Medifast will be announcing its first private-label sports nutrition products very soon, CEO Michael MacDonald said in an interview Thursday. Private labeling has companies licensing products they make to be sold under other companies’ names.
Starting with private labeling in the new market is right for Medifast because the company’s own brand is strictly associated with weight loss and meal replacement bars, MacDonald said. He expects the strategy to ease Medifast’s entry into a new market and expand its portfolio.
“You’re not going to get the athlete in great shape to be on the meal replacement,” MacDonald said. “You want to have sports nutrition for them.”
Medifast will start with a private-label arrangement with a “major university” and a “sports-oriented brand,” MacDonald said. He declined to share further details.
The Owings Mills-based company has been signaling