Yummie Re-brands

Heather Thomson is no longer associated with the shapewear company, which has a new look and a streamlined assortment.

Yummie Tummie by Heather Thomson no longer exists. The brand is now simply called Yummie. And Thomson, a former cast member on Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New York” series who founded the company in 2008, is no longer associated with the business.

Instead, Eric Rothfeld, who funded the company and is the current chief executive officer, is handling the day-to-day business. Thomson filed a suit in 2015 to remove Rothfeld from the business, who has a 49 percent stake in the brand. According to Rothfeld, the litigation is ongoing.

“When the company focused on the personality, there was much less focus on the product,” said Rothfeld. “There hadn’t been any rebranding for more than five years and we thought things were looking tired and old. We needed to build a new platform for ourselves.”

Rothfeld is tweaking Yummie’s positioning in the market. He’s removed “Tummie” from the brand name to better reflect its offering, which isn’t always midsection related, and created a new tagline called “Yummie to the Core.” The brand is also getting back to its roots as a shapewear line for everyday use — the company started with a three-panel tank and expanded over the years to include activewear, loungewear and intimate apparel.

“We are focusing on what we think is Yummie to the core and what makes Yummie special,” said Rothfeld. “There are too many players in active and lounge is too small of a category, from our perspective. And we stopped doing basic panties because there are so many out there.”

According to Rothfeld, they are building out the shapewear, bralette and legging categories. The design team has made the shapewear 40 percent lighter by using a seamless fabric that still provides the same level of support. New styles include a high-waist thong and a high-waist skirt slip. For bralettes, they are increasing the range to accommodate more sizes and silhouettes that can appeal to a variety of customers. The company released a longline all over lace style and added lace details to its day bra. And they are doubling down on everyday, non-active leggings in different fabrications ranging from velvet to faux leather. Bodysuits are another point of interest. Rothfeld said these changes will not affect Yummie’s price points, which typically range from $18 for a thong to $98 for a pair of leggings.

This re-brand also includes a new e-commerce site with a scale that lets customers easily identify a product’s compression level. Rothfeld said this re-brand has not changed Yummie’s distribution strategy and the line will continue to be sold in retailers including Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Shopbop and Amazon.