Dec. 13, 2021
As reported in a recent INC. magazine article, a survey by the American Psychological Association found that some 42 percent of U.S. adults gained unwanted weight in the first year of the pandemic. This helps explain the boom year Noom had for its weight-loss service in 2020, with sales estimated at more than $400 million. The same APA survey found that two-thirds of Americans were having pandemic sleep trouble, and half were experiencing extra stress.
When Noom asked its weight-loss customers what else they were struggling with, stress was the number one answer. Noom’s chief psychologist, Mr. Michaelides,, knew that the methods he’d helped implement for Noom Weight were made for treating other conditions. “There’s a large population of folks who don’t really meet the criteria for a diagnosis and don’t necessarily need to be in therapy, but also need a lot of skills that can help them cope with their day-to-day lives,” he says. Hence the launch of Noom Mood, the first of multiple new verticals to come in the near future, based on four pillars of care: nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management.
The company is also diving into the enterprise market, as employers look for ways to provide healthy work conditions for employees who may never return full time to the office. The article also revealed that Noom’s CEO Jeong says the company’s “core IP” is how the A.I. allocates coaches’ time to eliminate repetitive work and maximize meaningful exchanges with users. That’s what allows each of the company’s now 3,000 full-time coaches to have a few hundred clients, whereas a typical therapist might have a few dozen.
The company says it has continued its fast growth in 2021, expecting more than $600 million in revenue for the year. It raised $540 million in a Series F investment round in May 2021, from such heavy hitters as Silver Lake and Sequoia Capital, and it’s been rumored to be eyeing an IPO in the coming year at a $10 billion valuation.
Marketdata Commentary:
Noom’s success shows that there is room for tech savvy entrepreneurs to make significant inroads and revenues in the U.S. weight loss market. There is no doubt that competitors such as Noom have taken market share away from established players such as Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. As the Millennial cohort has grown in size relative to Baby Boomers, this target group of dieters has become more important to serve, as they are more tech savvy.
For More Insights Into The Weight Loss Market:
See Marketdata’s March 2021 report (FS67): “The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market”, an in-depth 400+ page study published since 1989 that tracks ALL segments of the weight loss market, dieter demographics, trends, 2025 Forecasts and more. Marketdata provides custom weight loss market research and consulting services, and phone consults. Contact John LaRosa, Research Director and Head Consultant, for details (813-971-8080). Find details and Table of Contents for Marketdata’s weight loss reports at: marketdataenterprises.com. A $99, 46-page Overview Summary report is also available (OV4).