Fish and chip shop owners report that weight loss jabs are contributing to a decline in sales, as customers opt for smaller portions or share bags of chips. Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Fryers and owner of Skippers Fish and Chips in Euxton, Lancashire, said customers on GLP-1 inhibitors—medications that suppress appetite—are requesting smaller servings.
“People are buying one portion of chips and sharing it,” Mr Crook said. “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.” He noted that his weekly chip orders have fallen from 600kg to 400kg, though demand for fish remains strong.
Farmers are also feeling the impact. Andy Goodacre, a potato farmer from Grantham, Lincolnshire, said he has 600 tonnes of potatoes at risk of going to waste because of falling demand. “I’m calling merchants daily, and they say ‘No orders, no orders, no orders’,” he told the BBC. He added that he may have to feed the crop to cattle or send it to an anaerobic digester if no buyer is found.
Mr Crook suggested the industry may need to reset portion sizes. “Portions have shot up in the last 40 years so maybe it’s about time we did have a reset,” he said. However, he warned that supporting potato farmers is crucial to prevent them from switching to more profitable crops.
Bakery chain Greggs has also acknowledged the trend, with chief executive Roisin Currie noting that customers are looking for smaller portions and more protein- and fibre-rich options. The National Federation of Fish Fryers, which has represented fish and chip shops since 1913, said the combination of weight loss jabs and cost-of-living pressures is reshaping the industry.
