Medifast Inc. has launched more than a dozen new products under the Optavia brand, which the weight loss company's health coaches will start offering to clients this month.
Health coaches work directly with clients through Medifast's Take Shape For Life subsidiary. The new product line, including bars, hot cereal and crackers, is being introduced to more than 3,400 of 12,000 health coaches during a company convention this week in Austin.
The new brand is part of a strategy to expand the health coach program globally, said Michael MacDonald, Medifast's chairman and CEO. The company also sells its health and weight-loss products online and through weight-control centers.
The new product line is available only through the network of independent health coaches who work as paid independent contractors. Products feature ingredients sourced from places such as Morocco, Bolivia, Indonesia and the Philippines and are made with 25 vitamins and minerals as well as probiotics, the company said.
"With this introduction of innovative products, our health coaches will further their opportunity to transform lives not only in the United States, but over time to a diverse audience throughout the world," Mona Ameli, president of the Take Shape For Life division, said in an announcement.
Ameli joined the company in 2014 with the goal of boosting the number of health coaches and taking the program international. The unit represents the biggest piece of the company's business.
Medifast shares rose a nickel to close Friday at $33.98 each.