Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
SUMMARY
Medifast, Inc. (“Medifast,” the “Company,” “we” or “us”) is the health and wellness company known for its habit-based and coach-guided lifestyle solution, OPTA VIA ® . The Company is currently executing a comprehensive business transformation that will enable it to succeed in an environment that has been fundamentally impacted by rapid acceptance of GLP-1 weight loss medications.
We are a well-capitalized business with strong and effective leadership that has grown its lifestyle brand, OPTA VIA, into a significant health and wellness brand. We have a powerful business model, building a network of approximately 27,100 active earning coaches and impacting more than 3 million lives. Backed by more than 40 years of experience, clinically proven plans, innovative products, and a powerful integrated coach model, Medifast stands at the forefront of evidence-based wellness solutions. Our business model is differentiated and unique, a scalable coach-based approach that drives both program effectiveness and company growth. With the integration of access to clinicians through our collaboration with LifeMD, Inc. (Nasdaq: LFMD) (“LifeMD”), we provide our customers access to GLP-1 weight loss medications, when clinically appropriate.
Medifast offers a simple, yet comprehensive approach to achieving optimal health and wellbeing. Our lifestyle program, OPTA VIA, empowers people to make lasting changes. Through the support of our independent OPTA VIA coaches, about 90% of whom were customers first, our customers are guided through every step of their wellness journey.
OPTA VIA's lifestyle plans deliver proven health benefits as well as evidence-based tools, including scientifically developed products and a framework for habit creation reinforced by independent coaches and community support. We continue to innovate and build upon our scientific and clinical heritage to fulfill our mission of offering Lifelong Transformation, Making a Healthy Lifestyle Second Nature™.
OPTA VIA coaches are people who are navigating weight loss at different moments in life, providing unparalleled coaching support along with community, nutrition, and healthy habits. In a world where health and wellbeing are often a difficult and solitary journey, OPTA VIA provides intensely personalized support to people who want to transform their health. This holistic approach empowers people to master their weight loss journey through each stage of life and gives them the freedom to do it on their terms. The lifestyle solution is designed for real life and built around four key components:
• Independent Coaches: Independent OPTA VIA coaches provide individualized support and guidance to customers on the path to optimal health and wellbeing.
• OPTA VIA Community: A community of like-minded people providing each other with real-time connection and support.
• The Habits of Health ® Transformational System: A proprietary system that offers easy steps to a sustainable healthy lifestyle.
• Products & Plans: Clinically proven plans and scientifically developed products, backed by dietitians, scientists and physicians.
To ensure that Medifast continues to thrive as a health and wellness business in the rapidly evolving weight-loss market, we have developed distinct coach-supported program offerings tailored to meet the unique needs of three specific customer categories on their health and wellness journeys:
1. Those who have never used medications and want to use coach-supported habit-based programs as the core of their weight loss journey;
2. Individuals using GLP-1 medications as a core element of their weight loss program; and
3. People looking to manage weight loss and improved health when they come off GLP-1 medications for whatever reason, including cost, side effects, or any other cause.
For each of these customer categories, we are taking an intentional and methodical approach to building out our offerings to ensure that we can provide compelling products and services to new, former, and current coaches and clients, regardless of where they are on their personal health and wellness journeys.
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Usage of GLP-1 medications continue to accelerate, with research commissioned by Medifast suggesting that the GLP-1 support market alone could be worth $50 billion or more by 2030. 1 For audiences looking for a GLP-1 based solution, we have built a collaboration with national virtual primary care provider, LifeMD. Eligible OPTA VIA customers have access to board-certified affiliated clinicians and medications, where appropriate, such as GLP-1 medications, that support treatment plans for obesity. We introduced a specific product line, OPTA VIA ASCEND™, to address these customer needs as discussed below. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, more than 95% of OPTA VIA coach leaders have completed specialized GLP-1 based training, and over 40% of active coaches are supporting at least one client on a GLP-1 medication. With the medication having been shown to be highly effective in conjunction with lifestyle changes, we believe there is strong compatibility with our experience of helping people achieve change through habit-based systems.
For those looking to manage weight loss after discontinuing medication usage, we have developed a specific product line, OPTA VIA ASCEND, to address these customer nutritional needs as discussed below. Recent research showed that about one-third of users quit taking the medication after six months, and that this can rise to half or more after a year. 2 Furthermore, research also shows that two-thirds of weight lost on GLP-1 medications is typically regained within 12 months of stopping treatment, with cardiometabolic benefits often reversing as well. 3
Finding new customers and reactivating former customers who do not wish to use medications remains an important area of focus for our business. Our OPTA VIA Fuelings and OPTA VIA ACTIVE ® product line address the needs of these customers as discussed below. We also continue to work on enhancing our digital tools and improving the customer experience to help us achieve our goals in this area.
Regardless of need state, our integrated coach-supported, lifestyle-based approach helps customers achieve their health goals through a network of approximately 27,100 active earning independent OPTA VIA coaches, about 90% of whom were customers first. OPTA VIA coaches introduce customers to a set of healthy habits, in most cases starting with the habit of healthy eating, and offer exclusive OPTA VIA-branded products. OPTA VIA products and plans are one component that support the Company’s mission, and our portfolio of products help make it easier for customers to create healthy, sustainable habits in their lives.
In December 2024, Medifast introduced two science-backed nutrition plans designed specifically for people on GLP-1 medications and people seeking weight management: the GLP-1 Nutrition Support Plan and the Optimization Plan. Both plans feature OPTA VIA ASCEND, a new product line of high-protein, fiber-rich mini meals as well as a daily nutrient pack. The mini meals support muscle, digestive health and long-term wellness, filling a critical gap in the weight management market.
We believe our coach-based model is scalable and drives both customer success and growth, and we continue to work diligently to deliver growth and competitive advantage. Part of this work included the 2024 launch of new company-led marketing campaigns to drive brand awareness and to facilitate customer acquisition. With this being a competitive market, we’re finetuning our strategy in this area to yield the highest possible return on our investment.
In all cases, the OPTA VIA coaching model is heavily focused on the needs of the customer and helps put each customer into supportive and energized health and wellness communities that share their challenges and goals. OPTA VIA coaches provide highly tailored and personalized support to customers and motivate them by sharing their passion for healthy living and lifestyle transformation.
