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Founded | 2002

Headquarters | Gilbert, AZ

Top Executives:
Sharron Walsh / Chief Executive Officer
Joshua Plant, Ph.D. / Chief Scientific Officer

Product Category | Health and Wellness

It’s been a season of transition and transformation at Isagenix, but this health and wellness leader feels stronger than ever and believes that the best is yet to come—not just for their customers, field and leadership—but for the entire direct selling industry.

Committed to Legacy

Every founder-owned company faces the possibility of an ownership change at some point in its story, and Isagenix is no exception. After founding Isagenix in 2002, Jim and Kathy Coover led their company for over twenty years, building a business that they hoped would last long after their leadership.

“When Jim and Kathy founded Isagenix, it was always with a view that it would become a legacy company,” shared Sharron Walsh, Isagenix Chief Executive Officer. “The legacy is really about the people who’ve built Isagenix—the field—that they can pass it on through their family, and that this company can continue to thrive and exist when we are all long retired. Looking for a new ownership structure that supported that legacy view was really, really important for us.”

In early 2023, Isagenix leadership announced that they’d found what they were looking for and had restructured the company’s ownership, transitioning majority ownership to key financial stakeholders. The news was exciting for the entire Isagenix community and had been years in the making, but those years had also been filled with criticism from an unexpected voice—peers within the direct sales industry.

“It was a challenging time,” Sharron shared. “But it was the right time. So, now we have this freedom that it’s all behind us. But there was a lot of talk, a lot of speculation, and unfortunately it was inside our own industry. It was the companies and people inside the industry that made it so unnecessarily painful for us. The external voices, the fearmongering—it was a challenge for the field. People should have been rooting for us, not trying to tear us down.”

The disappointment and frustration only inspired Sharron, her team and leaders in the field to work harder to change the industry from the inside out.

“I hope that the corporate leaders and the field leaders understand that we truly are all in this together,” Sharron explained. “There is so much. There is abundance. There is enough for all of us to do well. And when one company does well, it’s encouraging for everybody else.”

Guided by Science

Isagenix sprints into this new season with a new ownership that financially and strategically supports the company’s vision, as well as fresh energy from both leadership and the field. All of this “new-ness” is grounded by the consistency of Isagenix’s science and the proven results of its product line. Historically, the company has focused on weight loss as an entry point to better health. Today, the complete Isagenix catalog addresses a more holistic view of health with products that address a range of health goals from stress management to healthy aging to immunity and more.

“The foundation that put Isagenix on the map was a wonderful and revolutionary way of helping individuals lose weight,” explained Joshua Plant, Ph.D., Isagenix’s Chief Scientific Officer. “When we go back 20 years, that was a very strong motive for a lot of individuals, that was the beacon that showed them that they were healthy or not. As a society, we’ve matured and learned health is a little bit more of an abstract component than just your waist size. And Isagenix is evolving in that area to make sure that we too understand that wellbeing is more than that. We’ve done over 18 different clinical studies and where these are evolving to is showing that individuals who embrace the Isagenix system not only lose weight and increase lean muscle mass but also have a higher quality of life, meaning they feel more full; they feel happier; they feel more satisfied.”

While the original 30-Day Reset continues to be a bestseller for Isagenix, a new favorite emerged in recent years that now represents 30 percent of the company’s business. The Collagen Elixir was launched in 2020 and quickly appealed to the company’s customer base because of its convenient, ready-to-drink shot format—and the fact that it had exceptional clinical data.

“Independent researchers were able to show that this product actually stimulates your own collagen production; diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; evens skin tone; and improves moisture,” Joshua shared. “It was a remarkable study. In fact, it’s one of the only studies that I’ve come across where all the participants compared to the placebo actually had a benefit.”

For the last four years, Isagenix has been developing a product that the team believes will forever change the wellness space—a new take on the multivitamin. Multivitamins have been a facet of the health and wellness industry the better part of the last 100 years with very little evolution. They represent more business than weight loss products by a long shot.

Isagenix boils down to three simple things: simple, proven and natural. The products are designed to make a customer’s life simple. Isagenix has invested millions of dollars in partnering with universities for clinical studies; this allows universities to research and publish the research about the products without any bias, regardless of the outcomes of the studies. Whether the results are good or bad, results are published and proven. Isagenix focuses on natural, high-quality, no-compromise, functional ingredients.

And they are just getting started.

Grounded by Culture

Navigating an ownership transition amidst challenging industry chatter on the heels of a global pandemic would be overwhelming to most field teams, but these obstacles have only strengthened the already tight-knit culture at Isagenix.

“Coming out of what already was a challenging period in everybody’s life, we entered into a process that the average associate doesn’t understand— restructuring and reorganizing your capital structure and what a transfer of ownership would mean.” Sharron shared. “It was a challenge for them. But we’ve always been very transparent with our leadership, so they understand what it is we’re doing. And to their credit, they really endured, stayed focused, looked after their teams, and we came through it in great shape.”

To usher the Isagenix field into this exciting new chapter, Sharron recruited one of the company’s most successful leaders and brought her into a corporate role as Head of Field Training and Development. Industry veteran Lisa DeMayo stepped into this new position in September 2023 after building her Isagenix business for over 11 years and growing through the leadership ranks with another direct sales company for a decade before that. An accomplished author and speaker, she’ll be using her experience to support and grow leaders at every level in the field.

