Jenny Craig, Inc.

Jenny Craig, Inc.

Company type	subsidiary of Nestlé Nutrition
Industry	Weight Loss, Weight Management, and Nutrition
Founded	Melbourne, Australia, 1983
Headquarters	Carlsbad, California
Key people	Patti Larchet, Chief Executive
Number of employees	3,000 (as of 2003)
Parent	Nestlé Nutrition
Website	jennycraig.com

"Jenny Craig" redirects here. For the co-founder of the company, see Jenny Craig (entrepreneur).

Jenny Craig, Inc. is a weight loss, weight management, and nutrition company founded by Jenny Craig and Sidney Craig now headquartered in Carlsbad, California. Jenny Craig was founded in Melbourne, Australia in 1983 and commenced operation in the United States in 1985. The company became a part of Nestlé Nutrition in 2006.

The company operates more than 600 weight loss centres primarily in the United States, but also in Canada, Australia, Puerto Rico, and New Zealand. The program combines individual weight management counseling with a menu of foods which are distributed through its centers or shipped directly to clients.

Overview

File:Jenny and Sid Craig.png

Jenny and Sid Craig, founders of the company.

The weight management program combines nutrition and physical activity with counseling, to help clients change lifestyle and eating habits. The goal of the program is that once clients reach their desired weight levels, they no longer need to rely on the program's prepackaged food, planned menus, or consultations to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Jenny Craig offers weight loss programs tailored to women, men, people with diabetes and seniors.

Clients are provided with individual, private counseling sessions with program consultants. Consultants are not required to have nutrition or health professional certifications, although they are trained by the company to provide education and support to clients. Members join any one of a number of types of plans and then purchase prepackaged food from their local center. (The company also directly ships dry and frozen foods in chilled containers to clients that join the Jenny Craig At Home program.) Initially, clients are given a planned menu to follow, utilizing the company's line of frozen and dry foods, along with grocery items like dairy and vegetables. Clients later are able to customize their own menus using the same range of foods. Members begin using a menu with three or four days each of non-program foods once they have reached the "halfway point" to their weight goals.

Endorsements

United States

Jenny Craig has multiple celebrity clients who are on the program. In early 2000, Monica Lewinsky somewhat controversially served as spokeswoman for the program. In 2005, actress Kirstie Alley became the spokeswoman, later joined by Valerie Bertinelli, who had slowly gained weight over the years. In 2008, Queen Latifah became a spokesperson, and is continuing to work with the company. In the second half of 2009 Sara Rue and Nicole Sullivan became clients. As of February 2010, Jason Alexander has also become a spokesman for Jenny Craig.

Australia

In 2008, comedian Magda Szubanski joined the program and is serving as an "ambassador" for the company in Australia.

Ownership

In May 2002, Jenny Craig, Inc., was acquired by MidOcean Partners, a New York and London-based private equity investment firm, and ACI Capital, a New York-based private investment firm. On June 19, 2006, they announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell the company to Nestlé in a transaction valued at approximately $600 million. The company is operated as part of Nestlé Nutrition.

External links

• Jenny Craig official website