Is Herbalife An MLM?

Are you thinking about joining Herbalife Nutrition? First, make sure you know what to expect. The company has been in business since 1980, offering dozens of products for dieters and healthy eaters. Today, it has more than 10,000 employees in 90 countries, according to its website. Its line of products includes high-protein snacks, herbal supplements, fat burners, appetite suppressants, protein shakes, and meal replacement bars — just to name a few. These goodies are marketed and sold exclusively through independent distributors.

As a Herbalife Nutrition distributor, you’ll order health products at discounted prices and then resell them. Your income potential depends on how much you sell, but you can also earn bonuses from the sales made by our recruiters and the members they bring in. In 2020, the company had about 191,000 active distributors in the U.S. alone (via Herbalife Nutrition). Approximately 15,000 distributors managed to earn more than $201 per month in their first year of work. Only 1% earned over $5,900 per month, and 10% had a monthly revenue of $1,246 or higher. More experienced members had higher earnings, ranging from $264 to $16,213 per month.

Like Avon, Amway, Mary Kay, and other companies, Herbalife uses multi-level marketing (MLM) to promote and sell its products. But the corporation received criticism for being a pyramid scheme. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that both business models carry significant risks that may outweigh any potential benefits.