While the company is already known for its generous compensation program, Isagenix recently released a new leadership incentive program that encourages aspiring leaders to grow.

“Instead of being developed by our sales and promotions teams, I went to the analysts that have been driving, building and analyzing our compensation plan for years,” Sharron said. “I asked them if you could build a program that really rewarded people who were in the trenches building today, what would it look like? They put together something that I think is going to be a foundational program for people joining Isagenix and also for people that have been with us for a long time. I’m most excited about watching that play out. I’m seeing people win again.”

The field response to this new incentive program has been incredible, adding to the momentum that’s been building at Isagenix since the ownership transition was finalized early last year.

From the December 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

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Founded | 2009

Headquarters | Lehi, UT

Top Executives:
Curtis Call, Chief Sales Officer
Josh Gagon, Chief Financial Officer

Products | Health and Wellness

As the industry adapts to change from every angle, health-and-wellness-focused Xyngular is no exception. But whether navigating market changes, supply chain challenges or pandemic-era uncertainties, Xyngular has kept culture at the heart of every decision.

A Culture that Adapts

Like so many companies launched in the last two decades, weight-loss leader Xyngular found hard-fought success in the face of adversity. The company was born in December 2009, on the heels of the global financial crisis. Just after its tenth year in business, the world screeched to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic. But as Xyngular approaches its 14th birthday, the company has emerged from these challenges with both financial success and an even stronger sense of purpose. And that purpose is all about people, as Founders Rudy Revak and Marc Walker intended when they launched the company.

“Rudy Revak spent a significant portion of his career in this industry as a distributor, building a business, and he understands really well what they’re going through,” explains Curtis Call, Chief Sales Officer. “He understands what it takes to be successful on that side, and he has helped set that tone for us, pouring everything we have into helping people be successful. I know a lot of companies do these things, but we’ve made it our mission and an art form to really do it the right way, to treat people the right way. We’re not perfect. What we pride ourselves on is getting it right—figuring it out for the individual, what’s right for the company and right for them. And I think that’s one of the contributors to having a great culture.”

Xyngular’s culture of people pouring into people doesn’t just apply to the field; corporate employees have the same growth opportunities as distributors. And it’s clearly making an impact. Within the last five years, Xyngular has been named one of DSN’s Best Places to Work four times.

“We place a large emphasis on self-development and offer what we call a ‘League of Leaders’ program,” said Josh Gagon, Chief Financial Officer. “The League of Leaders program helps employees at Xyngular have a common vocabulary when discussing business and employee issues. The program also helps employees continue in their development. We want to help empower change not only in the lives of our field organization but also in the lives of our employees. We understand that for most employees, Xyngular will not be the last stop in their career. So, our hope is that while they’re at Xyngular, they will be given opportunities to grow in their respective fields and in leadership so that when the time comes that they move on in their careers, they can feel like Xyngular invested in helping them become more.”

When people are empowered and appreciated, they’re better prepared to adapt and respond when things change—which has been essential for most companies in recent years, including Xyngular.

“Since 2018, I believe the main theme for Xyngular has been our ability to adapt to rapidly changing environments,” Josh added. “In 2020, we went from planning for potential major slowdowns in sales to not being able to order product fast enough due to a very rapid sales increase. Since that time in April 2020 until present, we have had to adapt to major changes to our operating and sales environment. We have had to figure out how to scale up with the rapid increase in revenues and then how to reverse some of that scaling as revenues have softened.”

A Culture that Celebrates

Xyngular’s field of nearly 15,000 distributors isn’t just empowered—they’re celebrated. While the company’s compensation plan is simple and straightforward, Xyngular’s Passport Program offers distributors a unique “extra” that celebrates their achievements through a series of incredible international travel experiences.

“Our Partners can earn trips for two starting at just $10,000 in sales volume and other awards and trips that go up from there,” Josh explained. “We have around 10 total trips and awards in the Passport Program where our Partners can go places they may have never thought they would visit.”

“The Passport Program has been really unique,” Curtis added. “I’ve had a lot of colleagues in the industry ask me about it. It really keeps people motivated and moving towards something in their business because, while most people are building for income, people love to travel. Rudy has said that we want to give our partners the opportunity to live a life of adventure, and this is our way of delivering on some of those adventures that they might not otherwise create and book for themselves. It’s one of those things that continues to grow the culture. When you’re together and you’re meeting other people from all over the country or around the world and you’ve all come together and see all the things that we have in common, it really binds us together as part of the Xyngular community.”

During the pandemic, travel wasn’t the only celebration put on hold for Xyngular. State and local restrictions on large group gatherings relegated field achievement celebrations to Zoom—which just wasn’t good enough for the Xyngular family.

“We had many experiences during the pandemic where people had earned rewards, bonuses and awards,” Curtis shared. “We weren’t having in-person events, so we went out ‘Publishers’ Clearinghouse’ style and dispatched 17 teams. We went out around the country. We knocked on doors and handed them the bonuses that they had earned. It was just one of those things that show who we are as a company. We will go the extra mile. We will do those things for our partners to ensure that they’re having a great experience being a part of our company and being part of our culture.”