OPTA VIA coaches are central to everything that we do, helping to foster a continuous cycle of growth, and attracting and activating new customers, many of whom go on to become OPTA VIA coaches. We offer economic incentives designed to support each OPTA VIA coach’s long-term success, which we believe plays an important role in their financial wellness, providing the opportunity to improve their finances while changing the health trajectory of families, communities and generations. 4
1 Based on research commissioned by Medifast utilizing publicly available expectations of the number of GLP-1 users and internal spend per customer.
2 Real-world persistence and adherence to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists among obese commercially insured adults without diabetes. J Manag Care Spec Pharm. August 2024; GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Discontinuation Among Patients With Obesity and/or Type 2 Diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. May 2024; Blue Health Intelligence. Real-World Trends in GLP-1 Treatment Persistence and Prescribing for Weight Management. Issue Brief: May 2024; Discontinuation and reinitiation of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists among US adults with overweight or obesity. PRE-PRINT medRxiv July 2024.
3 Wilding JPH, Batterham RL, Davies M, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: The STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes, obesity & metabolism. Aug 2022.
4 OPTA VIA makes no guarantee of financial success. Success with OPTA VIA results from successful sales efforts, which require hard work, diligence, skill, persistence, competence and leadership. Please see the OPTA VIA Income Disclosure Statement (http://bit.ly/ids OPTA VIA) for statistics on actual earnings of coaches.
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OPTA VIA coaches are independent contractors, not employees, who support customers and market our products and services primarily through word of mouth, email, and via social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and video conferencing platforms. As independent contractors, OPTA VIA coaches market our products to friends, family, and other people in their communities. OPTA VIA products are shipped directly to OPTA VIA customers. OPTA VIA coaches do not handle or deliver merchandise to customers. This arrangement frees our OPTA VIA coaches from having to manage inventory and allows them to maintain an arms-length transactional relationship while focusing their attention on support and encouragement.
The Company’s integrated approach that combines lifestyle coaching, community support, and access to medical solutions through LifeMD, positions the business to meet the needs of a broader spectrum of customers. By focusing on innovative products, enhanced customer experiences, and effective marketing strategies, Medifast has created and is continuing to enhance a differentiated and compelling offer. Its financial strength, operational flexibility, and customer-centric philosophy equip the Company to navigate the changing weight loss market and drive sustainable growth.
Our operations are conducted through our wholly owned subsidiaries, Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc., OPTA VIA LLC, Jason Enterprises, Inc., Jason Properties, LLC, OPTA VIA (Hong Kong) Limited, and OPTA VIA Health Consultation (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Macroeconomic Conditions
Certain global economic challenges, including the impact of inflation, have caused macroeconomic uncertainty and volatility in markets where we, our suppliers, and our OPTA VIA coaches operate.
Like many product-focused companies, we are exposed to market risks from changes in commodity or other raw material prices. An inflationary economy could impact our cost structure and put pressure on consumer spending. Increases in commodity prices or food costs, including as a result of inflation, could affect the global and U.S. economies and could also adversely impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Our variable cost structure can be utilized to adapt to changing market conditions with potential actions including adjustments to our manufacturing, distribution, and customer support infrastructure. As a response, we may periodically take incremental pricing actions to offset supply chain costs and inflationary pressures.
In response to changing macroeconomic conditions, the Company may take further actions that alter its business operations as may be required by governmental authorities, or that are determined to be in the best interests of employees, OPTA VIA coaches and customers, and stockholders.
These macroeconomic uncertainties make it challenging for our management to estimate our future business performance. However, we intend to continue to actively monitor the impact of these developments on our business and will update our practices accordingly.
Competition
The weight loss industry is very competitive and encompasses a multitude of weight loss products and programs. These include a wide variety of commercial weight loss programs, pharmaceutical products, surgical interventions, books, self-help diets, dietary meal replacements, and appetite suppressants as well as digital tools, app-based health and wellness monitoring solutions, and wearable trackers. The weight loss market is served by a diverse array of competitors. Potential customers seeking to manage their weight can turn to traditional center-based competitors, online diet-oriented sites, self-directed dieting and self-administered products such as prescription medications, over-the-counter medications and supplements, as well as medically supervised programs. Recently, it became clear that medical weight loss solutions, such as GLP-1 medications, have become an increasingly key component of the overall health and wellness ecosystem, and the recent surging awareness and popularity of these weight loss medications serve as another major competitor, as these products have prompted a huge change in the way that consumers think about weight loss and lifestyle modification solutions in general. We recognize that these weight loss medications have attracted significant attention from the market and pose a threat to our interactions with our traditional customer base. Importantly, the efficacy claims of GLP-1 medications for weight loss are based specifically on their incorporation of lifestyle changes that include a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity. As a result, under Medifast’s OPTA VIA offering, weight loss medications are another important element in overall tailored lifestyle plans that also include coaching, community support, nutritionally balanced meals, and exercise.
We believe we have a competitive advantage over traditional diet companies. The OPTA VIA model:
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• Offers a solution that focuses on holistic wellness; it views healthy weight as a catalyst to greater changes and has impacted more than 3 million lives.
• Provides personalized, empathetic support from coaches who have been in their customers’ shoes.
• Promotes lifelong habit development supported by a proprietary integrated approach to behavior change, the Habits of Health Transformational System.
• Encompasses a vibrant health and wellness community.
We also compete with other direct-selling organizations, some of which have a longer operating history and greater visibility, name recognition and financial resources than we do. We also believe we have advantages over traditional direct selling companies:
• OPTA VIA’s innovative model is customer-centric, with one sales price for both OPTA VIA coaches and customers. There is no tiered pricing.
• OPTA VIA boasts a health and wellness community, which promotes a holistic health and wellness program and is not focused solely on product sales.
• OPTA VIA offers a differentiated direct-to-consumer model, with 100% of products shipped directly to customers.
• The field promotes a unified Habits of Health training system that aligns its leaders around a common mission of Lifelong Transformation, Making a Healthy Lifestyle Second Nature.
We believe our scientific and clinical heritage combined with our commitment to evaluating programs, plans, and products through clinical research are primary differentiators that allow us to compete in these markets. Our scientifically designed products were originally developed by a physician, and we have been on the cutting edge in the development of nutrition and weight-management products since our founding.
Medifast has perfected our model over the last 40+ years, with habits, coaches, and community at the core, and we will continue to innovate as the industry evolves.
