Weight Watchers rebrand adopts mindfulness, wellness strategies

The popular diet brand, Weight Watchers, announced its rebranding yesterday. The company will now be known as WW, a new name that representatives says is a reflection that it’s about more than just losing weight.

The company’s new focus, says Mindy Grossman, WW’s president and CEO, will be comprehensive, whole-person wellness—not just losing weight, but eating healthier, moving more, and developing a more positive mindset. “Wellness that works,” according to the tagline.

Weight Watchers has long been one of the most popular diets, fourth in the U.S. News’ round-up of best diets overall, reported previously on Integrative Practitioner.

Under the new brand, WW will focus on mindfulness and offer customized guided meditation content for members via a partnership with the popular app Headspace. The program also boasts some new features, including rewards for tracking meals and attending workshops; personalized points for activities; new online member networking; and an updated app with voice tracking capabilities. In January 2019, WW products will have no artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, or preservatives.

While WW’s new focus on wellness is in line with what the integrative medicine community has been pushing for years, critics say the rebrand is simply dieting in disguise. Others called on diet programs like WW to focus more on education and empowering people to learn about nutrition instead of becoming dependent on a program for life.

WW, even with the new focus, is still a weight loss service. But as more popular companies adopt wellness and lifestyle-based solutions, integrative practitioners should be aware for their patients.