(Last Updated on November 29, 2022)
Multi-level marketing companies are nothing new.
There are so many MLM business opportunities that you can find today that it’s hard to keep track of them all.
A lot of people are scared of these business models.
But that doesn’t mean that they’re all bad.
Some of them treat their members right!
Every MLM is different, and you can’t judge them all by their cover.
The most important thing that you can do is find a non-biased, objective review of the business.
That’s what we’re here for.
Today we’re going to give you a fair review of Herbalife.
After reading this article, you’ll be able to decide whether or not you want to be a part of this company.
What is Herbalife?
Herbalife is a business that focuses on selling nutritional supplements and products for improving your overall health.
There are a ton of MLM companies, and there are a ton of brands that sell nutritional supplements.
What makes Herbalife any different than the rest?
First off, Herbalife is a multi-billion dollar country.
They are currently worth more than $8 billion dollars and they have spread throughout tons of countries.
In the 91 plus countries that Herbalife is a part of, they have over 3 million distributors working for them.
You could be one of these distributors – that’s part of what makes Herbalife appealing.
MLM companies allow anyone to join their ranks and make money with the company.
In terms of sheer sales, Herbalife outranks most other popular health and wellness brands – such as GNC or Slim Fast – by a ratio of 6 to 1.
That means that you’re going to have an easier time selling the products that Herbalife sells than you would for other, less popular companies.
Herbalife: What Do They Sell?
Herbalife sells a variety of health and wellness products and supplements.
The company, which was founded by Mark Hughes in the 80s, has some solid research and practice backing it.
Mark was initially looking for a platform to sell his own supplements.
This platform eventually budded into what we know as Herbalife.
Nowadays, they’re known for selling a huge variety of products.
They have protein shakes, vitamin supplements, snacks and foods for people who are on diets, and many products for those who are hoping to lose or maintain their weight.
Herbalife Most Popular Products
Herbalife has a huge variety of different things for sale.
However, they’re better known for certain products.
Their most popular product, by far, is their Formula 1 protein shake.
It’s popular for a number of reasons.
- It’s old and backed by popular opinion .This recipe is pretty much the same as the one that Mark Hughes, the owner of the company, created back in the 80s.
- The product is soy-based and is suitable for vegetarians, which puts it a step ahead of some similar protein shakes that can’t be consumed by people who don’t eat dairy.
Another of their most popular products are their soup mixes.
They sell a variety of healthy soups that are useful for people who are hoping to maintain their weight and avoid consuming unhealthy soups.
Does Herbalife Work?
One of the things that’s interesting about this company is that they don’t just provide you with their stuff and then tell you that they work.
They give you a set of instructions that you should follow in addition to using their goods that will provide you with the most benefits.
In the case of Herbalife, their diet plan – known as the Herbalife diet – involves you switching out two of your daily meals for their meal-replacement shakes.
They place some restrictions on what you should eat and promise that you will lose some weight.
In this case, you can pretty much figure out if the products will work for you before you try them.
A lot of weight loss supplements simply don’t work.
Other ones work because they encourage people to make lifestyle choices, and in this case, it’s usually the lifestyle changes that make the difference.
If you eat heavy, high-calorie meals and then switch to less calorically-dense meal shakes, then it’s only expected that you lose weight.
However, if you eat small meals and replace them with heavier shakes, you might gain weight.
It’s important to use common sense when dealing with weight loss supplements.
In many cases they do promote weight loss, but this isn’t always because of the supplement itself.
Herbalife MLM Business Opportunity
MLMs have emerged as a very popular thing.
Many people consider MLM opportunities to be something new but they’re really not.
MLMs have been around as long as businesses have been around.
Herbalife and other similar types of business allow customers to join the ranks of their brand and sell products for them.
This means that you can recruit other members to join the company, sell their stuff and make profit, and earn bonuses and get discounts on the things that they sell.
Every MLM is a bit different.
They will offer different rewards and have different requirements.
Herbalife: The Compensation Plan
As we have mentioned, every MLM has a different plan.
The compensation plan determines how you will be paid, how much you will be paid, and what you have to do to get paid.
Most MLMs have a ranking system.
As you sell more stuff or recruit more members, you’ll increase your rank.
As your rank increases, you will get better bonuses and discounts.
When you first start working for Herbalife, your title will be a distributor.
Their website outlines the three basic ways that you can work for them as a distributor.
- You can buy products at a discount. You can use these products for household use and simply pay a reduced price.
- You can sell the things that you buy at the reduced price and earn profit off of them.
- You can recruit other distributors to sell things for Herbalife and earn some commission from their sales. This is the main way that most MLM distributors make their money.
After you’ve ranked up from distributor by recruiting or selling enough, you will become a Supervisor.
The next few ranks are World Team, GET Team, Millionaire Team.
The final two ranks are the President’s Team and then the Chairman’s Club.
