Medifast
 | |
| Public (NYSE: MED) | |
| Industry | Weight loss |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Headquarters | Owings Mills, Maryland, USA |
Key people | Michael C. MacDonald, Chairman and CEO |
| Products | Medifast diet |
| Revenue |
 US$ 285.3 million (2014)[1] |
|
US$ 30.2 million (2014) [1] | |
|
US$ 13.2 million (2014) [1] | |
| Total assets |
US$ 115.9 million (2014) [1] |
| Total equity |
US$ 80.5 million (2014) [1] |
Number of employees | 808 (2014)[2] |
| Slogan | easy, fast... |
| Website |
www |
Medifast, Inc. is an American nutrition and weight loss company based in Owings Mills, Maryland. The company owns five subsidiaries: Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Jason), Take Shape for Life, Inc. (TSFL), Jason Enterprises, Inc., Jason Properties, LLC and Seven Crondall, LLC. Medifast produces, distributes, and sells weight loss and other health-related products through websites, multi-level marketing, telemarketing, franchised weight loss clinics, and medical professionals.
The company is public with a market capitalization of $405 million, as of October 2014.[2]
Medifast was founded in 1980 by William Vitale, a medical doctor.[3] His products were sold directly to other doctors, who in turn prescribed them to their patients.
The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: MED).
On July 17, 1995, HealthRite (predecessor of Medifast) changed its name from Vitamin Specialties Corp.
In October 2010, Medifast was ranked number 1 on Forbes magazine's list of "America's 100 Best Small Companies".[4] The company was ranked 18th as of the 2014 list.[2]
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.[5][6]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Medifast, Inc. Financials".
- 1 2 3 "Medifast on the Forbes America's Best Small Companies List". Forbes. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- ↑ Medifast History
- ↑ Forbes America's 100 Best Small Companies
- ↑ David Ingram (September 7, 2012). "Medifast unit settles false ad claims for $3.7 million". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
- ↑ Lewis, Truman (September 10, 2012). "Medifast Subsidiary Agrees to $3.7 Million Penalty". ConsumerAffairs.com. Retrieved July 16, 2015.