Inflation is starving sales of junk food

Half of the cheap-and-tasty paradigm that makes junk food so appealing is collapsing: Many of those guilty-pleasure treats aren’t so cheap anymore.

More than any impact weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are having on big food companies, “America’s best ‘diet’ may seem to be inflation, as stretched consumers cut back,” Piper Sandler food industry analyst Michael Lavery wrote.

Irresistible sweets, savory snacks and fast food have shaped the American diet with big flavors and minimal nutritional value for a century now. The emergence of healthier alternatives combined with consumers who now routinely read labels, shop with technology and pay attention to diet has chipped away at that. But most of all, shoppers seem to be collectively drawing the line of how much is too much for junk food.

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