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Medifast Flies Under the Radar, Pulls Off A Coup

July 19, 2019.

Somehow, quietly, Medifast, with its MLM model and Optavia product line, is poised to become the second largest weight loss company by revenues. If, as expected, it posts revenues of $700 million this year, it will outsell NutiSystem (projected flat sales of $692 million), Herbalife, and Jenny Craig.

How did it do this?

Well, it now has 27,200 “health coaches” or distributors, up sharply in the past few years, and slated to reach 30,000 by the end of this year. These people earn, on average, $23,000 per year, which is a lot higher than most MLM distributors. They spread the gospel via networking in their local circle of friends and family.

Since most commercial weight loss companies usually spend 15-20% of sales on marketing and advertising, Medifast has really achieved something almost magical — generating sales of $500 million with only $6 million in marketing costs (and $700 mill. projected this year).


It seems as though Medifast’s future growth is limited only by the number of MLM health coaches they can recruit and train (which seems almost unlimited, since companies like Herbalife, AMWAY, Shaklee and Nu-Skin have literally hundreds of thousands of distributors).

Just think of what this company could achieve if, with more funds in their war chest, they decide to run national TV ad campaigns designed to create greater exposure and brand name recognition, making Optavia a household name! Many still think of Medifast as a small medical weight loss program, and they’re wrong.

For more insights like these, consider Marketdata’s weight loss market research studies, or conference calls with John LaRosa, Research Director, or Custom Research or Consulting projects (free project proposals). Call: 813-971-8080. See our website: marketdataenterprises.com.

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