The beverage category is one of the most consistently overlooked savings opportunities in the Costco member experience — and one of the most financially significant when the full annual beverage budget is analyzed. The average American household spends approximately $1,200 to $1,800 per year on beverages — coffee, energy drinks, sparkling water, juice, sports drinks, and the protein shakes and functional beverages that have grown dramatically as a spending category in 2026. M

GLP-1 medications — semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), and their compounded alternatives — have become the most commercially significant pharmaceutical category of the decade, with an estimated 15 million Americans currently taking some form of GLP-1 agonist and millions more entering the category each year. The appetite-suppressing effect of these medications has created a specific and previously unaddressed nutritional challenge: eating meaning