Multi-Level Marketing

MLM moves to quickly expunge disease claims after advertising challenge

05-Dec-2022 By Hank Schultz

A multi-level marketing firm that sells dietary supplements responded quickly to remove non compliant disease claims when challenged by an industry watchdog group.

Usana acquires revenue outside of Asia with protein bar manufacturer, supplement MLM

30-Nov-2022 By Hank Schultz

Multi level marketing firm Usana has acquired a protein bar manufacturer and another MLM supplement sales platform, the company announced late Monday.

China lockdowns pummel another MLM’s bottom line

08-Nov-2022 By Hank Schultz

Beauty and wellness MLM NuSkin’s recent disappointing earnings report mirrors that of other network marketing companies that list China as a major market.

Herbalife CEO to discuss role of supplements in health at upcoming CRN event

10-Oct-2022 By Hank Schultz

Herbalife CEO John Agwunobi will be featured during a fireside chat at the upcoming annual symposium of the Council for Responsible Nutrition. The even takes place this week in Phoenix.

Mannatech’s brief momentum surge seems over with steep sales decline

30-Aug-2022 By Hank Schultz

Multilevel marketing company Mannatech saw sales fall by more than 17% in its latest earnings report.

FTC refunding $149 million to distributors victimized in AdvoCare scheme

09-May-2022 By Hank Schultz

The Federal Trade Commission is returning $149 million to consumers who lost money acting as distributors for Advocare, a former multi level marketing company deemed by regulators to have been an illegal pyramid scheme.

Nature’s Sunshine joins Usana among firms relying on sales in Asia

06-May-2022 By Hank Schultz

Multilevel marketing organization Nature’s Sunshine managed to post a significant revenue increase in its first quarter earnings statement, despite supply chain challenges that caused out of stock situations and an overall net loss.

Inflation-pandemic double whammy blindsides Herbalife

04-May-2022 By Hank Schultz

Herbalife’s stock price took a tumble after the company announced disappointing earnings yesterday. Continuing pandemic issues and global inflation hurt the company’s bottom line.

Herbalife foe Ackman swears off short selling strategy

05-Apr-2022 By Hank Schultz

Activist investor Bill Ackman, who once attacked multi-level marketing company Herbalife on the grounds that it was an illegal pyramid scheme, has sworn off future short selling campaigns.

Mary Kay agrees to remove social media posts promising income for distributors

25-Mar-2022 By Hank Schultz

Mary Kay Inc., a multilevel marketing company that sells cosmetics, personal care products and dietary supplements, has agreed to remove social media posts that imply that distributors can earn significant income with the company.

LifeVantage takes beating from Omicron; will other firms follow?

08-Feb-2022 By Hank Schultz

Multilevel marketing company LifeVantage took an earnings beating from the rapid global rise of Omicron variant COVID-19 infections, the company reported recently. It was among the first reports of an earnings round that could hold similar sobering reports...

NuSkin turning to affiliate model to regain sales momentum

06-Dec-2021 By Hank Schultz

NuSkin Enterprises is among the latest multi level marketing companies transitioning to a hybrid model that includes affiliate marketers, the company announced recently.

Usana continues torrid pace as Q2 sales rise 30%

28-Jul-2021 By Hank Schultz

Usana Health Sciences has reached another earnings milestone as the company topped $330 million in revenue for its most recent financial reporting period.

Usana rides new active nutrition launch to another strong quarter

30-Apr-2021 By Hank Schultz

Network marketing company Usana has leveraged a recent investment in a nutrition bar and protein products manufacturer to help drive another record sales quarter.

Herbalife records record volumes in second quarter

10-Aug-2020 By Hank Schultz

Herbalife reported a record quarter in terms of product volumes. Sales soared in North America and were up strongly in China as well.

Herbalife to pay $123 million fine in tentative settlement of China bribery case

18-May-2020 By Hank Schultz

Network marketing giant Herbalife has announced an agreement in principle with US authorities over a bribery scandal in China. The reported pact, which includes a $123 million fine, was part of the company’s first quarter earnings report, which came...

Nature’s Sunshine rides immune health demand to strong sales despite pandemic-related declines in Asia

18-May-2020 By Hank Schultz

Nature’s Sunshine reversed years of sales declines in North America as demand for immune health products surged. This more than compensated for coronavirus-related sales declines in Asian markets.

