Medifast announces new product line

Medifast, the Owings Mills-based company that sells weight-loss plans and its own line of meals and snacks, as well as employs a growing army of health coaches, is launching a new product line to bolster its largest revenue stream.

OPTAVIA is a new line of 13 food products launched within Medifast’s direct-sales division, Take Shape for Life, the first products that will be exclusively sold by the division’s health coaches.

Medifast boasts that the new products — dubbed “fuelings” — come chock full of vitamins, minerals and probiotics with ingredients from around the world, with no colors, flavors, sweeteners or preservatives from artificial sources, according to the company.

OPTAVIA products include snack and dessert bars, shakes, smoothies, and pasta dishes.

Medifast CEO Michael MacDonald said in a news release that OPTAVIA would help position the Take Shape For Life brand for growth and global expansion.

Take Shape for Life accounts for about three-quarters of the company’s revenue, and saw its revenue increase 9 percent year-over-year during the first quarter of 2016, the fifth straight quarter of year-over-year improvement.

The number of Take Shape for Life health coaches grew from 12,100 in the first quarter of 2015 to 12,600 in the first quarter of 2016. Health coaches will begin selling the OPTAVIA products to their clients this month, according to the company.

Medifast’s overall net revenue decreased 1.5 percent year-over-year during the first quarter, from $73.4 million to $72.3 million, and it saw decreases in its non-Take Shape for Life revenue streams.

After the first quarter of calendar year 2016, Medifast increased its projected revenue range for fiscal 2016 from between $273 million and $280 million to between $275 million and $282 million.

The company is slated to announce its second-quarter 2016 results Aug. 3.

In January, the company launched a line of sport-nutrition shakes and energy bars under the brand “Duel Fuel,” to be marketed through partnerships with Rutgers University and The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Medifast’s board has seen significant restructuring over the past two years as part of a deal with activist investor Engaged Capital.

Margaret Sheetz, who served as president of Medifast and CEO of Take Shape for Life, stepped down in April to pursue personal interests and spend more time with her family, according to the company.