In its most recent quarter, NutriSystem (NTRI) surprised Wall Street. They beat consensus by 4 cents at $0.41 a share. The stock immediately broke out to a new high for the year and over the past month, analysts’ estimates for both the current quarter and full year have risen. The weight loss company’s CEO is confident that she'll meet those expectations.
“We have eight consecutive quarters of growth and believe the momentum will continue. It really comes down to product innovation and marketing,” said Dawn Zier, NutriSystem’s CEO.
Since taking helm in November 2012, the struggling company’s stock has seen healthy gains of more than 240%. But growing competition in the weight loss industry means rivals are no longer just Weight Watchers (WTW) and Jenny Craig.
In this new economy, Amazon (AMZN) and even the Internet as a whole, gives consumers easy access for products and information on weight management. “We are an e-retailer so that’s really important and truly practiced on the channel marketing. So we have a big retail presence in Wal-Mart (WMT) and other places but also ecommerce is our bread and butter,” said Zier.
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NutriSystem is getting more plugged into social media with its #NowBelieveIt initiative, which the company calls “a social empowerment campaign highlighting the positive power compliments play in the lives of young girls.”
“As one of the leaders in weight loss, we feel it’s really important that we begin to address some of the underpinning issues around weight gain, which is often self-esteem,” said the head of NutriSystem.
She maintains that getting to the root of encouraging a healthy lifestyle will benefit shareholders as well. “It brings a very personal touch to weight loss, which is a very personal journey,” said Zier.
“It’s resonating with our customers, it’s resonating with new people who are becoming increasingly interested in the brand,” she added.
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