A Culture that’s Ready

Strengthened by a culture that has proven how well it can navigate change, Xyngular is preparing to adapt its portfolio to meet an evolving weight-loss marketplace. Prescription weight-loss possibilities have exploded onto the scene in the last year, presenting a new and urgent opportunity for Xyngular to adapt.

“Xyngular has primarily been a weight-loss company since its inception,” Josh said. “However, with the surge in medical weight-loss options, such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, we have been working on re-imagining what weight loss may look like as we move into the future. We have introduced a digestion line as well. However, as we look to continue to innovate and deal with the new medically assisted weight-loss options, I am excited for what other product lines we can introduce that may assist in reaching new geographics and demographics. We have learned it is very difficult to forecast the future in rapidly changing environments, but in the face of all this change, it’s so important to be agile and adapt to the best of your abilities.”

While this newest challenge isn’t without uncertainty, the Xyngular leadership team believes in the strength of their people and is excited to navigate this next season together.

“We’re in a place right now in our industry where we’re trying to solve challenges and innovate,” Curtis shared. “We’re innovating within our product space; we’re creating a number of new training programs for our distributors. Once we get these things launched and deployed into the field, really good things are coming for us. People are choosing Xyngular because they see a values-based company who lives up to their word and truly goes out of their way to get to know and to take good care of their people. I’m excited that with all these changes, we can bring more and more people into an opportunity that gives them the ability to build something that can be life-changing for them.”

From the November 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

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Founded | 2017

Headquarters | West Jordan, UT

Top Executives |
David Brown, CEO & Chairman
Ryan Thompson, President & Co-Founder

Product Category | Health & Wellness

Outside of Mexico, the United States is home to the most Spanish speakers in the world—more than Spain or any country in either Central or South America. If there are nearly 330 million people living in the US and more than 50 million of them speak Spanish, the potential for direct sellers to attract both Spanish-speaking customers and prospective entrepreneurs is tremendous.

The Vision

When ACTIVZ opened its doors in 2017, the Utah- based company defied convention and chose to focus exclusively on the Hispanic market by launching in Mexico. Founders David Brown and Ryan Thompson joined forces again after working together before to successfully build a large direct selling company. They knew that prioritizing Latin America rather than going global later was the right choice for their new company. But their story begins over a decade before, when ACTIVZ was still just a dream in the making.

Ryan had worked in direct selling throughout his career, focusing on Latin American markets for much of the last 30 years. Fluent in Spanish, he’d built strong relationships across Latin America as well as co-founding and leading other successful direct selling companies since starting in 1995.

David, a self-proclaimed “recovering lawyer,” worked in international corporate law, then successfully ran companies in the retail channel before entering the marketing world. As CEO and VP of Sales respectively at LifeVantage, David and Ryan successfully took that company out of retail and into direct selling. Later, they turned to their dream of creating their own direct selling company.

“We were on the same wavelength about a lot of things, mostly in our approach to wanting to make people better, wanting to better their lives,” David shared. “That’s been one of our clarion calls. We didn’t make you, but we’re going to make you better, and we’re going to help you get activated. That’s where the name ACTIVZ comes from. We’re going to help you to activate things that you have control over, and we’re going to provide you with the tools necessary to do that.”

Working with a team of formulator scientists, the founders developed a line of epigenetic products designed to improve health from the inside out. Currently, ACTIVZ offers LINQ to strengthen the gut-brain connection; AIRO to boost energy and improve metabolism; Optimend for inflammation; and a line of anti-aging skincare products.

“We focus on epigenetics, which a lot of people don’t understand, but it’s a term that refers to outside influences upon a gene,” David explained. “Scientists now know that virtually everything from the food that we eat; the things that we drink; our very thoughts influence our genes and whether they express correctly or not. And so all our products are scientifically proven, patented and developed by scientists and researchers to have specific epigenetic effects in terms of anti-inflammation, pain relief, gut-brain health and oxidative stress among other things.”

Armed with validated products, a shared vision of what ACTIVZ could be and how they wanted to bring their dream to life, David and Ryan were ready to share the company with the world. Where they would share ACTIVZ first would even further distinguish the company within the health and wellness space.

The Launch

While most American companies work to expand beyond the English-speaking world over time, the ACTIVZ team strategically chose to serve the Spanish-speaking market first. The 2017 corporate launch in Mexico was in line with everything David and Ryan had envisioned for ACTIVZ.

“There’s a real strong semblance of traditional values, old values there,” Ryan explained. “For a company like ours, having well-articulated values— entrepreneurship, financial independence, personal responsibility—all the tenants of direct selling, those are all qualities emblematic of the Latin community as a general rule. So, it worked really well for us to launch there and for that to be our focus.”

Beyond the clear alignment of values, the Mexico launch was grounded in language data from around the world.

“Colombia has 50 million people,” Ryan explained. “Peru has 30 million. Bolivia, there’s about 12 million people there. Ecuador, 18 million. Country by country, they’re all smaller than the US Hispanic market. To think that the US is not also a Spanish-speaking market isn’t correct. It’s a market I’ve worked with for years, in multiple other companies. It tends to be very entrepreneurial, resilient, less adverse to risk in business and generally open to all types of entrepreneurial ventures.”

