Fish and chip shops are turning to smaller portions to cater for customers who have turned to weight-loss jabs to help them lose weight, according to shop owners. Farmers say they are being hurt by the weight loss revolution, with weight loss jabs hurting sales of potatoes as customers start sharing bags of chips. Fish and chip shop owners report customers' falling appetites and say it's time to look at portion control, while farmers say potato sales are struggling because of falling appetites from weight loss medication.
The National Federation of Fish Fryers says fewer big bags of chips were being ordered at shops around the country. Andrew Crook, President of the National Federation of Fish Fryers and a fish and chip shop owner, says the weight loss jab and the cost of living has been taking its toll on businesses. He states, 'Definitely weight loss jabs are involved but there's also a cost of living effect too.
' Crook adds, 'Everyone seems to have lost a lot of weight and when I start talking to them, saying: 'You've lost some weight,' they tell me they're on the weight loss jabs. ' He notes that people are buying one portion of chips and sharing it. Crook said he was previously buying up to 600kg of processed chips per week, which has now fallen to 400kg, though the desire for fish remained strong.
People are buying one portion of chips and sharing it.
The National Federation of Fish Fryers said it was telling chip shops to offer a smaller portion for people using weight-loss jabs. ' Farmers are facing significant challenges due to this shift. Farmers have seen a bumper crop of potatoes and say they have seen sales struggling.
Andy Goodacre, a farmer from Grantham, Lincolnshire, said shoppers wanted fewer chips, crisps and other processed products, meaning he was unable to find a buyer for his crop for the first time in 45 years. Goodacre said his 'mountain' of potatoes would usually be worth about £120,000. ' Goodacre felt 'very distraught' that the spuds would be 'fed to cattle' or go to an anaerobic digester if no buyer could be found.
' Scott Walker, chief executive of GB Potatoes, said more potatoes were grown last year than any other time since 2017, causing a surplus. GB Potatoes said growers were facing a 'tough market' because of oversupply caused by a bumper crop, but weight-loss jabs would affect the whole food sector and not just potatoes. ' GB Potatoes said potatoes are 'nutrient dense' and 'ideal for small appetites'.
Definitely weight loss jabs are involved but there's also a cost of living effect too. The volume is down on each shop but on a national scale that adds up to quite a surplus of potatoes.
The extent to which the decline in potato sales is directly attributable to weight-loss jabs versus other factors like cost of living or health trends remains unclear. Other food retailers are also adapting to changing consumer habits. Greggs previously said there was 'no doubt' that the drugs were making customers look for 'smaller portions'.
In January, Greggs boss Roisin Currie said the bakery chain would be targeting customers with protein-rich products. Tesco said a trend towards healthier eating had contributed to growth in its fresh produce sales. Other supermarkets have introduced nutrient-dense ranges of ready meals or smaller portions.
Historical data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) shows a long-term shift in potato consumption. 3kg of fresh potatoes a week, but by 2024 that was down to 326g. During the same period, purchases of processed potatoes, including chips and crisps, rose from 119g to 225g, though this was down from a high of 286g in 1996.
' The long-term projections for potato farming and fish and chip shop industries if weight-loss jab usage continues to rise are not yet known. GLP-1s are a class of medications that mimic the hormone which suppresses appetite and are also known as weight-loss jabs.