Herbalife

Herbalife is a company based in 1980 with the the United States, proposing the product sales of back in shape, control of weight and external nutrition (care of the face and the body) and resting on a system of Vente multiniveau. The system is based on a central company and independent distributers. The latter earn money by their direct sales and a percentage on the sales actual by their network of associates. These distributers are generally named “personal coach in greater comfort”.

History

It is in February 1980 that the founder Mark Hughes starts to sell products for the weight loss since the trunk of his car. Since 1982, the company reaches two million dollars of sales turnover and opens a subsidiary company in Canada. It reaches 1 billion dollar of sale into 1996,2,5 billion in 2005 and exceeds the 3 billion in 2006.
In 2000 its founder dies at the 44 years age of an accidental Surdose of alcohol and Médicaments.
In November 2000, a publication of the New England Journal off Medicine brings back 54 dead and 1000 cases of complications directly related to the éphédrine, ingredient popular at the Bodybuilder S since 1995. Because of this type of reactions, the Herbalife company re-examined the composition of its products thinner, making a version without éphédrine for the States of the United States where it was prohibited.
The company continues its growth then. A new team constitutes itself around the owner Michael O. Johnson (former chairman, number 1 of Walt Disney International), David Heber (doctor of medicine, member of the medical school of UCLA since 1978, directing founder of the Center of human nutrition of the UCLA), Louis Ignarro (professor of medicine to the UCLA, Nobel Prize of physiology/medicine 1998).
In December 2004, the company carries out its Stockmarket entry on NYSE.
In August 2005, Steve Henig is recruited like Chief Scientific Officer , person in charge of the research and the development of the products.

Affiliations

In France, Herbalife is member of the FVD, the “federation of the direct sales” and member National union of the Manufacturers in Dietetic Products, Naturels and Complements Food (Synadiet). In Canada, Herbalife is member of the AVD, the “Association of direct sales of Canada”.

Products

Herbalife is a leader in the development of the products of weight loss, nutrition and personal care. According to this company, advanced techniques made it possible to develop formulas meeting the needs for the men and the women, according to the age and the particular functions of the organization. These products would take as a starting point the progress made in food science, nutritive supplements and herb trade.
The nutritive programs Herbalife claim to help with the weight loss with the increase in the muscular mass, to feel in better form. They offer also complements which make it possible to control the food balance of the young people and less young people.
The Herbalife products are approved by the offices of public health in more than 64 countries and on sale free via an independent distributer Herbalife. Of food drugs but of Compléments it is not a question whose composition is specified (as the law obliges it) on each packing. No study was made public on the utility or the harmlessness of these products to France, but there would be some in the United States.

Formation for distributers

There exists a training program and of support which defines what it is necessary to make stage by stage in order to establish, part-time or full-time, its own company. The distributers have access to formations by telephone, on Internet, by interactive transport and other technologies of their residence. Herbalife organizes each month, in each big city of the countries where it is established, a one day training seminar whole (STS), generally during the weekends. Several distributers also organize weekly meetings and formations (H.O.M.) to which the public can assist.

Controversies on Herbalife

Charges of pyramidal sale

Herbalife is often shown to practice the pyramidal Vente, commercial method prohibited in the near total of the industrialized countries, which the company contradicts categorically. More precisely, its model raises of the “Commercialisation to multiple stages” (or " Direct sales of réseaux"), which is legal in the majority of the countries. However, of the Canadian distributers independent of Herbalife were condemned in 2004 to fines for pyramidal sale. In the United States, Herbalife and a group of its more important distributers regulated by amicable agreement a dispute with 8700 of its distributers which showed it pyramidal sale, paying them a sum of six million US dollars against the abandonment of the continuations.
In 2007, Herbalife deals with two Collective appeal S: Minton v. Herbalife International, et al. in California, and Mey v. Herbalife International, et al. in Western Virginia, following the behavior of some of its distributers.

Independence of the scientific advice

According to an article of Forbes published in 2004, David Heber, the president of the scientific advice, joined this one at the same time as Herbalife made a gift of 3 million dollars to found the Mark Hughues Cellular & Molecular Nutrition Laboratory within the Center for Human Nutrition directed by Heber.

Louis J. Ignarro, member of the scientific advice, agreed to take part in the design of Niteworks, a dietetic supplement, and to promote this product, in exchange of an agreement of royalties of more than one million dollars. Ignarro then promoted the ingredients of Niteworks in the review Proceedings off the National Academy off Sciences, without revealing its personal financial interest there. When the financial bonds of Ignarro with Herbalife were revealed, the review published a retraction making state of the Conflit of interests of this one.

Report/ratio Miviludes 2006

The Herbalife company is quoted by the report/ratio for year 2006 of Miviludes, French organization charged to fight against the sectarian drifts:

The Herbalife company, specialized in the sale in network in the health field, was the subject of an investigation on behalf of the services, have regard to the public concerned, near to the sporting world. This survey, carried out in connection with the MIVILUDES, highlighted that this company acts according to the pyramidal sales engineering with a strong commercial communication, but that, even if its practices present certain characteristics close to those used by sectarian movements (secrecy, suspicion of illegal exercise of medicine), they cannot be considered, in the actual position of held information, like being sectarian. This company remains under monitoring on behalf of the services.

External bonds

French Official site
international Official site

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