Ryan’s strong relationships in both the US and Latin America empowered the ACTIVZ launch, led in large part by his old friends and leaders with teams primarily in Mexico. While there was no formal US launch, several team members in the States kicked off their businesses in tandem with the Mexico launch, but with a focus on Spanish-speakers. Since 2017, ACTIVZ has grown its field of distributors across Latin America and the United States, adding 30,000 distributors last year alone.

“We’ve got really strong relationships with all the top leaders which in some cases goes back decades,” Ryan added. “Both the top distributors and many members of the management team are old friends and families. This is a family business. In Spanish, everybody refers to this as ‘la familia ACTIVZ.’ We’re the ACTIVZ family. I wasn’t the first one to say it—it was our distributors. This is reflective of our foundation and the intentional values that we wanted to have when we started ACTIVZ.”

The Strategy

The term “omnichannel” is used by more and more direct selling companies and has evolved to mean many things. The team at ACTIVZ believes their omnichannel strategy pre-dates these changing definitions and has simply been the way they’ve done business since their inception.

“I’m always surprised to hear that term used more and more,” Ryan laughed. “It reminds me of when I was in fifth grade, and I thought that I invented the boombox that had an attachable Walkman that could snap out of it. Then I discovered someone had already invented it when I saw it in the Sears catalog. That said, our omnichannel approach is quite different than anything I’ve seen and is very simple. We sell through a variety of omnichannel outlets at a much higher omnichannel price, so we don’t compete with the retail price that our distributors sell the product for. We then contribute the full commissionable value of the omnichannel sale into a global pool that is paid out monthly to our distributors. This is essentially a very aggressive revenue-share model that is also attracting influencers and affiliates, allowing them to earn more money as the overall company grows.”

“We want to meet people where we find them,” David said. “We have our products. We have tons of studies on pubmed.gov. We’ve got patents, but it doesn’t really matter to some people. You could hit them over the head with all the science, and yet once they hear the words multilevel marketing or network marketing, they become totally closed-minded. Whereas for some reason, they’ll believe anything they see on Amazon or Instagram. And that’s fine. We’ll meet you where you’re at, and we’re going to do it in a way that benefits those who are really driving the business.”

Omnichannel and multinational, ACTIVZ is growing rapidly. While formally operating in Mexico, the United States, Peru and Japan, the company’s reach extends around the world through a program they call Global Connect that allows distributors to sell in over 220 countries and territories. And they’re just getting started.

“We’ve had double-digit growth every year of our existence,” David shared. “We hit a real inflection point about November of last year after which we’ve more than doubled the size of the company. And it’s been tremendously exciting. It’s exciting for the corporate team, and it’s exciting for the distributors. They see the stories. They see all the people joining. They see the meeting size increases. They see their checks increase. It’s just exciting to see what else is going to be accomplished. One of the big things that I get excited about is making other people say, ‘who are those guys?’ And I think it’s going to be fun answering that question.”

From the November 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

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Founded | 2008

Headquarters | Irving, TX

Top Executive | Jay Shafer, Founder and CEO

Products | Health and Wellness

Everyone loves a good glow-up. And as makeovers go, Zurvita’s is particularly extreme. Originally launched in 2008 to a room of 300 people, Zurvita began with service-based products. It was in 2011, when Zeal for Life was introduced, that Zurvita launched into exponential growth. Now nearly a decade later, despite management changes, a global pandemic and technology pitfalls, a new era of leadership with a united team and passionate field have prevailed and pivoted to take Zurvita on its next phase of success.

Positive Vibes. Positive Change.

Zurvita was founded on three founding principles. First and foremost, to build an organization that would honor and glorify God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Second, to develop a company with humble leadership. And finally, to create an environment where people could win at every level.

In 2011, Zurvita entered the health and wellness arena, with the unique proposition of Zeal for Life, a clean nutritional powdered drink featuring stabilized rice bran and gamma oryzanol. “We decided to make a significant impact on people from all walks of life by offering clean, nature-based products and life-changing opportunities, where anyone can succeed,” recalled Jay Shafer, Zurvita’s Founder and CEO.

“Zeal is an all-in-one nutritional drink mix that combines essential vitamins, superfoods, adaptogens, antioxidants and botanical extracts in one simple solution—and it gets results,” said Dr. Scott Vanlue, Chairman of Zurvita’s Scientific Advisory Board. “It’s one of the most comprehensive functional food supplements on the planet, filling inevitable gaps in your diet—like nutritional mortar for your health.”

These incredible benefits began generating incredible results. Zurvita consultants loved the product and so did their customers. And just like that, Zurvita had found a way to help people win.

The Game Changer

With health and wellness being an extremely crowded space. Through extensive research and clinical trials, they found product differentiation through the incredible health benefits of a surprising ingredient: stabilized rice bran. And through its proprietary and delicious formula, Zeal for Life was birthed.

