"Ozempic breath" is boosting Hershey's sales of mints and gum

Candy giant Hershey is getting a sales boost from an unexpected consumer segment: users of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.

Hershey CEO Kirk Tanner said in the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Thursday that while appetite suppressants are leading customers to consume smaller portions of popular snacks, the drugs are also boosting demand for breath fresheners. 

The company has “seen strong demand for gum and mint products as the category benefits from functional snacking tailwinds, including GLP-1 adoption,” Tanner said. He noted that sales for the company’s Ice Breakers mint and gum brand increased 8% over the quarter. 

One possible explanation: Along with slimming waistlines, drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy sometimes produce the side effect of bad breath, according to medical professionals. 

“Ozempic breath refers to a fishy smell in burps or bad breath,” Dr. Neha Lalani told medical information provider Healthline.

GLP-1 makers don’t include bad breath, also known as halitosis, as a side effect of the drugs. Doctors also caution that it’s not a clinical diagnosis and that the drugs’ effects on patients’ oral hygiene are being studied.  

In one clinical trial, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, Novo Nordisk, found that roughly 9% of people taking GLP-1 medications reported “eructation,” better known as burping. More than 40% reported nausea, and almost 25% reported vomiting as a side effect of the drugs.