Who Developed the Slim Fast Diet?

In 2009, Forbes magazine called him a privileged billionaire, but S. Daniel Abraham might beg to differ. The brains behind the Slim-Fast diet shake phenomena---whose advertising mantra is "A shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch and a sensible dinner"---may have accumulated $1.4 billion dollars over his lifetime, but unlike others who started with an inheritance, he made every cent on his own. Now 84, the Palm Beach, Florida resident climbed a ladder to fame and fortune with only a high school education. With six children to support and more ambition than education, Abraham struck gold in 1976 when he paired his street smarts with his medical background to develop the Slim-Fast shake plan---a strategic move that made diet product history. He continues to remain a public figure by engaging in philanthropic efforts that prove the self-made man is as committed to the future as he was to the product that afforded him such success.

History

While the world was recovering from World War II, S. Daniel Abraham was not shy about articulating his ambitions. Though only 22 when he bought the Thompson Medical Company in 1947, his leadership skills and marketing acumen drove the small company---with modest sales of just $5,000 annually the day he acquired it---to unprecedented success. Nearly three decades after buying Thompson, Abraham resurrected an idea that attracted public interest in the 1950s. The Metrecal diet plan had enjoyed some success, but the timing was off. Twenty years later, a diet-obsessed nation was ready for a fast meal promising weight loss. Abraham named his product Slim-Fast and launched a huge marketing support program. Fifty-one years after joining Thompson, he left, pocketing $200 million dollars.

The Slim-Fast Start-up

Given his close connections to the medical community via the company he had purchased 30 years earlier, Abraham sought out an MIT physician, Dr. Blackburn, to come up with a nutritional shake recipe that could be used as an entire meal and packaged under the name, "Slim-Fast." Blackburn's formula included the 24 vitamins and minerals found in today's version and the easy-to-prepare powder appealed to a segment of the public looking for ways grab a fast, slimming meal. Plenty of publicity, celebrity endorsements and prime shelf space at grocery, drug store, big box and other retail stores resulted in instant success. The dieting public was wild about the idea and couldn't wait to try it out.

How Abraham's Diet Works

S. Daniel Abraham was looking to make a buck. He understood the benefits of saving time and he knew people would be willing to choose a product that reminded them of a favorite dessert, all in the name of losing weight. Abraham's diet system was predicated on caloric intake. Each Slim-Fast contains concentrated amounts of vitamins and minerals plus fillers totaling from 200 to 250 calories each (ads spanning the product's life set counts at 250, 220 and 200). To lose weight, a dieter has two shakes a day totaling 500 calories and an 800-calorie meal. The product's convenience and uniqueness continue to attract dieters who claim weight loss, though nutritionists put Abraham's product into the category of diet products that take off weight at first, then fail eventually because dieters get bored or lose motivation.

Abraham's Cash Cow Runs into Trouble

Daniel Abraham was just getting the Slim-Fast division off the ground when the American public was rocked by a news story attributing 59 deaths to a liquid protein drink. The government cracked down on the offending brand, but the idea that all liquid meal-replacement plans could kill a dieter stuck to Slim-Fast and sales plummeted. Abraham's confidence in his product never flagged. His product returned to popularity thanks a quirk of fate. When the Cambridge Diet was introduced in the 1980s, Slim-Fast's guru was convinced the time was right for his shakes to re-enter the market. Abraham mounted a high-profile ad campaign while returning his product to store shelves. The market responded. Cambridge Diet innovators wound up in bankruptcy as Slim-Fast sales postings were higher than before the scandal.

Imitation Is the Best Form of Flattery

Daniel Abraham anticipated copycats. The Carnation Company tried to emulate Slim-Fast with its "Do-it-yourself Diet Plan," but the wholesome "family-style" image of the drink never caught on with dieters. Abraham added snacks and other products to the line and expanded the market with new flavors packed into cans of shakes. Striking a book deal with model Lauren Hutton, Abraham published "The Slim Fast Body-Mind-Life Makeover," using his long-standing celebrity endorsement strategy to hype the brand. That Slim-Fast was the only food found in Anna Nicole Smith's refrigerator after her death was an ironic codicil to the brand's long history; Smith had been the spokesperson for another company's weight loss products before her death.

Abraham Uses His Fortune to Help Change the World

S. Daniel Abraham went from high school graduate to the Forbes list of richest men in 84 years. He is grateful for his good fortune, financially supporting international initiatives to promote peace in the Middle East. He used a portion of his wealth to build a wellness facility for Mayo Clinic employees. A member of the Democratic Party, Abraham supports political candidates and issues. He is a major contributor to the Bill Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.