“When rice bran is amended with the key functional compound gamma oryzanol, the combination offers diverse benefits and supports the body in a variety of ways,” explained Scott. “This includes overall cardiovascular health, cholesterol management, immune function, antioxidant activity, blood glucose control and weight management. While rice bran contains over 100 balanced nutrients like oils, fibers and proteins, gamma oryzanol is a uniquely rich source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.”

Known as “stabilized rice bran,” the rice bran and gamma oryzanol combination is an unstoppable superfood that is the driving force behind Zeal. A peer-reviewed, published clinical trial showed that in just 28 days of drinking Zeal twice daily, 85 percent of people felt better, with a 23 percent increase in vigor and energy and improvements to overall mood. Fatigue was down 10 percent; anger was down nine percent; and anxiety was down 11 percent.

“The study showed that Zeal is an ideal foundational food, offering an impressive combination of health-boosting ingredients per serving, including 56 whole food nutritional elements and over 120 vitamins, minerals and antioxidants,” said Scott. “In fact, we tested it and noted it would take 55 pills to replace the nutritional power of one single scoop of Zeal.”

“With the success of Zeal, we made stabilized rice bran the golden thread in all our functional-food clean nutritional products; Zeal, Zundora, Zurge and our Zurvita Protein all spotlight the benefits of rice bran as a unique differentiator. Zurvita is the only company in the world that offers this unique approach to maximizing rice bran’s tremendously diverse benefits,” added Jay.

While Zeal remains the company’s flagship product, many other successful products have been added to the lineup since 2011. However, this year has been particularly busy for Zurvita, with the launch of three innovative products featuring stabilized rice bran as an essential ingredient:

• Zundora is a blackberry-flavored collagen gel packed with exclusive, powerful ingredients that help restore skin to its youthful glow. The proprietary nutrient complex features Verisol hydrolyzed collagen peptides, which are clinically proven to improve the health of hair, skin and nails; reduce wrinkles; and increase skin elasticity as well as exclusive golden tomato extract, Lumenato.
• Zurge is a proprietary coffee blend that sharpens memory and increases mental clarity with potent ingredients that support brain health. In addition to stabilized rice bran, Zurge’s exclusive blend includes CognatiQ®: a natural, patented extract which is clinically proven to increase focus while reducing brain fog. It also includes Coffeeberry Cascara, also known as the coffee superfruit. Finally, Zurge includes Lion’s Mane Mushroom, which is the only mushroom clinically shown to support nerve growth for cognitive and neurological health.
• All-Natural Advanced Protein Formula contains 20 grams of isolate and concentrate whey, as well as pea protein and superfoods like stabilized rice bran. This science-backed protein formula is available in both chocolate and vanilla flavors. It accelerates metabolism to help burn calories, controls appetite to help you feel fuller longer, helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels and speeds muscle recovery after a workout.

“We’re committed to bringing our customers the most powerful ingredients and superfoods available,” said Dr. Van Lue. “Our products have built a following with those eager to share the goodness of better health. People are seeing their health restored, building healthy habits and ultimately sharing wellness with others. The testimonials and results I hear are incredible. It’s truly humbling.”

Change Agents

From the beginning, Zurvita’s founders sought to implement their core values in the field and beyond. “Our first founding principle is about honoring and glorifying God,” explained Jay. “We do that by loving on people, which is key to an incredible culture internally and through our thousands of Consultants within Zurvita. Our mission is to empower people to believe in themselves and take control of their health and happiness. “We strive to be a company of provision, for our consultants to provide for their families, put food on the table, pay their mortgage, etc. We want our customers to achieve better health—and, as we do this, we give back. That is the foundation of our Zeal for Meals initiative. Our goal is to feed one million and beyond.”

Globally, it’s estimated that 10 percent of the world’s population—about 828 million people—go to bed on an empty stomach each night. “Our goal is to provide one million meals to hungry families,” said Jay. “To reach this goal, we’ve partnered with SERV International. Through this program we donate three meals for every Zeal canister sold, and in May we added Zundora and Zurge as giveback products as well. Zeal for Meals is our effort to give back to the community—locally and globally—by fighting hunger and providing other life-giving services to those in need.”

Zeal for Meals is dedicated to bringing hope and healing to communities like Turkana, Kenya. As a pastoral community, they depend on rain to keep their livestock alive, but a five-year drought has caused dehydration, starvation and death. “Our teams recently went to Turkana. We brought food, shelter, medical help and the word of God to the locals,” explained Jay. “We were able to give them hope. Our entire Zurvita family made it possible. Our philanthropic mission is to feed hope and spread compassion. So we are looking to expand our partnership with SERV International beyond feeding the hungry. Our field is a very kindhearted community. Every time we hit 200K meals, we will also be sponsoring a child from House of Hope in addition to the feeding the hungry.”

To date, Zurvita has provided over 900,000 meals to communities in need and is inching closer to their million-meal goal.

Making Change

Having reinvented themselves, overcoming major changes and garnering some really big wins over the last decade, Zurvita’s team is proud of how far they’ve come and is driven to keep the momentum going.

“Staying faithful to our founding principles has enabled our success,” said Jay. “Zurvita continues to be a family-owned brand led by faith that aims to provide a way for others to transform lives with an easy and accessible way to better health.”

