A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products. As recruiting multiplies, recruiting becomes quickly impossible, and most members are unable to profit; as such, pyramid schemes are unsustainable and often illegal.
Xango, LLC, was a privately owned Lehi, Utah-based multilevel marketing company founded in 2002. It was acquired by Zija International in May 2017. The company marketed and distributed Xango juice, a blended juice product consisting of mangosteen and other juices, and skin care, personal care, energy supplement and nutritional supplement products. The company was warned in 2006 by the FDA for illegally marketing more than 20 human health benefits for Xango juice.
Mary Kay Inc. is an American privately owned multi-level marketing company. According to Direct Selling News, Mary Kay was the sixth largest network marketing company in the world in 2018, with a wholesale volume of US$3.25 billion. Mary Kay is based in Addison, Texas. The company was founded by Mary Kay Ash in 1963. Richard Rogers, Ash's son, is the chairman, and David Holl is president and was named CEO in 2006.
JRJR Networks, formerly CVSL earlier Computer Vision Systems Laboratories, is an American holding company of multi-level marketing companies. JRJR Networks traded on the NYSE MKT, although was significantly below the required level of capitalization to continue in compliance and was therefore removed from the exchange. JRJR was founded by its chairman, John Rochon, a micro-enterprise pioneer. John Rochon, Jr. is the JRJR Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Investment Committee.
Moringa oleifera is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree of the family Moringaceae, native to the Indian subcontinent. Common names include moringa, drumstick tree, horseradish tree, and ben oil tree or benzolive tree. Native to India, it is also known as सहजन (Sehjan) in Hindi and Moringai in Tamil.
Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH) is a Greenwich, Connecticut based marketing and manufacturing company that sells personal and decorative products. In 2001, it was the largest candlemaker in the United States. Subsidiaries include the multi-level marketing companies PartyLite and Visalus.
Sunrider Corporation, or Sunrider International, is a privately owned multi-level marketing company headquartered in Torrance, California. Sunrider lists thousands of franchise stores and tens of thousands of distributors internationally. Sunrider manufactures health, beauty, food, and household products at four manufacturing plants: Southern California, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. Sunrider does business in 42 countries, and operates offices in 22 countries.
Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called pyramid selling and network marketing, is a controversial marketing strategy for the sale of products or services where the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling the company's products or services, while the earnings of the participants are derived from a pyramid-shaped or binary compensation commission system. An MLM strategy may be an illegal pyramid scheme.
Usana Health Sciences, Inc., or USANA, is a Utah-based multi-level marketing company that produces various nutritional products, dietary supplements and skincare products. Usana products, most of which are manufactured at the company's West Valley City facility, are sold in 24 countries via a network of independent distributors. Most of Usana's independent distributors make less money than the cost of the initial qualifying purchase.
Cutco Corporation, formerly Alcas Corporation, is a U.S.-based company that sells knives, predominantly through direct sales or multi-level marketing. It is the parent company of CUTCO Cutlery Corp., Vector Marketing, Ka-Bar Knives, and Schilling Forge. Its primary brand is named Cutco.
Almay is an American cosmetics brand owned by Revlon which markets products toward people with sensitive skin.
Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa (VPWA) is a volunteer-driven, non-profit NGO based in Ghana, which aims to promote better life opportunities for people in underprivileged communities through sustainable development initiatives. VPWA has pioneered several social innovations in the region, including micro leasing, the establishment of a Children and Youth Development Centre in the Eastern Region of Ghana, and campaigns such as Deworm Ghana, Green Ghana, Kick Malaria Out, and Street Library.
AdvoCare International, L.P. is an American dietary supplement company and former multi-level marketing company that was determined by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to be operating a pyramid scheme. The company, headquartered in Plano, Texas, was founded in 1993 by Charles Ragus and employed roughly 250 people in 2013. When AdvoCare switched from multi-level marketing to single-level direct selling in 2019, it claimed a network of approximately 100,000 independent distributors.
Isagenix International LLC is a privately held multi-level marketing (MLM) company that sells dietary supplements and personal care products. The company, based in Gilbert, Arizona, was founded in 2002 by John Anderson, Jim Coover, and Kathy Coover. As of 2013 the company reported having over 200,000 active MLM distributors. In 2017, the company reported revenues of $958 million. According to Isagenix, the company employed 850 people as of 2017.
Kuli Kuli Inc. is a food business based in Oakland, CA, and the first company to introduce Moringa oleifera to the US market in the form of nutrition bars, powders, smoothie mixes, and energy shots. Moringa is a nutritious plant food. Kuli Kuli's CEO, Lisa Curtis, started the company after working with moringa in the Peace Corps in Niger. Kuli Kuli works with women-owned and small family farming cooperatives in West Africa, Latin America, and South-East Asia to grow moringa and sell it as Kuli Kuli products and powders.
doTerra is a multi-level marketing company based in Pleasant Grove, Utah that sells essential oils and other related products. doTerra was founded in 2008 by former executives of Young Living and others.
Kenneth E. Brailsford is an American multi-level marketing entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He co-founded the company Nature's Sunshine and founded Enrich International and Zija International.
Arbonne International, LLC, known as Arbonne, is an international multi-level marketing (MLM) company founded in 1980 in the United States by Norwegian entrepreneur Petter Mørck. Its product lines include vegan skincare, cosmetics, and nutrition. The company had an estimated annual sales revenue of $544 million in 2017. Arbonne's CEO is Jean-David Schwartz. Lawsuits have been filed concerning discrimination. In April 2020, Arbonne received a warning letter from the US Federal Trade Commission in response to illegal health claims related to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) as well as false and misleading income claims made by Arbonne distributors.
Scentsy is a United States-based multi-level marketing company that sells scented products including wax warmers.