Usana posts another sales increase as China’s direct selling clampdown looms

07-Feb-2019 By Hank Schultz

Network marketing company Usana reported $1.19 billion in annual revenue in its fourth quarter earnings statement. The company now derives more than 80% of its revenue from the Asia-Pacific region.

Herbalife CEO resigns over comments ‘inconsistent’ with company standards

10-Jan-2019 By Adi Menayang

The multi-level marketing giant Herbalife announced that CEO Richard Goudis resigned due to comments on “expense-related policies and business practices,” the company said in a press release.

Taiwan sales boost helps LifeVantage return to close to record earnings

02-Nov-2018 By Hank Schultz

Multi-level marketer LifeVantage Corporation has seen sales in Asia rise with the addition of Taiwan as a new market.

Herbalife increasingly eyes Asia as growth engine of future

01-Nov-2018 By Hank Schultz

Herbalife’s global sales rose 15% in the third quarter. Record sales in China and the rest of Asia helped drive the result, and the company bucked recent trends in the multi-level marketing sector by posting sales increases in North America as well.

Soaring sales in Asia help Usana deal with the 'Amazonification' of the US market

29-Oct-2018 By Hank Schultz

Dietary supplement direct sales company Usana reported a 13.4% rise in sales in its most recent quarter. The increase was driven almost entirely by soaring sales in its Asia-Pacific region.

Nature's Sunshine sales grow, especially in China, but profits prove elusive

08-Aug-2018 By Hank Schultz

Nature’s Sunshine, a network marketing company focused on dietary supplements, recorded strong sales growth but essentially no profits in its second quarter earnings statement.

Usana caps record earnings quarter with market, media recognition

25-May-2018 By Hank Schultz

Usana Health Sciences has capped a quarter that saw it post record earnings with recognition in the form of business organization and media awards.

In many Latin American countries, direct selling brands take lead in dietary supplement sales

23-May-2018 By Adi Menayang

Direct selling companies have a relatively large share of dietary supplement sales in Latin American countries compared to others around the globe, according to data from market research firm Euromonitor.

Herbalife posts record earnings, ramps up pace of new product launches

14-May-2018 By Hank Schultz

In its first quarter earnings report, Herbalife reported net sales of $1.2 billion, an increase of 6.8% over the same period a year previously.

LifeVantage Vitality Stack Packets drive double-digit growth in order rates

11-May-2018 By Mary Ellen Shoup

LifeVantage, an international multi-level marketing firm, is seeing strong consumer acceptance of its single-serve Vital Stack Packets that provide a personalized dietary supplement experience.

Herbalife earnings recovering after FTC fine, restructuring

23-Feb-2018 By Hank Schultz

Herbalife says it is successfully emerging from the pall cast by an investigation and subsequent fine levied by the US Federal Trade Commission. The network marketing giant said fourth quarter earnings showed that business is trending back up after taking...

House bill could finally end pyramid scheme charges leveled at MLMs

18-Dec-2017 By Hank Schultz

A bill now before the US House of Representatives that seeks to clarify the boundaries of Multi Level Marketing operations is imperfect but better than the status quo, said an attorney familiar with the sector.

Shaklee Corp joins UNPA as new executive member

19-Sep-2017

The United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) has announced that Shaklee Corp. as its newest executive member.

Supplements could be missing opportunity connected to essential oils, experts say

31-Jul-2017 By Hank Schultz

Herbal product companies may be missing an opportunity in which essential oils and specific dietary supplements could be recommended simultaneously in condition-specific settings, experts say.

China probe hangover, functional foods failure depress Usana's earnings

27-Jul-2017 By Hank Schultz

An internal investigation into business practices in China has taken some of the air out of the balloon of Usana Health Sciences, as the company’s stock price declined after an earnings report that was lower than analysts’ estimates. And a launch of a...

Nature's Sunshine: China project stagnates while Russia, Eastern Europe soar

15-May-2017 By Hank Schultz

Network marketing company Nature’s Sunshine is struggling with soft earnings as it strives to get a project for entering the Chinese market on track.

Herbalife shrugs off FTC, Ackman; boosts 2017 outlook

09-May-2017 By Hank Schultz

Herbalife has shaken off the lingering effects of a big-ticket settlement with the Federal Trade Commission with a relatively solid quarterly results statement that was welcomed by stock traders.