Just this last year Zurvita has expanded their product portfolio and introduced a new antioxidant collagen gel with exclusive and clinically tested ingredients in its beauty blend formula and a brain-health coffee featuring Lion’s Mane Mushroom.

The team has focused on their strategic growth pillars, and a new VIP Perks Loyalty Program was introduced at their national Convention, Zurvita Fest, this past May. It has quickly garnered incredible results, especially towards retention and reorder rates, helping the field keep happy and engaged customers.

“We are consistently driving toward positive change, so our focus will always be on loving people and impacting lives for the better,” concluded Jay. “We know we are in the relationship business. When we keep our field and our customers as top priority, together we will thrive.”

From the October 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post Zurvita: Zealous for Change first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Founded | 1959

Headquarters | Middleton, WI

Top Executive | Paulo Moledo, CEO

Product Category | Cookware and Kitchenware

In recent years, many companies in the direct sales industry have evolved to reach the expanding categories of distributors today. They aim to attract the part timers, the side hustlers and the gig economy set, offering opportunities designed for any and everyone. But could the traditional distributor approach—one that encourages full-time attention to reach unlimited opportunity—be what the industry needs? Hy Cite CEO Paulo Moledo believes that it is.

New Season, New Strategy

Hy Cite was founded in 1959 by Peter O. Johnson, Sr. and flourished as a family-owned-and-operated premier cookware business for over sixty years. Still family-owned and still flourishing, Hy Cite ushered in a new era in 2022 with the appointment of Paulo Moledo as CEO. His transition into the role was years in the making—the realization of a meticulously designed transition plan that commenced when he joined the company as Senior Vice President of Strategy in 2019.

“Even though we are not a public company, we have a board of directors; we have an external board; and they felt that for the future of the company, they needed to start planning for a transition,” Paulo explained. “They looked for somebody that could come and do that very carefully with the owner of the company. We had outside help, with everything really, really detailed and carefully executed. And I believe it’s a case that could be studied by many companies on how to do a transition from a long-term CEO to a new one. My first six months, I was just learning about the business and developing a four-year strategic plan. When that plan was approved, I started taking operational responsibilities and executing that plan. Erik Johnson was the CEO for three years out of those four but fully supporting. And I was managing the day-to-day more and more as time passed.”

Paulo’s plan was ambitious, centered on doubling the company’s size within four years—a milestone he accomplished a year ahead of schedule, in 2022. Last year, he launched a new four-year strategic plan that would support the company’s exceptional growth through new product development, stronger product marketing and enhanced customer service. Both Paulo’s original four-year plan and the plan he’s currently executing include an overarching corporate priority for Hy Cite: the employee experience.

“Our number one priority is the employees. Hands down,” Moledo shared. “We tell everybody—we tell the distributors that the employees are our number one priority. We have more than 1,600 employees today. And we believe that if they are engaged, empowered to make the right decisions, if they have the tools to do their job, they will always do the right thing for the company. We’ve invested a lot in giving employees an amazing work environment, it will drive that sense of belonging. Our engagement score among the employees last year was 92 out of 100. Our employees really enjoy working with us. We have a very high retention, and I believe that’s one of the secrets of making our company successful.”

A New (Old) Approach

While Paulo’s leadership and strategic plans represented a new direction for Hy Cite, he’s quick to point out one critical aspect that has remained the same, something he’s proud of and committed to more than ever: Hy Cite’s dedication to the direct sales model.

“We’ve stayed the same in terms of being true to the channel,” he said. “We never play with the channel. We’re committed to direct selling as the exclusive channel for our distributors and customers. There’s no other way for a customer to get our products other than direct selling.”

Hy Cite offers high-end cookware and kitchenware exclusively through its network of 5,000 distributors operating in eight countries across North and South America. These distributors are primarily full-time business owners, as the company only recruits entrepreneurs looking for a full-time opportunity. These distributors are often family members within multi-generational businesses that are built and passed on as they grow. While many peers in the industry offer multiple entry points—affiliate sellers, part-time consultants, etc., Hy Cite focuses exclusively on the type of seller that historically made direct sales a worthwhile, lifelong opportunity. No starter kits, no recruiting bonuses and no inventory purchases. Nothing happens without a sale at Hy Cite.

“We stayed true to the earning opportunity above all else,” he said. “We try to recruit full-time independent distributors. We want entrepreneurs that will come and will be fully committed and dedicated to the opportunity. In order to have low churn among the distributors, you need to be committed to them, because otherwise they won’t be committed to you. We expect every single person that joins to make a meaningful income from month one. We don’t want people coming and going. We want stability. We want to grow by double digits every year. We have a retention of above 80 percent after the first year. I don’t need to recruit to grow because I have a very stable base of distributors that know how to sell.”

A Vision for the Industry

In August, the company introduced a new brand identity for Hy Cite. The updated colors, imagery and design choices are fresh and modern, revealing a new aesthetic for the company. Royal Prestige, the company’s product line, has long had its own unique branding, so this new brand launch is specific to Hy Cite as a corporate entity. Giving Hy Cite a new look and feel was an important step in pursuing Paulo’s larger goal of impacting the entire direct selling industry.