MARKETS
Health & Wellness Consumers
We develop and market products for consumers who want to lose weight and adopt a holistic approach to overall health and wellness. Obesity is defined as a Body Mass Index (“BMI”) of 30 kg/m 2 or greater, whereas overweight is defined as a BMI ranging between 25 and 29.9 kg/m 2 . Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults are classified as overweight or obese, and between August 2021 and August 2023 more than 40% were classified as obese 5 .
According to a proprietary analysis, the addressable market for weight loss is large and growing, estimated to be worth over $30 billion 6 . Additionally, roughly 75% of the U.S. population above the age of 18 wants to lose weight and is open to dieting, and approximately 70% of the overweight/obese population considers paid meal plans effective 7 . The total potential pool of OPTA VIA customers is sizable; there are about 200 million people in the United States looking to lose weight and willing to consider dieting 8 .
We offer customers an approach to health that is designed for real life, with weight loss and weight management serving as a catalyst for an overall improvement in health, confidence, vitality and general well-being.
Consumer Motivation
Our core customers are highly motivated to adopt a healthy lifestyle that is transformative and sustainable. Many have tried weight loss programs previously but have been unsuccessful at managing a healthy weight and embracing healthy habits for the long-term. Lifestyle issues our customers often seek to address and resolve include:
• physical limitations and chronic diseases linked to an unhealthy weight;
• the desire for more energy to meet physical demands and aspirations (e.g. work, parenting, sports and recreation);
• mental, emotional and psychological limitations caused by being at an unhealthy weight;
5 Three-Quarters of U.S. Adults are Now Overweight or Obese. New York Times. November 2024.; Obesity and Severe Obseity Prevalence in Adults: United States, August 2021 - August 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 508. September 2024.
6 The U.S. Weight Loss Market: 2024 Status Report & Forecast. Marketdata LLC. March 2024.
7 Consumer and OPTA VIA Customer surveys. April 2023.
8 Consumer and OPTA VIA Customer surveys. April 2023.
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• triggers that cause chronic “emotional eating” or “comfort eating”;
• lack of knowledge or understanding about the impact of certain foods on their bodies and overall health;
• lack of knowledge or understanding about healthy eating and proper hydration;
• the role of physical activity and life-style behavior modification to support healthy habit creation;
• the role of proper nutrition and lifestyle to augment their weight loss medication;
• the need for a convenient and simple, healthy lifestyle solution or program to address their health and wellbeing goals and accommodate demands on their time; and
• the need for a community of like-minded people for support to achieve their goals.
Experts agree that lifestyle changes remain foundational to long-term health and wellbeing, even for those utilizing weight loss medications. In fact, independent research commissioned by Medifast revealed 96% of people recognized that lifestyle changes are needed for weight loss and management, yet only 17% are confident they can manage on their own. Findings also showed most individuals interested in weight loss medications are looking for support beyond prescriptions, including clarity on how to incorporate components of healthy living, such as proper nutrition and exercise, into their lifestyles while utilizing these medical solutions 9 .
Direct Sellers
Our business model combines the most powerful aspects of direct selling, while eliminating those dimensions that have typically challenged other companies. Our growth does not depend on recruiting thousands of distributors who take on inventory to sell to customers. Rather, OPTA VIA coaches help customers adopt healthy habits and learn the benefits of OPTA VIA products, which are shipped directly to customers. The more OPTA VIA coaches we have, the more customers we can serve. We are often compared to diet and weight loss-only companies or to multi-level marketing companies, but our model is different. We support customers through independent OPTA VIA coaches, about 90% of whom were customers first.
Our competitive advantages:
• OPTA VIA’s innovative model is customer-centric and has one sales price for both OPTA VIA coaches and customers. There is no tiered pricing.
• OPTA VIA coaches focus on coaching and supporting customers. They do not hold inventory or manage cash.
• OPTA VIA boasts an energized health and wellness community, where about 90% of coaches come from the customer base and have been in their customers’ shoes. They promote a holistic wellness program and are not exclusively focused on product sales. Our competitive OPTA VIA coach compensation plan is also deliberately structured to incentivize coaching and support customer success.
• The field promotes a unified training system that aligns its leaders around a common mission.
OPTA VIA offers an entrepreneurial opportunity that allows coaches:
• to start, manage and grow their own business with minimal upfront capital investment;
• the ability to earn supplemental income;
• the ability to enjoy a work-life balance;
• the opportunity to market products they believe in; and
• the opportunity to complement other business pursuits.
Geographies
The U.S. market continues to represent significant potential for growth given the high percentage of overweight or clinically obese adults, where nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults are classified as overweight or obese, and between August 2021 and August 2023 more than 40% were classified as obese 10 .
Industry growth is also being driven by growing consumer awareness and increasing demand for health and wellness products. The intensified interest in physical fitness, fitness center membership, increased public awareness and incidences of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer, stroke, arthritis, sleep apnea, and depression have increased demand for health and wellness products. With its recent expansion into medically supported weight loss through its collaboration with LifeMD, Medifast can support even more customers on their health and wellness journeys.
9 Independent IPSOS research commissioned by Medifast. June 2023.
10 New York Times, November 2024, Three-Quarters of U.S. Adults are Now Overweight or Obese; NCHS Data Brief No. 508, September 2024, Obesity and Severe Obseity Prevalence in Adults: United States, August 2021 - August 2023
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OPTA VIA coaches are focused on word of mouth and social media marketing toward increasingly younger demographics, reaching out to important and increasingly diverse communities of health and wellness consumers, and identifying and marketing to consumers who are in varying stages of optimal well-being. In addition, the Company is investing in technology and growth initiatives intended to improve customer acquisition and customer experience.
In addition to our collaboration with LifeMD and new program introductions, we know there are new initiatives, markets, and communities where we have opportunities for growth in the U.S. With this in mind, we will continue to invest in important growth initiatives, particularly as we explore the ways in which we can expand our business in domestic markets we serve and deliver a high-quality experience for more customers.
Our model, programs, and products resonate with broad swathes of consumers regardless of geography or demographic. As such, we will continue working in collaboration with coaches across all key markets to reach and acquire new customers, as well as reactivate lapsed customers, as we look to further our impact and advance the global health movement.
