{{Short description|American diet supplement company}} {{Infobox Brand |logo = 200px |name = SlimFast |image = |type = Dietary supplement foods |currentowner = Heartland Food Products Group |origin = United States |introduced = {{start date and age|1977|07|11}} |discontinued = |related = |markets = U.S., UK, Republic of Ireland, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Latin America |previousowners = Thompson Medical Company, Unilever, Kainos Capital, Glanbia |trademarkregistrations = |website = {{URL|https://slimfast.com/}} }}
'''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 UK. SlimFast promotes diets and weight loss plans featuring its food products.
There is mixed evidence on the effectiveness of the diet, although it appears to function no better than behavioral counseling.<ref name=effic>{{cite journal| vauthors=Gudzune KA, Doshi RS, Mehta AK, Chaudhry ZW, Jacobs DK, Vakil RM |display-authors=etal | title=Efficacy of commercial weight-loss programs: an updated systematic review. | journal=Ann Intern Med | year= 2015 | volume= 162 | issue= 7 | pages= 501–12 | pmid=25844997 | doi=10.7326/M14-2238 | pmc=4446719 }} Review in: {{cite journal|doi=10.7326/ACPJC-2015-163-4-008 |title=Review: Some commercial or proprietary weight-loss programs increase weight loss |date=2015 |last1=Kahan |first1=Scott |last2=Theim |first2=Kelly |journal=Annals of Internal Medicine |volume=163 |issue=4 |pages=JC8 |pmid=26280443 |s2cid=1586172 }}</ref>
==History== SlimFast was started in July 1977 as a product line of the Thompson Medical Company, founded in the 1940s by S. Daniel Abraham. The product was rolled out nationwide in a marketing campaign that began on July 11, 1977 for "a fat-free, carbohydrate-free, animal-based fortified cherry-flavored protein supplement formula" that promised to make purchasers "feel better, cleaner, stronger and healthier.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/traverse-city-record-eagle-slim-fast-ad/91946592/ "New! Slim-Fast, pre-digested protein power diet with diet plan for a controlled modified fat (meal supplement) as a diet regimen"], advertisement in ''Traverse City (MI) Record-Eagle'', July 11, 1977, p.5; the ad ran the same day in the ''Detroit Free Press'', the ''Akron (OH) Beacon Journal'' and the ''Thousand Oaks (CA) Star''</ref>
Thompson Medical also sold the controversial weight loss dietary supplement Dexatrim.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.unilever.ca/ourbrands/foods/SlimFast.asp |title= Our Brands: Foods: SlimFast |website= Unilever Canada |accessdate= 2007-05-28}}</ref><ref name="fundingu-sf">{{cite web |url= http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/SlimFast-Foods-Company-Company-History.html |title= History: SlimFast Foods Company |website= Funding Universe |accessdate= 2011-07-18}}</ref> In 1987, Abraham took the brand private, and it was acquired by Unilever in 2000.<ref>{{cite news |issn= 0099-9660 |last1= Branch |first1= Shelly |last2= Beck |first2= Ernest |title= Unilever Buys Ben & Jerry's, SlimFast for Over $2.5 Billion |work= Wall Street Journal |accessdate= 2015-04-19 |date= 2000-04-13 |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB955522850788928066}}</ref> In 2014, Unilever sold SlimFast to Kainos Capital.<ref>{{cite news |issn= 0099-9660 |last= Stynes |first= Tess |title= Unilever Sells Slim-Fast Brand to Kainos Capital |work= Wall Street Journal |accessdate= 2015-04-19 |date= 2014-07-10 |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/unilever-sheds-slim-fast-brand-1405013326}}</ref> After the sale, KSF Acquisition invested with Kainos Capital in order to take responsibility for the SlimFast brand in the UK, Ireland and Germany.<ref>{{cite web|title=Commercial agreement signed with KSF Acquisition|url=http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/rns/160113opti6516l|website=Proactiveinvestors|accessdate=11 January 2017}}</ref>