“We have a big dream,” he shared. “We want to influence the entire channel. We want to be visible to influence direct selling as an industry. The industry has changed over the years. It became this ocean of people coming in and leaving so quickly that they never experienced what direct selling is and is capable of offering. We want to show what the potential is for an entrepreneur who wants to be part of direct selling.”

He believes Hy Cite’s nurturing business model and meaningful earning opportunity attracts committed and loyal entrepreneurs and that this approach can serve as a model for others, making the channel stronger and even more impactful.

“Hopefully we’re going to motivate other people to double down on the channel rather than looking for alternative ways of selling,” he said. “That’s one key message that we want to put out there. We believe in the channel. We are committed where we need to work with others to promote the channel. I can see people asking, ‘Who are these guys?’ And we are ready to answer that question. We are a company that will not push inventory into the field. We are a company that will respect customers first and foremost. We are a company with a 50-year warranty on our cookware line that we honor. And—last but not least—we are a company that will treat employees above the average and that will strive to keep those employees with us long term. We are a company that believes in direct selling the way it’s meant to be.”

From the October 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post Hy Cite: Impacting the Industry first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Founded | 1984

Headquarters | Auckland, New Zealand

Top Executives:
Graeme Clegg, Founder & Chairman
Rod Taylor, CEO

Product Category | Health and Wellness

New Zealand’s untouched wilderness, preservation efforts and focus on sustainability have generated a demand for its products around the world. Beyond its clean and green reputation, this island nation is known for its innovation and pioneering spirit, as Kiwis have creatively tackled the challenges of New Zealand’s isolated location in the world for over 183 years. New Image founder Graeme Clegg has captured both facets of the New Zealand story—purity and creativity—in the company he’s built over 40 years, sharing the power of New Image’s products and opportunity throughout the world.

A New Zealand Story

If you ask Graeme Clegg, New Zealanders are the first to see the sun each day.

“There’s no such thing as the top of the world and the bottom of the world,” he shared. “We’re conditioned from the day we are born. For example, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but of course it doesn’t. The world rotates. Sometimes, we’re conditioned to accept things which are not realistic but we believe.”

The New Image founder learned early on that the status quo way of looking at the world just wasn’t for him. His story is a classic New Zealand tale: Kiwi farm boy turned world-record-holding sheep shearer, who eventually purchased his own farm. But long days of arduous work weren’t getting Graeme to the financial success he’d been aspiring to. He found himself working for a bank, spending all his energy on paying the mortgage on the farm. As he worked, he also watched his younger brother and both of his parents fight and tragically lose battles to cancer.

“That was a wakeup call,” Graeme remembered. “The realization was that genetically I was likely to also be a victim of the Grim Reaper. I took the knowledge that I’d learned from my sheep farming. I often wondered whether we were guided by nature as to what we should eat. The mission of New Image is to make the world aware again that we’ve got this special life force, this special substance that Mother Nature gave us.”

That special substance is colostrum—the thick, nutrient-rich fluid produced by mammals, including humans, in the first few days after giving birth. Often referred to as “liquid gold” for its concentration of protective nutrients, antibodies, growth factors and immune-boosting qualities, colostrum is essential for newborn mammals’ survival. Colostrum is only produced for those first three days before the mother produces a consistent supply of milk for her baby. Graeme had witnessed the power of colostrum in rearing sheep and cows, as he’d seen that infant animals would die without this essential substance protecting them from the multitude of viruses and bacteria causing serious infections.

COVID exposed the deficiencies in many governments’ reactive health care systems. The focus needs to evolve to proactive health care as everyone should be incentivized to manage their own health. Antibodies from colostrum have been scientifically proven to reinforce the immune defense systems for better protection.

A Clear Path for Success

Motivated by his family health history and the realization that simply working harder on the farm wasn’t going to achieve the financial results he wanted, Graeme harnessed that famous Kiwi ingenuity and began charting his own course.

Graeme launched New Image in 1984 with bovine-based colostrum products designed to support the immune system. Today, New Image offers a complete collection of colostrum products, including both powders and capsules, as well as a nutrition line, weight management products and natural beauty products. All products are scientifically validated ensuring consumers get maximum benefits.

“A friend of mine told me I was working the wrong plan,” he explained. “I was taught in school that if you worked hard, you’d become rich. But my friend told me that was bad advice, that I was using physical muscle and not mental muscle. It woke me up to the power of wealth creation and the power of productivity and the power of your mind. I had heard about direct marketing. And I thought, well, now this is a very interesting way of having an experience and then sharing it with other people. I also noted that the distribution system harnessed the power of leverage or geometric growth. Multiplying effort. Building a network and rewarding customers to get customers made a lot of sense.”

An Expanding Global Presence

Network marketing industry professional Rod Taylor joined the company in 2020 as CEO, following leadership roles at Herbalife, Nutrimetics and Amway in Australia and New Zealand. He believes that New Image’s rich history significantly sets the company apart in an industry often dominated by American dream stories.