Products and Programs
We take pride in our scientific heritage. We have authored over 73 peer-reviewed scientific abstracts and publications, 36 scientific journal publications and 28 completed research studies. Most prominently, we conducted a double-blind study that shows the effects that coaching has on the OPTA VIA program; the results suggested that speaking with their OPTA VIA coach more often may help customers lose up to twice as much weight. 11 In 2025, we expect to initiate studies evaluating the outcomes for customers using OPTA VIA programs alongside GLP-1 medications as well as those looking for help in long-term weight management, while also focusing on areas such as lean muscle retention.
Our clinically proven plans and our scientifically designed products were developed by physicians and dietitians, and have impacted more than 3 million lives and been recommended by thousands of healthcare providers. We work closely with our cross-disciplinary Scientific Advisory Board comprised of physicians and scientists who help guide and provide valuable input into the development of our comprehensive portfolio of offerings.
Our OPTA VIA coaching model offers the personal support of an OPTA VIA coach, who is often a person who has achieved success with OPTA VIA and has turned their success into a business opportunity. The majority of our OPTA VIA coaches began as customers and became OPTA VIA coaches for a number of reasons, including to pay it forward and help others through their own transformation journey.
Products
• OPTA VIA Fuelings . OPTA VIA Fuelings contain 24 vitamins and minerals, high quality, complete protein, and no colors, flavors or sweeteners from artificial sources. Our Fuelings contain high-quality protein which helps our customers retain lean muscle mass and contain the patented probiotic BC30™ to support digestive health as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Each OPTA VIA Fueling is scientifically formulated with a proper balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat which help promote a gentle, but efficient fat-burning state when on one of our clinically proven Optimal Weight Plans. Customers purchase kits tailored to their individual needs on the advice and guidance of their OPTA VIA coach.
• OPTA VIA ACTIVE . OPTA VIA Essential Amino Acid (EAAs) Blend and OPTA VIA ACTIVE Whey Protein are designed to help new and existing customers of all fitness levels optimize their motion habits. The Company’s team of researchers, food scientists, nutritionists, and other scientific experts, led the development of OPTA VIA ACTIVE EAA Blend and OPTA VIA ACTIVE Whey Protein, which are designed to address age-related muscle mass decline and support overall muscle health. Formulated to work with or without OPTA VIA nutrition plans, and guided by coach support, OPTA VIA ACTIVE is backed by science, made with no colors, flavors or sweeteners from artificial sources and is Informed Sport certified, a global standard in sports nutrition quality control that ensures its certified products contain no banned substances.
• OPTA VIA ASCEND: OPTA VIA ASCEND mini meals deliver targeted nutrition that gives customers’ body what they need to succeed — whether losing weight on a GLP-1 medication or in weight management mode. Each mini meal is packed with 20 grams or more of high-quality protein to help retain lean muscle mass, 5–10 grams of fiber to promote digestive health and key nutrients like calcium to support bone health and muscle function. From sweet to crunchy to hearty, all mini meals are scientifically formulated with macro and micronutrients to help preserve muscle, support digestive health and provide targeted nutrition and are ready to grab, shake, or heat. The line also includes a
11 Based on the results of a 16-week clinical study, those who participated in at least 75% of their 23 assigned OPTA VIA coaching calls lost 15.2 lbs. compared to 6.7 lbs. for those participating in fewer calls.
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Daily Nutrients Pack with multivitamin & minerals and omega-3 fatty acids supplements to support whole body health and fill nutrition gaps.
Lifestyle Plans
Customers’ success is enhanced by the personal attention, accountability, education, advice, and motivation they receive from our OPTA VIA coaches. They also benefit from being members of a broader OPTA VIA community of customers with like-minded goals and objectives regarding their health. We offer customers incentives to join the OPTA VIA community, including access to the corporate “Nutrition Support” team made up of subject matter experts that provide assistance to our coaches and customers, and exclusive offers through OPTA VIA Premier, our auto-ship service that helps our customers stay on plan, as well as qualifies them for discounts on purchased products and free or discounted shipping. OPTA VIA is known for its habit-based and coach-guided lifestyle approach to address weight loss and is backed by the long-standing scientific and clinical heritage of its parent company, Medifast. The OPTA VIA brand has impacted more than 3 million lives with a simple yet comprehensive solution that gives every customer access to:
• A personal (human, not AI) coach who has been in their shoes (about 90% were clients first)
• A community of others on similar journeys
• Healthy habit blueprint
• Tailored nutrition plans
• Nutrient-dense products
• A mobile app with hundreds of healthy recipes, habit trackers and other tools all in one place
OPTA VIA offers a range of nutrition plans tailored to help customers achieve their unique goals. Each plan is evidence-based backed by a cross-disciplinary group of dietitians, scientists, clinical researchers and other industry experts and is built around two key nutritional pillars:
• Pre-portioned, nutrient-dense products designed for convenience and balance, and
• Simple, self-prepared recipes featuring whole, healthy ingredients.
The plans the company markets to customers include:
• Optimal Weight 5 & 1 Plan ® & Optimal Weight 5 & 1 ACTIVE Plan ® . Our proven Optimal Weight 5 & 1 Plan encourages customers to eat six small meals a day, an important habit that helps customers maintain healthy weight. Five daily meals are OPTA VIA Fuelings, offering customers a choice from more than 45 delicious, convenient, nutritionally interchangeable, scientifically-designed products, including shakes, soups, bars, hot beverages, hearty choices, pudding and brownies. OPTA VIA coaches guide their customers on which Fuelings to select, and on how to develop healthy habits, such as preparing lean and green meals and choosing healthy snacks. For the Optimal Weight 5 & 1 Active Plan, we recommend up to 45 minutes of low to medium intensity exercise most days of the week and two servings of OPTA VIA ACTIVE EAA Blend to support muscle health and post workout recovery.
• Optimal Weight 4 & 2 & 1 Plan ® & Optimal Weight 4 & 2 ACTIVE Plan ® . The Optimal Weight 4 & 2 & 1 Plan is designed for customers who want to continue eating all food groups or want a flexible meal plan to help them achieve a healthy weight. Under this plan, OPTA VIA coaches guide their customers to eat four meals of OPTA VIA Fuelings and prepare two lean and green meals and one healthy snack themselves. For the Optimal Weight 4 & 2 Active Plan, we recommend up to 60 minutes of exercise most days of the week and two servings of OPTA VIA Active EAA Blend to support muscle health and post workout recovery.
