American multi-level marketing company
Medifast, Inc.
|
Company type
| Public
|
---|
| NYSE
:
MED
S&P 600 Component
|
---|
Industry
| Weight loss
,
multi-level marketing
|
---|
Founded
| 1981
[1]
|
---|
Headquarters
| ,
United States
|
---|
Key people
| Daniel R. Chard, Executive Chairman and CEO
[2]
|
---|
Products
| Optavia
Medifast diet (retired 2021)
[3]
|
---|
Revenue
| US$ 934.8 million (2020), US$1,526,087 (2021), US$1,598,577 (2022)
[4]
[5]
|
---|
| US$ 134.2 million (2020)
[4]
[5]
|
---|
| US$ 102.9 million (2020)
[4]
[5]
|
---|
Total assets
| US$ 276.1 million (2020)
[4]
[5]
|
---|
Total equity
| US$ 157.2 million (2020)
[4]
[5]
|
---|
Number of employees
| 713 (2020)
[5]
|
---|
Website
| medifastinc
.com
|
---|
Medifast, Inc.
(
NYSE
:
MED
) is an American
nutrition
and
weight loss
company based in
Baltimore, Maryland
. Medifast produces, distributes, and sells weight loss and health-related products through websites,
multi-level marketing
,
telemarketing
, and
franchised
weight loss clinics.
Subsidiaries
[
edit
]
The company owns five subsidiaries:
- Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Take Shape for Life, Inc. (TSFL) (renamed Optavia from July 2017)
[6]
- Jason Enterprises, Inc.
- Jason Properties, LLC
- Seven Crondall, LLC
History
[
edit
]
William Vitale, a medical doctor, founded Medifast in 1980. He sold his products directly to other doctors, who in turn prescribed them to their patients
[7]
alongside behavioural counselling techniques.
[8]
The company is publicly traded on the
New York Stock Exchange
(symbol: MED).
[9]
On July 17, 1995, HealthRite (predecessor of Medifast) changed its name from Vitamin Specialties Corp.
In 2000 the company pivoted to a direct-to-consumer marketing program with the help of Jason Pharmaceuticals
[8]
and in 2001, the company changed its name to Medifast, Inc. In 2002, Retired Marine Colonel Bradley T. MacDonald Chairman of the Board at the time, along with clinical specialist Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen, created Take Shape For Life as a personal Coach to the Client system and the company’s “Habits of Health System.”
[10]
In October 2010, Medifast was ranked number 1 on
Forbes
magazine's list of "America's 100 Best Small Companies".
[11]
The company was ranked 18th on the 2014 list.
[12]
Medifast was named one of Forbes's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America in 2016 and 2017.
[13]
In July 2017, Medifast changed the name of its subsidiary Take Shape For Life to Optavia and introduced a new line of products, Optavia Essentials, directly sold from Coaches to clients.
[14]
In October 2017, Medifast relocated its headquarters to Baltimore from
Owings Mills
, Maryland.
[15]
The company is public with a market capitalization of $2.106 billion, as of June 2022.
[2]
False advertising settlement
[
edit
]
In September 2012, Medifast's subsidiary, Jason Pharmaceuticals, paid a $3.7 million
USD
civil penalty for
false advertising
. The
Federal Trade Commission
and
United States Department of Justice
said that advertisements for the "Medifast 5 & 1 Plan" low-calorie diet told consumers they could "lose up to 2-5 pounds per week", and that these weight-loss claims lacked a reasonable scientific basis, and were unsubstantiated. Under the settlement, any future claims made by the company must be backed by at least one human clinical study.
[16]
[17]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Medifast (MED)"
.
Forbes
. 29 June 2022.
Archived
from the original on 30 June 2022
. Retrieved
29 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Medifast, Inc. (MED)"
.
Yahoo Finance
.
Yahoo
. 29 June 2022.
Archived
from the original on 22 October 2022
. Retrieved
29 June
2022
.
- ^
Medifast, Inc. (4 May 2021).
"Form 10-Q Quarterly Report to SEC"
.
SEC.gov
.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
.
Archived
from the original on 30 June 2022
. Retrieved
29 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Medifast, Inc. Financials"
.
Archived
from the original on 2020-06-02
. Retrieved
2019-08-16
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Medifast (6 September 2021). "2020 10-K Report".
Securities and Exchange Commission
.
- ^
Lorraine Mirabella (February 20, 2017), "Medifast's Take Shape For Life changes name to Optavia"
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-medifast-rebrand-20170220-story.html
Archived
2018-03-13 at the
Wayback Machine
, retrieved March 12, 2018
- ^
Medifast History
Archived
2010-11-27 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
Lifestyle medicine : a manual for clinical practice
. Jeffrey I. Mechanick, Robert F. Kushner. Cham. 2016.
ISBN
978-3-319-24687-1
.
OCLC
945375776
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
) CS1 maint: others (
link
)
- ^
"Medifast Inc"
.
MarketWatch
.
Archived
from the original on 2019-03-22
. Retrieved
2019-03-22
.
- ^
"Carrying out the legacy of Medifast's turnaround CEO"
.
Archived
from the original on 2018-08-02
. Retrieved
2018-08-02
.
- ^
"Forbes America's 100 Best Small Companies"
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-12-31
. Retrieved
2017-09-04
.
- ^
"Medifast on the Forbes America's Best Small Companies List"
.
Forbes
.
Archived
from the original on July 8, 2015
. Retrieved
July 16,
2015
.
- ^
"Medifast earns spot on Forbes' 100 Most Trustworthy Companies list"
. May 2017.
Archived
from the original on 2018-08-03
. Retrieved
2018-08-02
.
- ^
"Medifast's Take Shape For Life changes name to Optavia"
. 20 February 2017.
Archived
from the original on 13 March 2018
. Retrieved
12 March
2018
.
- ^
"Medifast relocating headquarters to Harbor East from Baltimore County"
. 18 September 2017.
Archived
from the original on 3 August 2018
. Retrieved
2 August
2018
.
- ^
David Ingram (September 7, 2012).
"Medifast unit settles false ad claims for $3.7 million"
.
Reuters
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-03-13
. Retrieved
2012-09-09
.
- ^
Lewis, Truman (September 10, 2012).
"Medifast Subsidiary Agrees to $3.7 Million Penalty"
.
ConsumerAffairs.com
.
Archived
from the original on July 16, 2015
. Retrieved
July 16,
2015
.
External links
[
edit
]