Since launching Rune, and in particular since beginning my investment round, the topic of Ozempic has come up time and again. The question being, ‘is Ozempic a threat to the profitability and growth of your business?’. 

It’s a tricky one to answer and puts me in a difficult position since I personally know people who have had great success with it, or other semaglutide drugs, and I am very pleased to see the positive impact it has had on their lives, but at the same time, I’m trying to present Rune as an appealing proposition to potential investors.

The Business of Fashion recently published an article suggesting that Ozempic’s rise was causing ‘some forecasters to question whether today’s size ranges might someday be rendered obsolete’. Although they didn’t reference these forecasters directly, it would not surprise me to see the bigger industry players, those beholden to shareholders and the cold hard numbers, choosing to wind down their investment in inclusive sizing (as has already been seen over the past few years). But if major brands want to reduce investment in their plus size offering, that only strengthens independent specialists, like Rune. 

In reality, it’s not something I’m particularly concerned with from a business standpoint. Rune is not just about catering to those who struggle with their weight, it is about providing fashionable choices whose bodies don’t fit typical sizing conventions, as well as addressing the one-size-fits-all approach to clothing design. Whether that’s bigger bums, bigger busts, or something else, Ozempic or not, those people aren’t going away. 

Rune is always going to be a champion of inclusivity and it saddens me to think that plus-size women may feel increased societal pressure to take these drugs when they may not want to. There has also been the question of accessibility to treatment in countries like the US, where those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds do not have the means to access the drugs, further increasing inequality. 

Either way it is a subject unlikely to disappear anytime soon, and as a plus size brand founder and inclusivity champion, I’m happy that plus size people have another tool in tackling the issue, if they wish, and I believe Ozempic and Rune can co-exist in a world as big and diverse as ours.

Have you taken Ozempic? Have you felt pressure to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Love, Hannah x