SlimFast

SlimFast is an American company headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida that markets an eponymous brand of shakes, bars, snacks, packaged meals, and other dietary supplement foods sold in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latin America, and the U.K. SlimFast promotes diets and weight loss plans featuring its food products.

SlimFast
Product typeDietary supplement foods
OwnerGlanbia
CountryUnited States
Introduced1977 (1977)
MarketsU.S., UK, Republic of Ireland, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Latin America
Previous ownersThompson Medical Company, Unilever
WebsiteWebsite

Effectiveness

There is a lack of high quality evidence on the effectiveness of the diet, although it appears to function no better than behavioral counseling.[1]

History

SlimFast was started in 1977 as a product line of the Thompson Medical Company, founded in the 1940s by S. Daniel Abraham. Thompson Medical also sold the controversial weight loss dietary supplement Dexatrim.[2][3] In 1987, Abraham took the brand private, and it was acquired by Unilever in 2000.[4] In 2014, Unilever sold SlimFast to Kainos Capital.[5] After the sale, KSF Acquisition invested with Kainos Capital in order to take responsibility for the SlimFast brand in the UK, Ireland and Germany.[6]

In 2018, Glanbia plc acquired SlimFast from Kainos Capital.[7]

Products

Original (1987–2004)

SlimFast was originally just a diet shake product line. It consisted of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla shakes meant to replace breakfast and lunch. The company suggested customers eat a low-calorie dinner. Usually, dieters would pick a low-calorie frozen dinner brand such as Lean Cuisine or Weight Watchers, as the SlimFast diet was a convenience product line that offered none of its own dinner products. Later, in the mid-1990s, SlimFast began offering meal bars that could be used as meal replacements.[8]

2009 recall

On December 3, 2009, SlimFast recalled all of its canned products due to possible bacterial contamination.[9] The company stated that it had halted production until the cause was discovered.[10] No further problems or issues have been noted. In 2011, SlimFast stopped producing cans and has since used plastic bottles.[11]

References
  1. Gudzune KA, Doshi RS, Mehta AK, Chaudhry ZW, Jacobs DK, Vakil RM, et al. (2015). "Efficacy of commercial weight-loss programs: an updated systematic review". Ann Intern Med. 162 (7): 501–12. doi:10.7326/M14-2238. PMC 4446719. PMID 25844997. Review in: Ann Intern Med. 2015 Aug 18;163(4):JC8
  2. "Our Brands: Foods: SlimFast". Unilever Canada. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  3. "History: SlimFast Foods Company". Funding Universe. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
  4. Branch, Shelly; Beck, Ernest (2000-04-13). "Unilever Buys Ben & Jerry's, SlimFast for Over $2.5 Billion". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
  5. Stynes, Tess (2014-07-10). "Unilever Sells Slim-Fast Brand to Kainos Capital". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
  6. "Commercial agreement signed with KSF Acquisition". Proactiveinvestors. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  7. "West Palm Beach-based CEO Tisi plans Slim-Fast makeover". mypalmbeachpost. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  8. "History of Slim-Fast Foods Company – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  9. "Recall". SlimFast. December 3, 2009.
  10. "Slim Fast canned drinks recalled by Unilever". NY Daily News. Associated Press. December 5, 2009.
  11. "Slim-Fast loses cans in bottled makeover". Drugstore News.
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