The total diet market segments served by Medifast are worth $18 billion. Of this amount, Medifast has a 2% share of the customer market. This seemingly insignificant percentage of the market is actually quite admirable. The diet industry is very large because there are not many requirements for creating and marketing a diet plan. This creates a multitude of companies and individuals competing for Medifast. HistoryIn 1979, Dr. William Vitale and his son founded Jason Pharmaceuticals in his kitchen to more easily provide weight loss products to doctors and their patients. During the first years of business, Jason Pharmaceuticals' revenue grew steadily to $17 million as the company offered doctors liquid diet plans for their patients (Dresser, 1993). In 1988, Oprah Winfrey lost 67 pounds with Optifast and announced it to the world on her daytime television show (Brody, 1988). As a substitute product for Optifast, Jason Pharmaceuticals saw sales increase to $51 million the following year (Dresser, 1993). After mismanagement in the mid-1990s, which caused Jason Pharmaceuticals to declare bankruptcy, the company was restructured and renamed. Since then, Medifast has become one of the fastest growing weight loss companies in the United States. In 2013, Medifast reported revenue of $356.89 million (Medifast, Inc., 2014) and saw its revenue per share growth climb to 22.1% over the last period. five years (Gurufocus, 2014). This growth is no longer just associated with doctors and their patients. In 2003, Medifast expanded its market beyond doctors. With the help of Dr. Wayne Scott Anderson, Take Shape for Life was developed. This allowed Medifast customers to become trained coaches and mentors to other Medifast customers (Gaither, 2012). Recently, ...... middle of article ...... y 7, 2014, from Vocus Online Visibility: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10629316.htmRisk -Return Tradeoff. (2014). Retrieved from Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/riskreturntradeoff.aspTypes of Nutritionists. (March 21, 2013). Retrieved from Chicago Tribune News: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-21/health/ct-met-nutritionist-types-20130128_1_medical-nutrition-therapy-food-and-nutrition-nutrition-professionalsVenture Capital. (2014). Retrieved from Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/venturecapital.aspWebMD LLC. (October 13, 2012). Weight loss and diet plans. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/the-truth-about-fad-dietsWile, E. (2013, August 16). Why has obesity increased so much in America. Retrieved from Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/339349-why-did-o