obesity” special, proving that when a cartoon gets involved, you know it’s serious business. In this article, we’ll sort out the winners and losers from the side effects of these weight loss drugs and show you how to turn this societal shake-up to your business’s advantage. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: weight loss drugs are set to cause major changes in society, and this is not some temporary, flash-in-the-pan trend. So, buckle up!

KEYPOINTS:

• GLP-1s will cause lasting lifestyle modifications, not just seasonal adjustments.
• Semaglutide will soon be going generic, leading to significantly lower prices and making it accessible to a broader population.
• Even now, though expensive, people are on a treasure hunt for it as manufacturers strive to keep up with the demand.
• This shift will affect many industries, including the apparel and print industry.

How GLP-1 Drugs Work (A little RECAP):

So, what’s happening to Randy here is that the GLP-1 drugs mimic a hormone that is naturally produced in the gut. They slow down stomach emptying, which helps him feel full longer, reducing the urge to eat frequently or in large quantities. They also enhance insulin sensitivity and secretion, helping stabilize blood sugar levels.

By curbing those pesky cravings for high-sugar and high-fat foods, they basically force your body to make better food choices and eat like someone who actually reads nutrition labels. Goodbye, supersize portions; hello, dainty little salads!

Even sugar big corps are triggered in the cartoons.

As they should be, because look at the data below, which explains exactly why even a huge company like Nestlé has launched Vital Pursuit, a new line of foods designed to complement GLP-1 weight loss medications and cater to consumers focused on weight management in the US.

We can tell they are foreseeing the societal shift is going to happen in the near future with this strategic move.

Data shows a clear increase in demand for healthier food and a decrease in demand for high-calorie and sugary products. Of course, this shift will influence fashion trends: sayonara oversized tunics and elastic-waist jeans, and aloha mini skirts and crop tops! Fashion purchases will surge, but in better-fitting clothes. Plus-size fashion might not be wiped out immediately, but it will likely decrease significantly, as seen with CURV.

 💡 Currently GLP-1s are expensive, and not covered by insurance, but with above data, and with generic and pills coming in, we think that insurance companies are bound to cover these anti obesity drugs. Numbers of employee coverage? Also increasing.
 So, imagine this, prices are bound to go down, the pills are coming in, and insurance starting to give coverage. Will there be many overweight people left? Food for thought!

How Will This Affect My Apparel Print Business?

Businesses around the world, big or small, will be affected by this shift. If a giant like Nestlé is already starting to align their strategy with the weight loss impact, don’t you think it’s time to start taking action too? The effects might be minimal now, but you will need to strike while the iron is hot.

As a business owner, begin to adjust your target audience and diversify your customer base to avoid over-reliance on a few key customers or industries. This can include expanding into new markets or targeting new customer segments, especially those benefiting from this shift.

Here’s a general idea of who would most likely benefit or lose from the weight loss structural change in society.

Industry/Market	Beneficiaries	Potential Losers
Health and Wellness	Gyms, fitness centers	Gaming (Playstations, Xbox)
Fashion and Apparel	Activewear brands, standard size clothing (LULU, NKE, ADD)	Plus-size clothing retailers (CURV)
Pharmaceuticals	Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk	Herbalife, MLM companies that sell “fat loss” product or supplements
Food and Beverage	Healthy food brands, organic produce, real food stores	Fast food chains, ice cream parlours, candy stores
Healthcare Services	Nutritionists, dietitians, wellness coaches	Bariatric surgery clinics, Titan staplers
Retail	Health-focused stores, active lifestyle retailers	Stores specializing in unhealthy snacks

Look at it this way, if your business is solely relying on print orders from fast food chains, for example, in a few years, when their business is not doing well, what will happen to yours? We’re telling you, it’s not the time to put all your eggs in one basket. Start scouting for customers that will benefit from the weight loss industry. One clear cut example is gyms and fitness centers!

This is where you need to start evaluating business risks, which business is going to succeed, which is going flat in the future? Again, if you find yourself asking, “Why do I need to do all this? Any customer is a customer!”

Sure, that’s true. But it’s a huge chain reaction, and one thing will lead to another. In this case, you need to take into full consideration when evaluating business risks, because eventually it will lead to inventory risk.

When you have customers from all kinds of business background, you are prone to hold a lot of inventory, from regular sizes to plus sizes, and this is not good for business.

At this very moment, if you have a lot of plus-size inventory on hand, it’s the best time to get rid of it. Why, you ask? With people getting skinnier by the minute, holding onto a large stock of plus-size items is like sitting on a ticking time bomb of unsold inventory. Sooner or later, not much plus sizes can be sold.