• OPTA VIA Optimization Plan. The Optimization Plan is a personalized approach to help customers’ long-term weight management. The plan builds on the principles that led to customers’ weight loss success, combining lifestyle strategies, balanced nutrition, exercise guidance, and ongoing coach support to help customers stay at their goal weight and enjoy life to the fullest. This plan equips customers with the tools to confidently help them keep the weight off. Under this plan, OPTA VIA coaches guide their customers to eat two OPTA VIA ASCEND mini meals, two Lean & Green+ meals, two or more healthy exchanges (food options around 100 calories and 15 grams of carbs or less) based on the customers energy level, and one multivitamin & mineral and omega-3 supplement from the OPTA VIA ASCEND daily nutrient pack.
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• OPTA VIA GLP-1 Nutrition Support Plan : The perfect nutritional companion to GLP-1 medications, allowing customers to focus on their weight loss without the stress of figuring out what to eat. The new GLP-1 Nutrition Support Plan combines the effectiveness of the medication with balanced nutrition and lifestyle strategies to help customers lose weight, preserve lean muscle and support energy levels throughout their weight loss journey and into optimization. Under this plan, OPTA VIA coaches guide their customers to eat three OPTA VIA ASCEND mini meals, one Lean & Green+ meal, and one multivitamin & mineral and omega-3 supplement from the OPTA VIA ASCEND daily nutrient pack.
No matter what plan a customer is on, they can learn healthy habits through the Habits of Health Transformational System, which is a crucial tool for customer success and provides the foundation for our community to learn and adopt healthy habits. The Habits of Health Transformational System is an innovative, mind and body lifestyle approach that encourages and educates customers to replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones that contribute to their long-term success.
Incentives
From time to time we offer economic incentives designed to support each OPTA VIA coach’s and customer’s success. We believe our business is most successful when our coaches can maintain a continuous cycle of growth: coaches activate new and successful customers, many of whom go on to become OPTA VIA coaches themselves, who activate new customers, and so on. Once a coach has successfully attracted a new customer, the coach uses personalized coaching and effective digital tools to drive engagement.
Customer acquisition is important to our growth as customer cohorts utilizing the OPTA VIA program today form future coach cohorts, which in turn drive optimization of the customer and coach tenure mix and the associated improvements in efficiency and productivity. Optimizing incentivization and compensation remains important to drive growth, retention, and engagement. We are investing substantial time and resources in carefully learning from our existing and prospective customers, listening to what our coaches are hearing and finding efficient solutions to challenges, along with building programs that deliver connection, engagement and retention. We are consistently adapting and focusing our efforts on where we believe they will have the most impact.
Customers
Sales are made to individual customers. No single customer accounted for 10% or more of our consolidated revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Seasonality
Demand for weight management products and programs throughout the industry are typically seasonal. Traditionally, the predisposition of customers refraining from initiating weight loss or management programs during the holiday season typically impacts the fourth quarter with fewer sales of weight management products and services during these months. January and February generally show sequential increases in sales, as these months are considered the commencement of the “diet season” and "resolution season." We believe, however, that our sales pattern does not necessarily follow the seasonality of our industry, but rather is predicated on the growth or contraction of our OPTA VIA coach network.
Scientific Advisory Board
Our Scientific Advisory Board consists of six multi-disciplinary, internationally recognized scientific experts who provide objective insights to guide the Company in making informed decisions based on the latest scientific developments in health and wellness and serve as the foundation for scientifically-valid, evidence-based, customer-centric, high-quality innovations by the Company for lasting health. Its mission is to help guide us in making informed decisions regarding medical, nutritional, food service, and scientific matters by providing expertise and information on research and emerging trends. The cross-disciplinary panel was established in 2008 in service of the Company's commitment to providing an evidence-based, safe and effective health and wellness program that meets consumer needs.
The work of this cross-disciplinary group builds on our scientific heritage and incorporates leading-edge clinical research into the development of our products, plans and programs.
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Marketing
We continue to develop the OPTA VIA brand through comprehensive marketing strategies that reflect the changing dynamics of the weight loss and wellness markets. Customer acquisition and retention efforts are designed to attract new customers by emphasizing OPTA VIA’s holistic and effective solutions, including its ability to support those pursuing traditional weight loss through healthy lifestyle changes, individuals using GLP-1 medications, and those transitioning off such medications. Our coaches are the key component of our marketing efforts and serve as important advocates of our plans and products. We have a history of launching new products and plans to our coach network first to ensure that we have support from the OPTA VIA community. In turn, our coaches better understand our products and their benefits and can best meet customers where they are in their weight loss journey. It is integral to our business that this coach network has the tools to effectively lead our marking approach. To support this, we are focused on scaling best practices from high-performing teams and leveraging new coach education resources, aimed at driving sustained improvements in new customer acquisition across the network. To supplement our coach-driven efforts, we introduced a significant Company-led marketing campaign in 2024 to increase brand awareness and drive customer adoption. The campaign integrates digital and traditional channels to reach new audiences and deepen engagement with existing ones, including initiatives to reactivate former customers and empower OPTA VIA coaches. These efforts are aimed at expanding customer acquisition channels and demonstrating the value of holistic, medically-supported weight loss programs. The Company incurred approximately $22.9 million in company led marketing expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Manufacturing
Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc., our wholly-owned subsidiary with a manufacturing facility in Owings Mills, Maryland, manufactures our products, and accounts for approximately 40% of our total unit sales. We purchased the facility in July 2002. Our Owings Mills manufacturing facility is regulated and inspected by the United States Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”), the United States Department of Agriculture (the “USDA”), the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Office of Food Protection. It is certified by the Safe Qualified Food Institute as a Safe Quality Food Program Level 2 facility compliant with the Global Food Safety Initiative, a global non-profit collaboration to advance food safety. The products underlying the remaining 60% of our total unit sales are manufactured by co-manufacturers in accordance with Medifast proprietary formulas and manufacturing standards.
Governmental Regulation
We are subject to extensive federal, state, and local government laws and regulations, including those relating to the preparation and sale of food and beverages, in the jurisdictions in which we operate, own, and lease properties, and market our offerings, including the OPTA VIA program, products, and other aspects of our business. We are also subject to laws governing our relationships with employees, including minimum wage requirements, overtime, working conditions, hiring and firing, non-discrimination for disabilities and other protected characteristics, work permits, and benefit offerings. Further, we are subject to laws governing our relationships with our independent contractor OPTA VIA coaches. To date, compliance with federal, state and local environmental protection regulations has not had a material effect on our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position.
