Jenny Craig snapped up by Nestle for $600M - Jun. 19, 2006
Jenny Craig snapped up by Nestle for $600M - Jun. 19, 2006
Okay, I know that corporate brand names don’t mean diddly when it comes to the company’s offerings - but when reading this headline, all I could think of was “Chocolate? Dieting Queen? HUH!?”
Now the report states that Jenny Craig grossed over $400M in revenue last year. Not so suprising, considering that people have wasted money on diuretics and laxatives just as much as they have on JC’s program, seeking the perfect solution. But what I don’t understand is Nestle’s intention here. It appears as if they’re looking to broaden their image into the “We’re HEALTHY!” field (they also own Lean Cuisine - didja know that?) however they made their START with chocolate. The bane of every woman’s existence during a diet.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I happen to fall into the category of women who adore chocolate, and I refuse to eliminate it while focusing on weight loss efforts. (And no, I don’t do “dark” chocolate either - too bitter for me. Give me the sweeter milk variety any day!) But I just can’t fathom how a company that built it’s footing on the stuff can all of the sudden just call themselves “health oriented” simply because they bought a company or two for millions of dollars.
Am I wrong in thinking that a company should just freakin’ stick with what it does best? I mean, I know that I’m sick and tired of looking at Kirstie Allie all over my television, and I remember at one point my own site ranked higher in Google for “plus size actress” than JC’s section on the not-so-plus star (which gave me unbelievable amounts of joy!), but with Nestle making this enormous investment, are we going to be bombarded with twice the amount of JC ads?
I know I can’t be the only one who thinks that JC is a joke.
And I’m anxiously awaiting the day that Nestle drops Kirstie and she gains back all her weight. I think that might for once, prove to America that once you stop the involvement of money (either by paying it to JC or in the form of endorsements, as in the case of our beloved Kirstie) that the weight will just come back on. Stop eating JC meals, and you’re on your own, and will fail.
What ever happened to simply counting calories & fat or POINTS (which is just an easy way to count calories and fat)?
Do you know anyone who has used JC (or some other similar system), didn’t have to re-mortgage their home, and kept the weight off after stopping? Please… enlighten me.
Oh, and hey Nestle - BAD MOVE. I prefer Hershey’s anyway. ;)
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Categories: Weight Loss
My aunt used to work for Nestle. Carnation-Nestle, actually. She was working in their milk products line, and the infant formula area also. So they do actually have more than chocolate.
I can see them wanting to branch out, you know, one does not live by chocolate alone… even though sometimes you wish you could! But I do kind of agree it is kind of strange that a company known for their chocolate is purchasing a diet empire.
I really don’t know about JC as a diet plan. I think if you follow the premise, you will have success. Same thing with WW, you need to do it to maintain. I am a prime example - although I have only gained back about half of the weight over the past few years. I just need to find my motivation again.
Anneke - while your aunt worked for Carnation-Nestle - my whole point here was that Nestle started out as Nestle, making only chocolate. By the time your aunt worked for them, they’d already started branching out - probably even long before that.
Like I said, “Okay, I know that corporate brand names don’t mean diddly when it comes to the company’s offerings…” - I mean, Disney owns ABC, MTV owns Nickelodeon, and so on. But if you think about it, they’re all more closely related than chocolate and a diet program… you know? I know that Nestle’s branched out to the point of owning Carnation, Lean Cuisine, and I’m sure many other companies - but right there in that article, they say that the purpose behind this purchase IS to say “Hey look, we’re a health-oriented company!” - and unless you’re counting dark chocolate, they sure as hell didn’t start out that way.
That’s all I was really trying to say… Nestle’s essentially a “sell out”!