To see how this situation could be you, let’s take Colin’s Print Shop, and Noah’s Studio as hypothetical examples.

Colin’s Print Shop

Let’s break it down.

1. When Colin’s shop does not evaluate business risks properly, he is bound to take in all sorts of customers. Yeap, even those that are potential losers when it comes to weight loss drugs. Right now, one of his biggest customers right is an ice-cream parlour.
2. Colin is happy and comfortable as is. He does not seek out better prospects in consideration with how GLP-1s are going to change the print industry game, like gyms and fitness centers.
3. He’s thinking, any customer is a customer, so he spreads his online marketing budget to anyone who wants to print. (You guys do realise that this will be much more expensive, right? We’ll take more on this below)
4. Business is doing okay, there are prospects here and there from a wide range of potential customers.
5. Now, considering that his customers come from a lot of backgrounds, he has a lot of inventory on hand, because he overstocks, and a lot of revenue is tied up in it.
6. This leads to an unsteady cash flow, and he will need to rely on many orders.
7. Question is, what will happen when eventually the ice cream parlour that used to be Colin’s biggest customer, has flopped due to the effects of weight loss in the public?

A scary situation to think about, a scary situation indeed!

A competitor, Nora’s Studio on the other hand, is a little bit smarter and does a little extra to what Colin did not do. She evaluates her business risks.

Nora’s Studio

1. Now that Nora performs business risks evaluations, she foresees the upcoming trend of weightloss drugs and how it will impact various industries, the print world included.
2. She still accepts customers from all sorts of backgrounds, but, she actively seeks out local gyms, and fitness programs such as marathons, crossfit events to offer bundle packages, and this is her main and ideal target market.
3. She targets her advertising to this specific audience, trimming down her marketing budget significantly, but one thing is different. She gets a lot of prospects coming in, as these types of business are thriving right now.
4. She will only stock up necessarily according to orders that regularly come in. Her inventory is managed well.
5. Her print shop can price competitively, as her customers’ business is doing good, the volume of orders will make up for revenue.

See the difference? Nora is smart. Be like Nora.

Implementing Effective Marketing Strategies for the Weight Loss Boom

Now, the million-dollar question is, how can you, as a print shop owner, ride this wave and squeeze every drop of potential out of this shift, to implement marketing strategies, and also boost your business?

Here’s the game plan. Just like Nora’s Studio, you need to start evaluating business risks and begin to develop a diverse customer mix. This will act as a safety net for the inevitable changes coming in a few short years. You still have your regular customers on one hand, and on the other, will be those that are getting a little extra attention due to all the slimming down that will happen in the future.

Effective Marketing with Google AdWords

Allocating your marketing budget to a more relevant and profitable customer segment ensures that your ad spending directly hits the bullseye, eventually giving you a better and more profitable ROI.

A key part of this strategy is understanding how advertising costs work. In case you didn’t already know, CPC (Cost Per Click) is the amount you pay each time someone clicks on your ad.

When your ads reach a more relevant audience, it will lead to higher conversion rates and a better ROI. For example, you wouldn’t try to sell winter coats to people living in hot countries, unless you know they plan to travel, right? The same principle applies here—why waste effort and money advertising to people who don’t need your services?

Strategically targeting your ads, ensures that your marketing efforts are focused on the right audience, maximising your impact and profits. Let’s explore how this approach can work for you.

Scenario	Keyword CPC	Clicks	Total Ads Cost	Conversion Rate	Cost per conversion	Revenue per Conversion	Return on Ads Spend (ROAS)
Targeting GLP-1 Beneficiaries	1.40	100	$140	2%	70	100	Positive
(100/70 = 1.43)
Not Targeting GLP-1 Beneficiaries	2.36	100	$236	2%	118	100	Negative ( 100/118 = 0.85)

From this table, you are able to conclude that, by

• Targeting GLP-1 beneficiaries: Will result in a positive ROAS of 1.43, which in terms of percentage is 143%, this indicates good return on ad spend.
• Not targeting GLP-1 beneficiaries: Will ****result in a negative ROAS of 0.85, which in terms of percentage is -58%, indicating a poor return on ad spend.

When you look at this conversion rate, you know that with GLP-1 beneficiaries, you are able to price competitively as the volume will make up. For non GLP-1 beneficiaries on the other hand, which tends to be on the losing side, you will need to charge more to get back the money you have spent on advertising.