In this section, we describe the regulations that are applicable to our business.
Direct Selling Regulations
Direct selling is regulated by various national, state and local government agencies in the United States. The direct selling industry is also under regular scrutiny by certain non-profit organizations and the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council, which is one of the Better Business Bureau's National Programs. These entities identify perceived violations of laws and regulations by direct sellers in an effort to force companies to change their practices. If companies do not voluntarily modify practices identified by these reviewing entities, they may report the perceived violations to law enforcement agencies.
Laws and regulations related to direct selling companies are generally intended to prevent fraudulent or deceptive schemes, including “pyramid” schemes, which compensate participants primarily for recruiting additional participants without significant emphasis on product sales to consumers. The laws and regulations governing direct selling may be modified or reinterpreted from time to time, which may cause us to modify our sales compensation and business models. In almost all of our domestic markets, regulations are subject to discretionary interpretation by regulators and judicial authorities. There is often ambiguity and uncertainty with respect to the state of direct selling and anti-pyramid laws and regulations. In the United States, for example, federal law provides the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), broad latitude in policing unfair or deceptive trade practices, but does not provide a bright-line test for identifying a pyramid scheme. Several states have passed legislation that more clearly distinguishes between illegal pyramid schemes and legitimate multi-level marketing (“MLM”) business models.
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Settlements between the FTC and other direct selling companies and guidance from the FTC have addressed inappropriate earnings and lifestyle claims and the importance of focusing on consumer sales. That said, the FTC's enforcement efforts have created a level of ambiguity as to the proper interpretation of the law and related court decisions. For example, in 2016, the FTC entered into a settlement with another direct selling/multi-level marketing company, requiring the company to modify its business model, including basing sales compensation and qualification only on sales to retail and preferred customers and on purchases by a distributor for personal consumption within allowable limits.
Similarly, in 2019, the FTC took aggressive actions against another direct selling/multi-level marketing company, alleging that the company operated an illegal pyramid scheme that deceived consumers into believing that they could earn significant income as distributors of its health and wellness products. The company eventually entered into a consent order with the FTC, pursuant to which the company was permanently prohibited from using a multi-level compensation plan in the United States. Although these settlements do not represent judicial precedent or new FTC rules, the FTC has indicated that the industry should look at these settlements, and the principles underlying their specific measures, for guidance. If the requirements in these settlements lead to new industry standards or new rules, our business could be impacted, and we may need to amend our compensation plan.
Additionally, in 2023 the FTC updated its nonbinding Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (“Endorsement Guides”) which explain what endorsement practices the FTC views as being unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The 2023 update was the first revision to the Endorsement Guides since 2009; it clarified the FTC's views on several issues, including the meaning of "clear and conspicuous" the definition of "endorsement," and how different types of reviews of products should be treated. Under the current Endorsement Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her atypical experience with a product or service are required to clearly disclose the typical results that consumers can generally expect. OPTA VIA has adapted its rules regarding the practices of its coaches in order to comply with the current Endorsement Guides, but we cannot be sure that the FTC will not challenge our advertising or other operations in the future.
In 2024, the FTC amended its nonbinding Business Guidance Concerning Multi-Level Marketing (“MLM Guidance”), which was originally released in 2018. The MLM Guidance explains, among other things, the FTC’s views concerning lawful and unlawful compensation structures, whether personal consumption by participants can be used in determining an MLM organization’s compensation structure, and how an MLM organization should approach representations to current and prospective participants. We believe our current business practices comply with the MLM Guidance. If the FTC withdraws the guidance or chooses to enforce the relevant laws in a manner inconsistent with the guidance, our business could be impacted, and we may need to amend our compensation plan.
In 2024, the FTC issued a Report on Multi-Level Marketing Income Disclosures (“IDS Report”), which outlined findings from the FTC Staff’s review of the public income disclosure statements of seventy different multi-level marketing companies, including OPTAVIA. According to the IDS Report, FTC staff found a number of issues with the reviewed statements, including that most omitted key information, did not include all participants, and did not identify expenses faced by participants. The IDS Report does not indicate that the FTC is investigating any of the companies or plans to bring actions against them. While OPTAVIA believes its practices with regard to its income disclosure statement comply with current laws, we cannot be sure that the FTC will not investigate and potentially challenge our income disclosure practices in the future.
Finally, the FTC is currently considering certain legal and regulatory changes that, if implemented, could impact our business. For example, in early 2025 the FTC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for a proposed rule concerning deceptive earnings claims made by MLM organizations that would further regulate how MLM organizations describe certain aspects of their businesses. The FTC concurrently issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) regarding earnings claims made by the multi-level marketing rule. The ANPR asks for public comments on whether a new rule should regulate MLM organizations’ statements concerning benefits, expenses and refund claims as well as MLM’s use of non-disparagement clauses. If the FTC issues an earnings claim rule targeted specifically at MLM organizations, our business could be impacted, and we may need to change our current practices. While OPTAVIA has taken steps to educate our employees and coaches on proper earnings claims, if an employee or coach makes improper claims or if regulators issue new rules or change current guidance or determine we (or our coaches) are making any improper claims, this could lead to an FTC investigation and could harm our business.
The FTC is also currently reviewing the Business Opportunity Rule, which requires business opportunity sellers to give prospective buyers specific information to help them evaluate a business opportunity or work-at-home program. While direct sellers are currently exempt from the Business Opportunity Rule and the FTC’s early 2025 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to Business Opportunity Rules would preserve that exemption, the FTC could include direct sellers within the scope of the rule as a result of the review. If direct sellers become subject to the rule, we will have to comply with the rule, which could impact our business and cause us to modify how we currently operate.
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We continue to monitor developments to assess whether we should make any changes to our business or compensation plan. If we are required to make changes or if the FTC changes current guidance, either through rulemaking or an enforcement action against our Company, our business could be harmed.
Environmental Regulations
We are not aware of any instance in which we have contravened federal, state, or local laws relating to protection of the environment or in which we otherwise may be subject to liability for environmental conditions that could materially affect operations.
Other Regulations
A number of laws and regulations govern our advertising and marketing, services, products, operations and relations with consumers, other service providers and government authorities in the countries in which we operate.
