In 2018, many investors have gravitated towards stocks in the health and wellness sector due to the fact that so many people are struggling with weight loss, depression, stress, digestive disorders, and much more. Services such as teen counseling and online life coaching are seeing a huge spike in revenue as more people flock to get the help they need. Herbalife Nutrition (HLF), Medifast and Weight Watchers are among the top performing this year. Medifast shares, for example, have grown three times more year to date.

The boost in health and wellness stocks began when Oprah Winfrey declared in October 2015 that she had bought stocks worth $42 million in Weight Watchers. She has helped make the sector look more lucrative, and the companies in the sector are rebranding and using social media and fitness trackers. They use ultra-modern products and services to cover wellness holistically, beyond just weight-loss.

Technology is a major factor in the revolution. The members of Weight Watchers (WTW) earn FitPoints for partaking in activities such as cleaning, dancing and walking with the aid of fitness tracking devices. This system switches the emphasis to eating lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, and burning calories, instead of weigh-ins and calorie-counts.

Weight Watchers had upgraded its tech. The firm has merged its in-house and online platforms with a mobile application based on rewards. It offers its customers Apple watches or free FitBit trackers embedded with some of its meal strategies. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analysts predicts that effective marketing and favorable demographics will help the firm attain its growth goals by 2020.

Herbalife shares are two times more year to date. The company markets energy drinks, protein shakes, weight-loss enhancers, apps with motivational quotes, and other health products, using multilevel-type marketing. It has a robust and diversified range of merchandise. Analysts at Sidoti have said that they have become “more constructive on the direct-selling industry.”

Nu Skin Enterprises is another multilevel marketing company (whereby salespersons bring in others and get a part of the commission) dealing in mostly anti-aging personal care products under the brand name Nu Skin, and food supplements under the brand name Pharmanex. Although multilevel marketing has gained a poor reputation (somewhat deservedly), it still works. After a period of instability, it looks like Nu Skin has found their rhythm, and their shares have been trending stably since the start of 2016. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch multilevel analysts claim that the direct sales marketing model used by Nu Skin Enterprises is perfectly suited for fast-growing and evolving markets.

Good Foods is a company that markets nutrition bars, ready-to-drink shakes, snacks and confectionery (sugary snacks) under the Atkins, SimplyProtein, Atkins Endulge, and Atkins Harvest Trail brands. A market threshold of $1.3 seems small but could be mighty. In July, their shares grew by 11% on solid earnings and have been moving up since. Analysts at Value Line predict that the firm will post mid-single digits in revenue growth by combining acquisitions and advertising schemes.

With headquarters in Baltimore, MD, Medifast fuses its weight-loss plans with portion-controlled meal packages and markets them online via direct marketing and licensed locations. Investors are wondering if there is any gas left in their tank, however, after they tripled shares over the past year. From history, momentum is known to birth momentum, but from a more fundamental viewpoint, Sidoti analysts are pleased with the positive momentum of the firm in the US, and considerable international opportunity, and consider its plans to establish distribution centers in Hong Kong and Singapore next year to be favorable.