| Nutrisystem, Inc. | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Traded As: | NASDAQ: |
| Foundation: | 1972 |
| Founder: | Harold Katz |
| Location City: | Fort Washington, Pennsylvania |
| Location Country: | US |
| Area Served: | US and Canada |
| Key People: | Stephen Mikulak, President |
| Products: | Weight loss, weight management, nutrition |
| Services: | Telephone, Internet and mobile counseling for weight control |
| Parent: | Kainos Capital |
Nutrisystem is a commercial provider of weight loss products and services headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
Nutrisystem's initial product in 1972 was a liquid protein diet, but the company changed its offering after Slim-Fast came to prominence in that market.[1]
The company originally offered weight loss counseling and products in brick and mortar centers, but in 1999, Nutrisystem moved to a direct-to-consumer business model, selling its products and programs on the Internet and by telephone.[2]
The company launched its mobile platform in 2010. WebDiet, Inc., a Silicon Valley startup, accused Nutrisystem of stealing their technology, but the case was dismissed in May, 2014.[3] [4] [5]
In 2015, the firm acquired the South Beach Diet brand.[6]
In December 2018, Tivity Health announced that it would acquire the Nutrisystem brand.[7]
On October 19, 2020, Kainos Capital acquired the brand from Tivity Health.[8]
In 2021, Stephen Mikulak was named President of Nutrisystem.[9]
The company is known for its celebrity marketing, which has included Marie Osmond in national advertising.[10] One of its primary competitors is Weight Watchers with the rivalry deemed "diet wars" by the media. [11]
A systematic review in 2015 concluded that Nutrisystem "shows promise" because, in the short term, studies have shown that Nutrisystem was more effective at weight-loss than a control group, but found no studies of long-term efficacy.[12]
, four weeks of a basic Nutrisystem plan costs the average American customer $274.99.[13] In light of this expense, the Mayo Clinic lists one of the disadvantages of the diet to be its potentially "prohibitive" cost.[14] Obesity specialist Fatima Cody Stanford writes that a potential disadvantage of the diet is that it complicates social eating because a person following the Nutrisystem plan has to follow a distinct dietary program.[13]