The formulation, processing, packaging, labeling, marketing, advertising, and selling of the Company’s products is subject to regulation by federal, state and local agencies. Products must comply with the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Food Safety Modernization Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, State Consumer Protection laws and several other federal, state and local statutes and regulations applicable in localities in which the Company products are made or are sold.
The FDA, USDA and state and local health departments are the major agencies whose regulatory mission is to assure that products are made using approved ingredients, labeling, manufacturing procedures and testing to ensure that safe quality products are delivered to consumers.
Laws and regulations directly applicable to data protection and communications, operations or commerce over the Internet, such as those governing intellectual property, privacy and taxation, continue to evolve. Our operations are subject to these laws and regulations, and we continue to monitor their development and our compliance. In addition, we are subject to other laws and regulations in the United States.
The FTC has principal regulatory authority over the Company’s advertising and trade practices, its enforcement powers are aimed at protecting the consumer from being deceived by unfair marketing and trading practices.
During the mid-1990s, the FTC filed complaints against a number of commercial weight management providers alleging violations of federal law in connection with the use of advertisements that featured testimonial claims for program success and program costs. In 2012, Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a consent decree with the FTC regarding certain statements included in the advertising for the Company’s weight-loss programs. The consent decree requires us to comply with certain procedures and disclosures in connection with our advertisements of products and services.
If our collaboration and relationship with LifeMD grows, in the future, we may become subject to the same government regulators that regulate LifeMD’s business operations. These include federal and state healthcare regulatory laws which include, but are not limited to, federal and state anti-kickback, false claims, and other healthcare fraud and abuse laws. For additional information, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Product Liability and Insurance
The Company, like other producers and distributors of ingested products, faces an inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that, among other things, the use of its products results in injury or death. The Company maintains insurance against product liability claims with respect to the products it manufactures. With respect to the retail and direct marketing and distribution of products produced by others, the Company’s principal form of insurance consists of arrangements with each of its suppliers of those products to name the Company a covered entity under each of such vendor’s product liability insurance policies. The Company does not buy products from suppliers who do not maintain such coverage.
Working Capital Practices
We maintain sufficient amounts of inventory in stock in order to provide a high level of service to our customers. Substantial inventories are required to meet the needs of our dual role as manufacturer and distributor.
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Human Capital Management
At Medifast, we actively foster an organizational culture centered on strong cross-functional relationships and collaborating as one team to support our customers in their health and wellness journey. We are focused on attracting and retaining top talent who are eager to participate in our mission.
Our Total Rewards Program is intended to deliver competitive compensation and benefits that align with our company mission and values. Annually, we review our market reference ranges and pay to ensure we remain competitive, consistent, and equitable. Our variable pay targets are performance based and tied to organizational results. As of December 31, 2024, we employed 504 team members, all employed in the United States, of whom 229 were engaged in manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain support, and 275 in marketing, administrative, and corporate support functions. None of our team members are subject to a collective bargaining agreement with the Company.
In 2024, we continued our business transformation and began executing plans to enable stability and growth. We continued to strengthen our foundation – our community of independent coaches and corporate team members working hand-in-hand — leveraging our habit-based and coach-guided tailored plans to support customers in Lifelong Transformation, Making a Healthy Lifestyle Second Nature. During 2024, we reinforced the significance of transparent communication and clear goal alignment to motivate and engage our team members throughout the transformation. Additionally, we emphasized the importance of navigating change in a challenging business environment, empowering team members to learn, test, and adapt new approaches as they execute against our strategic initiatives. For select senior leaders highly engaged in leading our transformation initiatives, we provided change planning and resilience training and coaching to ensure they could confidently lead their teams as they navigate the changing business landscape.
Teaming and Partnership continue to be critical core values. We believe our ability to effectively collaborate with each other as we partner with our Field community is essential for driving increased momentum throughout this transformation. Together, we are building relationships of trust, nurturing a caring and empathetic environment, and prioritizing the mental and physical wellbeing of our people. We continually seek new ways to evolve how we work and we each other grow, by investing in training, encouraging feedback and embracing challenges along the way.
We have several resources and tools that help us nurture a “One Team” mindset centered around strong cross-functional teaming and partnering. Our north star is our Culture Compass that helps us understand the behaviors, values, and ways of working that define our culture today by identifying gaps, areas of growth, and where we need to adjust in order to deliver on our strategy more effectively. Our Culture Contract lays out the explicit behaviors that underlie our core values. It details the commitments we make to one another and the commitments we make as a company to ensure an excellent work experience for all our team members. Our Culture Contract Toolkit is a companion piece that provides many tools to help improve in forming bonds, establishing healthy work/life balance, inclusive leadership, and much more. In alignment with nurturing our culture and reinforcing communication, we launched several new Slack® channels in 2024. Medifast in Motion gives team members a place to share on their health & wellness journeys and the activities they are doing to practice the Habit of Healthy of Motion, whether with their families or their work colleagues. Our Optimal Impact channel gives team members a place to share volunteer activities in which they are participating in either personally or with their work teams, and about community organizations that are important to them. Additionally, we supported several volunteer opportunities aligned with our Healthy Habits For All initiative and amended our volunteer time-off policies to give team members up to 16 paid hours per calendar year to volunteer their time in their community.
Ensuring our organization is united by our values and one team, one mission mindset remains a top priority - helping us stay aligned as we grow and enabling us to prioritize our work, plan for the future, and harness our combined energy to accomplish our company objectives. Our culture narrative is fully embedded in our core human capital processes to ensure our team members understand how their success translates to the success of the greater team and ultimately to an amazing coach and customer experience. Each year we host a program called Coach Encounters, which gives our team members an opportunity to hear directly from our inspiring coaches about their personal journeys as well as how our company supports their work in seeking positive health outcomes for our customers. In 2024, we were once again recognized by U.S. News & Reports as a Best Place to Work in the Food & Drink Industry, a reflection of the work we have done to nurture our culture and support a strong employee experience.
