Dieting Entrepreneur Sidney Craig Dies

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Sidney Craig, the co-founder with his wife Jenny, of the Jenny Craig weight-loss empire, has died of cancer at age 76, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Craig's career in business began at the Arthur Murray Dance Studios, where he was an instructor and later a franchisee. He then joined Body Contour, a diet and fitness center, where he met Jenny. They married and sold their interest in Body Contour. A non-compete agreement prevented them from opening a similar business in the U.S., so they started the first Jenny Craig center in Melbourne, Australia in 1983. When the non-compete expired three years later, they brought the concept back to the U.S.

Five years later, it landed at No. 6 on the 1988 Inc. 500. Nestlé bought the brand for a reported $600 million in 2006. Since then the Craigs have donated millions to the University of San Diego and California State University, Fresno, where the business school is named in Sid Craig's honor.

To read the L.A. Times obituary, click here.

Mike Hofman

Mike Hofman was previously editor of Inc.com and a deputy editor at Inc. magazine, which he joined in 1996. The site was nominated for a National Magazine Award for Digital Media in 2010, and was named the best business website by Folio Magazine. In 2006, Hofman was part of a team of writers nominated for a Webby Award for best business blog. He lives in New York City.