When you first start out as a distributor, you’ll be making 25% of the retail profit of the things that you sell.
Many other MLMs allow you to keep all the profit that you make from your sales.
As you rank up by earning volume points, your retail profit will increase.
That said, Herbalife isn’t particularly well-known for its good returns.
However, they are very upfront about this.
In fact, on their website, they say that “86% of U.S. Distributors did not receive any earnings from Herbalife.”
They said that a lot of people join as distributors just to get good discounts on their products.
Is Herbalife A Pyramid Scheme?
Most MLM companies are actually pyramid schemes.
The term pyramid scheme has a bad connotation to it.
Most people assume that as soon as they join a pyramid scheme, they are bound to get ripped off.
This simply isn’t the case.
A pyramid ‘scheme’ isn’t always a scheme.
In fact, many MLMs simply operate on a pyramid structure.
They are no more of a scheme than any other form of business.
All of them are developed to make as much profit as possible by helping customers.
Herbalife is a bit different, though. At one point, they contributed to the reason that so many people are afraid of this type of business model.
They were so determined not to be labeled as a pyramid scheme that they paid out $200 milion in an FTC lawsuit.
The FTC said that the company had ripped off their members for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Since then, Herbalife has had to restructure its business model.
They now pay a lot more attention to their customers and ensure that they get just payment when due.
Herbalife Reviews
Just as with any company, there are a wide variety of reviews and complaints that can be found online regarding Herbalife.
One of the most popular sites for finding reviews is ConsumerAffairs.
Herbalife has an overall rating of 2 and a half stars on this site, based on 173 reviews.
The most recent review was from a customer who was not satisfied.
She posted that she “had an adverse reaction to their products.”
She was further unsatisfied after she was told that it might “take up to 4 weeks to do a refund.”
She concluded by saying that Herbalife is “very shady and their distributors are no better.”
The review before that, on the other hand, was quite satisfied.
They said that they “lost 13 pounds in 3 months,” and attributes that to Herbalife.
However, they also say that they “changed my lifestyle.”
This suggests that they made other changes aside from taking Herbalife products, so there’s no reason to assume that it was just drinking their shakes that changed his life.
Herbalife Prices & Where To Buy
Like with any other MLM company, the whole goal of allowing customers to sell their things is because this increases their volume.
Fortunately, Herbalife is one of the MLMs that seems to be doing a fairly solid job of this.
Most other MLM companies have all their products available on Amazon, where they can be bought for even cheaper than they can on their website.
While some Herbalife shakes and other products are available on eBay, it’s still your best bet to get them from the website.
Since it’s easy to sign up as a distributor and get discounts, then you might as well get it off the site.
It’s a much better deal to get their shakes from their own site.
For example, the Formula 1 Healthy Meal Nutritional Shake can be purchased for $41.20 on their website.
The same product purchased from eBay will run you more than twice the price, costing at least $112.90.
You can find Herbalife Herbal Teas for around $35 on eBay.
The same tea can be bought for $25 on their website.
Herbalife Money Back Guarantee & Refund Policy
Herbalife offers a money-back guarantee.
If you are not satisfied for any reason with their products, you can return them within 30 days and get a refund.
You will need to provide them with the receipt.
If you want to get a refund you will have to call their number at 1-866-866-4744.
You can also just contact the distributor who sold you the stuff if you purchased it from one.
You will also need to include the rest of the product that you didn’t use, or any of the labels and wrappers that came with it.
Herbalife Pros & Cons
It’s important to understand both the pros and cons of any company before you decide to join them or purchase products from them.
This will help you better decide whether you want to take part in Herbalife.
Pros
- Their weight loss plans are quite simple.
- They provide clear instructions for people who are unsure of how to diet.
- Their products are relatively affordable and can be purchased easily off their website.
- It’s easy to sign up as a distributor and begin selling products.
- They have been growing for many years and they are widely appreciated throughout different companies.
Cons
- They were fined $200 million by the FCC for improper business protocol.
- Some people are skeptical of buying from MLM companies so it can be hard to make money.
- Their diet plans involve lifestyle changes and there’s no proof that it’s their products, not just the lifestyle changes, that help you lose weight.
Herbalife Review: Final Verdict
Overall, it seems like Herbalife is a pretty solid company.
They have relatively good reviews and they treat their distributors well as far as MLM companies go.
Obviously, as with any MLM, there are people who complain.
However, that’s no reason to run and hide from the company.
We can’t make your decision for you.
However, hopefully after reading this article, you’re better able to determine whether or not you want to take part in Herbalife.
So, what do you think about our Herbalife review? Would you buy this product or not? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Signed up as a distributer for £70.00 Attended a training event for £35. Support was diabolical and was told my sponsor was somebody who lived 400 odd miles away. Was told to sign up to website for £35 per month subscription. Joined to make money, ended up loosing money and was disgusted with lack of support.