Medifast

Medifast, Inc.
Company typePublic
NYSE: MED
IndustryWeight loss, multi-level marketing
Founded1981[1]
Headquarters
Baltimore, Maryland
,
United States
Key people
Daniel R. Chard, Executive Chairman and CEO[2]
ProductsOptavia
Medifast diet (retired 2021)[3]
RevenueIncrease US$ 934.8 million (2020), US$1,526,087 (2021), US$1,598,577 (2022) [4][5]
Increase US$ 134.2 million (2020) [4][5]
Increase US$ 102.9 million (2020) [4][5]
Total assetsIncrease US$ 276.1 million (2020) [4][5]
Total equityIncrease US$ 157.2 million (2020) [4][5]
Number of employees
713 (2020)[5]
Websitemedifastinc.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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ "Medifast (MED)". Forbes. 29 June 2022. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Medifast, Inc. (MED)". Yahoo Finance. Yahoo. 29 June 2022. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Medifast, Inc. Financials". Archived from the original on 2020-06-02. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Medifast (6 September 2021). "2020 10-K Report". Securities and Exchange Commission.
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Medifast History Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ "Medifast Inc". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  10. ^ "Carrying out the legacy of Medifast's turnaround CEO". Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  11. ^ "Forbes America's 100 Best Small Companies". Archived from the original on 2016-12-31. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  12. ^ "Medifast on the Forbes America's Best Small Companies List". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  13. ^ "Medifast earns spot on Forbes' 100 Most Trustworthy Companies list". May 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "Medifast relocating headquarters to Harbor East from Baltimore County". 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
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