As we have noted, this year more than ever, building transparency and developing communication channels that allow us to cascade information and connect our teams are critical to supporting our people strategy. We leverage our Workplace by Meta platform to connect, collaborate and ignite conversations around topics that matter to us, like wellness. We also have a weekly Pulse newsletter to ensure important initiatives and events are communicated in a timely matter. We continued our quarterly
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video series from our Chairman & CEO, Dan Chard, to ensure team members hear directly from him about Company performance and progress on key initiatives. In 2024, we added monthly business transformation update posts from Dan Chard in our All-Company Slack channel. Ensuring that our team members hear directly from Dan Chard has been critical to them understanding the progress we are making and how their work fits into the bigger picture.
Recognition remains a key component of our culture. Our #AcedIt program provides team members with a platform to recognize excellent work that supports our business strategy, applauds behaviors that reinforce our cultural values, and fosters a sense of gratitude which are all key components in nurturing strong relationships and building tight-knit communities. #AcedIt allows for both social and point-based recognition and celebrates team members for achieving important milestones in service. We see very strong participation in our #Acedit program with a 93% activation rate and 65% actively using the tool on a monthly basis. Our #AcedIt platform also supports our wellness program, LiveWell, to incentivize greater focus on our team members’ health and wellness. In 2024, we saw strong engagement with LiveWell with over 85% of employees leveraging the tool.
Diversity is one of Medifast’s Core Values. As an organization, we are committed to generating an open dialog with our team members and building a more inclusive work environment that enables all our team members to have a voice. In 2024, we conducted two cycles of our listening initiative, The Loop, which promotes communication transparency, empowers our team leaders to review their employee engagement results and facilitates candid conversations to shape and improve the work experience. In 2024, we added transformation questions, to measure how our team members are experiencing our business evolution and what more we can do to support their success and help them adapt to the changing work demands. We also hosted our annual Culture Week to celebrate the differences that make our community special, which include activities such as a cooking contest and a special Culture Club event to bring team members together.
Nurturing growth and learning are also key elements of our culture. We have a robust technology platform that supports our team members and leaders as they have performance and development conversations each quarter. On demand and 360-feedback are features that launched in 2023 and give us the opportunity to improve our communal ability in giving and receiving feedback. In 2024, we were excited to integrate performance ratings to our PEAK (Performance Management Initiative) process, giving leaders another tool to reinforce accountability, another important core value for our company. Through our learning management system, Optimal Learning, team members have access to online courses such as a Culture Journey learning path to further integrate an understanding of our culture for new team members. Within our supply chain, we have continued our Level Up shadow program, which creates opportunities for our supply chain team members to be cross trained in other areas of the supply chain and learn new skills. This program fosters greater sponsorship of junior talent and an increase of internal mobility. In 2024, we rolled out our Level Up Skills Vault throughout the company. We encouraged team members to use this repository to showcase the skills and strengths that may be leveraged internally for future projects as well as indicate the skills they would like to build muscle around. In 2025, we plan to offer more programming to support increased adoption of the Skills Vault and opportunities for job experimentation. Lastly, in support of nurturing a strong senior leadership team we rolled-out a new senior leader standards guidebook in 2024, which describes skills, competencies, experiences, and internal processes that our senior leaders need to develop as they advance at our company. We also developed a set of norms and behaviors to ensure our senior leaders are showing up in ways that reinforce our culture and promote the ways of working and relationship building that we believe is fundamental to a strong community.
Wellness is not just what we do, it’s who we are, and our commitment to being a best-in-class wellness company starts with providing team members equal access to all our programs and products. Our Employees on Plan program allows our team members to experience the support of a coach, as they tackle their own weight loss journey. Our Wellness Committee oversees a host of programming throughout the year to integrate healthy habits into the lives of our team members, such as incentives through LiveWell, for taking on a step challenge, doing a biometric screening or attending a wellness event among other activities. In 2024, to further support the Healthy Habit of Motion, we launched a new Motion Masters Dance Challenge to encourage team members to adopt a fun way to get their steps in. In 2024, we won the highest-level Well Workplace Award, Platinum, from the Wellness Council of America, as well as the 2024 Gold Workplace Well-being Award for Making a Difference from Aetna, and was recognized at the Exemplar level by Healthiest Maryland Businesses.
In addition to our team members, our Human Capital also includes our independent contractor OPTA VIA coaches. They support our customers and market our products and services primarily through word of mouth, email and via social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, X, and video conferencing platforms. The more OPTA VIA coaches we have, the more customers we can serve. The total number of active earning OPTA VIA coaches as of December 31, 2024 was 27,100.
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Information Systems & Technology
We have adopted a cybersecurity framework that, where appropriate, aligns with the National Institute of Standards and Technology's ("NIST") Cybersecurity Framework, and we have maintained systems that, where appropriate, are Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliant ("PCI") under current standards.
Our websites use commercially developed software which are hosted by data center colocation and cloud service providers. The hosting facilities provide carrier-diverse network connectivity, information security technologies, redundant and emergency power, fire prevention and control, and physical security. We continuously monitor our information systems and infrastructure, and have sufficient policies and committees in place to evaluate if and when an incident occurs and becomes material. We also use redundant carrier-diverse networks to interconnect our corporate locations. We annually evaluate SSAE 18 compliance of key third party service organizations by reviewing relevant System and Organization Controls (SOC) reports. Where applicable, we also review service provider PCI compliance annually.
We use a variety of information security methods to protect confidential customer and corporate data against unauthorized access, including periodic network and website vulnerability/penetration testing. Network intrusion detection and prevention technologies are in use to alert and mitigate unauthorized access and distributed denial of service attacks. Industry standard multi-factor authentication solutions and encryption methods are used for data protection.
As our operations evolve, we will continue to improve and upgrade our information systems and infrastructure while maintaining their reliability and integrity. For additional information about our cybersecurity processes and risks, see Item 1C. Cybersecurity.
Intellectual Property
Products manufactured by and programs marketed by the Company are sold under their own trademarks and trade names. Our policy is to protect our products and programs through trademark registrations both in the United States and in significant international markets. The Company carefully monitors trademark use and strongly promotes enforcement and protection of all of its trademarks.
Available Information
Our principal office is located at 100 International Drive, 18 th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. Our telephone number at this office is (410) 581-8042. Our corporate website is http://www.medifastinc.com. All periodic and current reports, registration statements, code of conduct and other material that we are required to file with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act are available free of charge through our investor relations page at https://ir.medifastinc.com. Such documents are available as soon as reasonably practicable after electronic filing of the material with the SEC. Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto are not intended to be incorporated into this Report.
The SEC maintains a website, www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file such information electronically with the SEC.