Put it this way, when gyms are getting more members, wellness coaches are getting more clients, and health food stores are getting more customers, they will need to print more merchandise, right? The fast food chains, ice cream shops, and candy stores? Well, not so much.

Right now, relevant keywords about weight loss in the print industry like “fitness merch” are still cheap. Jumping on them early gives you the upper hand when the eventual societal shift kicks in, allowing you to secure a prime spot at a lower cost before competition heats up and keyword prices start to rise.

Sure, now is still very much early, and keyword trends related to weight loss in the custom apparel industry is not yet booming. We speculate that some time in the future keyword prices will start going to the moon, acting now will save you significant costs and position your business ahead of competitors.

Imagine when the hype starts, the effects take full swing, everyone starts to freak out and taking action—prices will rise, as they always do. Your shop will have a significant edge because you started early. Remember, the early bird catches the worm. And guess what? By then, you’ll have already caught it!

The change is inevitable. Don’t believe us? Well then, take a look at this. Our crystal ball is looking at a spike in gym membership sign-ups. Their business will go through the roof, and what happens then? So will their orders for custom merchandise!

Heck, we don’t even need crystal balls for that, it’s already happening. Honestly, it’s not rocket science. Once you’ve started to lose weight, you’ll be prone to a more healthier and much active lifestlye.

Seriously guys, we’re not telling porkies.

💡 Start by targeting these segments with Google AdWords. If you see good results, you can further refine your strategy by creating dedicated landing pages and optimizing them with SEO. This two-pronged approach helps you capture immediate interest through paid ads while building long-term visibility with organic search.

We know SEO ranking takes time, but remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. Once your online presence is strong, you can also build up reputation through social media.

Since the hype around weight loss hasn't kicked in yet, now is the perfect time to target relevant keywords regarding weight loss in the print industry—they're a steal. Use engaging and relevant content to enhance user experience, and implement strong calls-to-action (CTAs) to drive conversions.

Which brings us to the next question: Now that you’ve got the traffic, how do you actually seal the deal? 

How Smart Bundling Can Skyrocket Your Print Shop Sales

So, now that you’ve got customers from the weight loss industry coming to your shop, eager to use your services, how do you stand out from the crowd? How do you convince them that your shop is the best and smartest choice?

By offering the best value, of course. But, simply dropping prices and selling individual items won’t cut it. Instead, bundle up your products!

💡 Consider this: Going cheaper than your competitors might seem risky, but the volume of orders you’ll attract can more than make up for it. At the end of the day, isn’t it smarter to boost overall sales and customer loyalty?

When you strategically offer bundle deals, you significantly enhance the perceived value of your products or services and encourage customers to purchase more. By creating specific bundles tailored to cater the GLP-1 beneficiaries, you achieve a better product-market fit. This approach not only meets the increasing demands of your customers but also enhances your overall sales potential.

Be real, which pricing strategy would you choose?

Why bundling works:

1. Psychological appeal: Customers are more likely to buy bundles because they think they’re getting a better deal and saving more.
2. Increased overall profit: Even if you make a bit less on each item, you make more overall because you’re selling more items at once.
3. Inventory movement: Bundling helps move more inventory.
4. Higher conversions and better ROI: Bundles through targeted ads increase the chances of higher conversions. Lower prices are offset by higher volume.
5. Greater sales and revenue: Overall, bundling results in higher sales and better revenue.

By combining bundling with effective marketing, you can attract more customers and increase your profits. This way, you’re not just lowering prices but also offering more value, making your print shop the go-to choice for customers benefiting from the weight loss trend. It’s a win-win.

Start implementing these strategies now and stay ahead of the competition. You know what they say, fortune favors the bold!

P.S.: You can read more on bundling here.

Weight Loss Drugs, on a Mission to Change the World!

So, there you go, it’s all a huge chain reaction. You might be thinking, “Nah! These weight loss drugs are just temporary, and in time will be ultimately forgotten.” But no, it’s not the same as a regular supplement anymore. These drugs will cause huge waves to more industries than one, and print businesses are more prone to get wet anytime soon. It’s like a house of cards, and the apparel industry is definitely part of it, touching on even the most minute aspects of our industry.

Unlike those scam-infused weight loss schemes, GLP-1 drugs are scientifically and medically proven to help combat obesity and the and the impact is already beginning to unfold. Rather than being a passing fad, these drugs are driving transformations everywhere.

Even pop culture icons, big brands, TV shows are starting to see that these weight loss drugs are not here to play around. They’re here for the real deal and will definitely throw our hats (or plus size jeans) away. Can’t wait to see the full blow? Well, just hold on to your breath, because that’s only a matter of time.