In 2018, Glanbia Plc. acquired SlimFast from Kainos Capital.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/business/west-palm-beach-based-ceo-tisi-plans-slim-fast-makeover/ffBbaZFsrxTVuX3JXmktXO/|title=West Palm Beach-based CEO Tisi plans Slim-Fast makeover|work=mypalmbeachpost|access-date=2018-05-29|language=en|archive-date=2018-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710225204/https://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/business/west-palm-beach-based-ceo-tisi-plans-slim-fast-makeover/ffBbaZFsrxTVuX3JXmktXO/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On December 3, 2009, SlimFast recalled all of its canned products due to possible bacterial contamination.<ref>{{cite web|date=December 3, 2009|website=SlimFast|title=Recall|url=http://www.slim-fast.com/recall.aspx}}</ref> The company stated that it had halted production until the cause was discovered.<ref>{{ cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Slim Fast canned drinks recalled by Unilever |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2009/12/05/2009-12-05_slim_fast_canned_drinks_recalled_by_unilever.html |work=NY Daily News |date=December 5, 2009 }}</ref> No further problems or issues have been noted. In 2011, SlimFast stopped producing cans and has since used plastic bottles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drugstorenews.com/article/slim-fast-loses-cans-bottled-makeover|title=Slim-Fast loses cans in bottled makeover|website=Drugstore News}}</ref>
On September 17, 2025, Carmel, IN based, Heartland Food Products Group (makers of the Splenda brand) acquired Slimfast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Splenda parent company acquires SlimFast US brand {{!}} Food Business News |url=https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/29033-splenda-parent-company-acquires-slimfast-us-brand |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=www.foodbusinessnews.net |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Glanbia sells SlimFast brand to Heartland Food Products Group |url=https://www.foodbev.com/news/glanbia-sells-slimfast-brand-to-heartland-food-products-group |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=FoodBev Media |language=en}}</ref>
In October 2025, the company sold its UK and European operations to Supreme, a UK-based company, for $26.5 million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-20 |title=Typhoo Tea owner Supreme buys SlimFast for £20.1 million |url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/supreme-slimfast-acquisition-20-million-deal-dwc6vcskf |access-date=2025-10-22 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}</ref>
==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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/slim-fast-foods-company-history/|title=History of Slim-Fast Foods Company – FundingUniverse|website=www.fundinguniverse.com|access-date=2019-04-19}}</ref>
==Effectiveness==
In a 2009 study involving 300 overweight and obese males and females aged 21–60 years published by Cambridge University Press, the SlimFast programme achieved weight losses of between 5 kg (11 lbs) and 9 kg (19 lbs) after six months compared to a control diet. The results were comparable to that of both the Weight Watchers 'Pure Points' programme and Rosemary Conley's 'Eat yourself Slim' Diet and Fitness Plan (a low-fat diet popular in the United Kingdom).<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1017/S1368980008003236 | title=Comparison of the effects of four commercially available weight-loss programmes on lipid-based cardiovascular risk factors | date=2009 | last1=Morgan | first1=LM | last2=Griffin | first2=BA | last3=Millward | first3=DJ | last4=Delooy | first4=A. | last5=Fox | first5=KR | last6=Baic | first6=S. | last7=Bonham | first7=MP | last8=Wallace | first8=JMW | last9=MacDonald | first9=I. | last10=Taylor | first10=MA | last11=Truby | first11=H. | journal=Public Health Nutrition | volume=12 | issue=6 | pages=799–807 | pmid=18647427 | s2cid=2256339 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[https://slimfast.com/ Official website]
{{Diets|state=collapsed}}
Category:Brand name diet products Category:1970s fads and trends Category:Former Unilever brands Category:Products introduced in 1977 Category:Dietary supplements Category:Low-carbohydrate diets Category:2000 mergers and acquisitions Category:2014 mergers and acquisitions Category:2018 mergers and acquisitions Category:2025 mergers and acquisitions