Usana records strong results in China despite internal probe

04-May-2017 By Hank Schultz

In the midst of an internal review of its Chinese operations, Usana Health Sciences reported a 6.2% increase in sales derived almost entirely from the Asia Pacific region.

Amway's sales drop 7%, extending 3-year decline

10-Feb-2017 By Hank Schultz

Direct selling giant Amway has reported a third year of declining revenue. Sales in 2016 declined 7% to $8.8 billion, with a big drop in China driving the slide.

Mannatech decides against multilevel marketing in move to enter mainland China market

12-Dec-2016 By Hank Schultz

In an effort to smooth out financial results, Mannatech is focusing on new products and its adding an e-commerce platform in China to its direct sales efforts. 

Herbalife turns up pressure on Ackman

19-Sep-2016 By Hank Schultz

Network marketing giant Herbalife is bolstering its defense against activist investor Bill Ackman, who has stridently criticized the company as part of a campaign to profit from a short position on the company’s stock.

Hemp-focused MLM adds ultra-high dose CBD supplement to offerings

01-Sep-2016 By Hank Schultz

The first network marketing company to focus on hemp products has added an ultra-high CBD content dietary supplement product to its line.

Herbalife agrees to $200 million fine, restructuring to settle FTC case

15-Jul-2016 By Hank Schultz

Herbalife announced today it has agreed to $200 million in compensation and to restructure its business practices to settle an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.

Network marketing companies have special compliance challenge, expert says

26-May-2016 By Hank Schultz

The very nature of network marketing means companies selling dietary supplements using this model must be extra vigilant when it comes to compliance, an expert says.

Report: Herbalife settles with FTC

25-May-2016 By Hank Schultz

Herbalife has reportedly reached a settlement in its case with the Federal Trade Commission.

Network marketing continues to be growing outlet for supplements

14-Apr-2016 By Hank Schultz

Network marketing continues to be a huge outlet for nutritional products, and direct selling companies with supplements in their portfolios are among the best performing of these companies.

Herbalife shrugs off Ackman's latest pyramid scheme allegations

16-Sep-2015 By Hank Schultz

William Ackman, the activist investor who has been attacking Herbalife’s business model for several years, has claimed that Herbalife’s mode of doing business does not differ materially from that of Vemma Nutrition, the network marketing company that...

Court shuts down energy drink network marketer Vemma over pyramid scheme allegation

28-Aug-2015 By Hank Schultz

Vemma Nutrition, a multilevel marketing company that based its business on a line of mangosteen juice drinks, has been shut down by an Arizona court acting on a Federal Trade Commission request for allegedly operating an illegal pyramid scheme.

Herbalife sees another 'pyramid scheme' lawsuit dismissed

30-Jul-2015 By Hank Schultz

Network marketing giant Herbalife has survived another lawsuit with the dismissal of a suit that hinged on whether the company was forthright enough to investors about its business practices.

Amway opens Buena Park, CA manufacturing and R&D facility to support growth of supplement sales

01-Jun-2015 By Hank Schultz

Amway has passed another milestone in its massive manufacturing expansion with the formal opening of its $42 million manufacturing and R&D in Buena Park, CA.  The center is part of the company’s $375 million manufacturing expansion program.

Youngevity records strong growth in both multilevel supplement marketing and coffee roasting segments

14-Aug-2014 By Hank Schultz

Youngevity International, a multilevel marketer of nutritional supplements as well as a bulk coffee roaster, reported big increases in net revenue and gross profit in its second quarter of 2014, driven mostly by organic growth aided by acquisitions.

Fallout in China from Nu Skin affair depresses Usana's Q2 results

01-Aug-2014 By Hank Schultz

Usana Health Sciences reported flat net sales  in the second quarter of its 2014 fiscal year.  Issues in China caused the company to miss analysts’ estimates for sales and earnings, and the company’s share price took a plunge as a result.

Court's ruling on illegal pyramid scheme turns spotlight on Herbalife

06-Jun-2014 By Hank Schultz

A recent ruling by an appellate court judging a multi-level marketing organization to be an illegal pyramid scheme puts the spotlight on the legality of network marketing companies active in the dietary supplement and nutrition businesses.