What Happens To Our Economies When The World Stops Craving?
I’ve always had a sense for what’s coming, and I’ve built three businesses by acting on that instinct early. Some call it vision. Others say it’s pioneering. A few might even call it disruption.
But my father, who passed away almost a year ago, never used words like that. He’d just shake his head with a half-smile and say:
“There she goes again, poking the future with a stick.”
He meant it as a warning, but said it with wonder. Because he knew I wasn’t causing trouble, I was sensing change before the world had a name for it. I’ve always moved towards the swell before it breaks. Not to follow the shift, but to ride it.
I guess that’s why I love surfing. You don’t wait for the wave to rise, you read the water, the pause between the sets, the tension in the air. And when you feel it on your feet, you paddle. That’s the moment transformation begins, in the decision to move while others are still standing still.
That same instinct shaped every business I’ve built.
In 2002, I launched one of the world’s first sustainability consultancies — when most people were still asking what sustainability even meant.
In 2011, I reimagined the luxury industry, helping it shift from status to substance, before sustainability became the new standard.
And today, I’ve launched my third business, Edify Collective, a learning platform and authoring tool for a new era of work. One where essential human skills and sustainability are embedded into the rhythm of daily life, not tacked on to meet a regulation.
At Edify, we help people rewire how they work, think, and lead, with micro nudges, creating rituals. Because real change doesn’t live in reports. It lives in behaviour. In the unseen moments. In the wave you choose to catch before it breaks.
This is not about me, but about us, Our human behaviour is changing, culture is shifting, not just how we live, but what we want. We are entering what I believe is the beginning of a quiet revolution, a post-craving era.
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are changing more than waistlines. They’re chemically muting our appetites, our impulses, even our cravings This isn’t just about food. It’s about dopamine. Compulsion. Emotional reward loops. Desire.
We’re seeing early signs across culture of less snacking, less bingeing, less impulse shopping, less alcohol, even less sexual drive in some cases. These drugs aren’t just suppressing appetite; they are softening the engine of consumption itself.
And the wave is coming fast. Analysts project that tens of millions globally will be on GLP-1s within a decade. Appetite suppression is going mainstream and with it, so is the suppression of craving and life as we know it.
The 20th century was defined by the pursuit of more. More food. More speed. More growth. More stuff. More scrolling. More sex. More alcohol. More noise.
Consumer capitalism thrived by stoking our cravings, for status, sweetness, stimulation, and success. “Treat yourself” wasn’t just a tagline. It was a social contract. Now, that contract is quietly dissolving.
We’re entering an age where human behaviour can be medically modulated. Not through nudges or content or incentives, but through biology. This changes everything as we know it. If people start wanting less, the traditional business model — trigger craving > fulfil it > trigger it again — begins to break down.
We’ll see:
Reduced consumption of red meat, sugar, and alcohol
Less impulse shopping, across luxury and mass markets
Decline in fast-fix fashion; rise in quality and longevity
Fewer dopamine-driven short trips and getaway bookings
Lower interest in overstimulation; higher demand for intentional, slower experiences
Desire was the demand driver. Without it, business as usual starts to unravel.
Here’s the quietly radical part, perhaps the silver lining is that as when people want less, they emit less.
Ultra-processed foods, fast fashion, air travel, alcohol, all have oversized environmental footprints. If GLP-1s unintentionally reduce demand across these sectors, they become a surprising allie to climate action.
Not a replacement for decarbonisation, but a behavioural tailwind. A new foundation for system change.
Imagine what happens if governments, businesses, and sustainability leaders connect the dots, designing strategies that integrate biological shifts with infrastructure and climate goals.
So When Craving Fades, What Remains?
This is more than a commercial question. It’s a cultural one. If we’re no longer pulled outward by constant desire, we may begin to turn inward, toward creativity, purpose, connection, discernment.
The craving won’t disappeared. It will transform into something else…
And for businesses, this will mean a fundamental reorientation:
From volume → to value
From noise → to nuance
From growth → to gravitas
If the world stops craving, companies must evolve. Urgently. Here’s where to begin:
Rethink Product Strategy: Design for emotional value, durability, and moderation
Reposition the Brand: Shift from aspiration to trust
Rewire Growth Models: Build ecosystems of education, care, and community
Invest in Behavioural Foresight: Map how neurobiology, tech, and culture will shape demand
Integrate Sustainability at the Core: Not as PR, but as a strategic reason for being
In one sense, we’re entering a time of contraction. Less noise. Less consumption. Less frenzy, in another, we are entering a time of expansion. More intention. More clarity. More meaning.
For decades, we’ve built our economies on the assumption that humans would always want more. But what if we don’t?
If the world stops craving economies may shrink, on the surface, value will deepen at the core and business will shift, from volume to relevance
This isn’t the end of capitalism. It’s the beginning of a more conscious, human, and sustainable version of it.
Are we brave enough to build it?