“One thing that strikes me about New Image is that it’s as much a direct selling story as it is a great Kiwi or New Zealand export story,” he shared. “There’s a lot of appeal, especially in the key Asian markets, like Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan where there’s a lot of demand and appreciation for quality New Zealand-made food products. We don’t have too many direct selling stories coming out of New Zealand, so it becomes quite unique from that standpoint. Initially launching in New Zealand and then Australia, Graeme then expanded into the Asia Pacific region. The company is currently focusing on global expansion to share our business opportunity and our wonderful product solutions to many more people—which is really part of Graeme’s and New Image’s mission, to change the lives of people around the ‘world.’”

New Image currently operates in 18 countries across three continents, with a field team of over 215,000 New Image Members. In 2022, the company acquired beauty and skincare company Nutrimetics from Tupperware Brands, expanding New Image’s presence in Australia, New Zealand and France, with additional plans for Germany and the United Kingdom. Currently, the team is working on plans for opening New Image in South Korea, a country they know will have a strong demand for their New Zealand products. Plans are also underway for launching New Image and Nutrimetics into Greece. In conjunction with new country openings, New Image is also exploring the possibilities of colostrum in sports nutrition, which would launch an entirely new category for New Image.

“Sports nutrition is a major growth category globally,” Rod shared. “And Australia is the fourth largest sports nutrition market in the world, behind United States, Brazil and Germany. New Zealand is around number 10, which is phenomenal when you think of the relatively small size of the population.”

Kiwi-Powered Innovation

Early on, Graeme realized the inspiring and humbling power of stories, as he shared his own personal experience using colostrum-based products and listened to thousands of New Image Members share theirs. He’s worked with scientists around the world to study the power of colostrum and discover ways to preserve its nutrients and bio-actives so it can be collected, processed and shared. But according to Graeme, New Image is only beginning to explore the possibilities of this powerful, natural alternative to traditional medicine. It’s truly his life’s work—and a perfect example of the innovation New Zealanders are known for.

“We’ve looked at the best that nature has to offer, and we’ve reviewed the most effective marketing system in the world today,” he said. “We’re making a difference and leaving a legacy—this is our ‘WHY.’ I’m a firm believer that the human body is genetically engineered to live to 120 years. At 83 years of age, I’m only two thirds of the way through my life. So, I’m still setting 20- and 30-year goals. I believe if you’ve got a purpose, then you’ll have a long life. But if you haven’t got a purpose, then you’re limiting your lifespan.”

As the company continues to evolve and expand, it’s clear that Graeme’s legacy of promoting health, vitality and a better quality of life will endure. With his vision and determination, Graeme exemplifies the Kiwi spirit of innovation, expanding New Image from a colostrum-inspired dream in a remote corner of the world to a global leader in health and wellness. But Graeme is quick to remind the rest of the world that New Zealand is anything but remote.

“At New Image we have a map of the world, and it’s got New Zealand at the top! That’s another example of conditioning of the mind. The world is round so it depends on where it is approached as to where the top and bottom are!”

From the September 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post New Image: Kiwi Ingenuity on a Global Stage first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Founded | 1972

Headquarters | Ada, Oklahoma

Top Executive | Warren Schlichting, CEO

Products | Legal Services

Finding the balance of honoring and evolving is every legacy organization’s greatest challenge. With five decades of service to its name, LegalShield has found it, celebrating the essential legal services it’s given to more than 1.8 million members (4.5 million individuals) and finding new, innovative ways to serve them. With a new corporate brand, a newly appointed CEO and an exciting new vision, LegalShield has built fresh momentum for the next 50 years.

Access for All

Since its inception, Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (PPLSI) has been dedicated to breaking barriers in the American legal system and providing support for those who need it most. The company launched this mission in 1972 by offering legal services related to vehicle accidents, in a time where legal services were cost-prohibitive for the average American household. But LegalShield Chief Executive Officer Warren Schlichting reminds us that most basic legal services still aren’t accessible to most consumers.

“We sell something people really need: affordable access to the full representation of their rights,” he explained. “Here’s just a couple of common struggles: a staggering 65 percent of individuals in the U.S. lack a basic will. In this country, 70 percent of credit collection cases end in default due to lack of legal representation, and countless couples and families face important decisions without the guidance of an attorney. LegalShield can address these and many more issues for about a dollar a day.”

PPLSI is the parent company of two unique brands: LegalShield, which offers pre-paid legal service plans for individuals, families and small businesses and IDShield, offering privacy management services. Today, the company is home to approximately 650 corporate team members, 6,000 partner lawyers and a national field of 250,000 active associates, all working together to ensure that every day Americans can afford access to legal services.

“We recognize that the legal system can be complex and intimidating, leading many people to avoid seeking legal assistance due to cost and perceived inaccessibility,” explained Warren. “Our mission is to collaborate with technology and our partner lawyers to demonstrate that LegalShield offers a superior, more accessible path to legal solutions, just like Windows or the MacOS make computers accessible and easy to use for hundreds of millions.”

LegalShield’s prepaid plans start at $24.95 per month for individuals and families with a suite of additional plan add-ons so consumers can customize the legal services they need. For small businesses, plans start at $49 per month, or aspiring entrepreneurs can work with LegalShield to help them start new businesses.

Powerful Stories, Exceptional Results

Warren joined the company in December 2022, eager to bring his deep C-Level experience to the direct sales industry—a new frontier for the seasoned executive.

“What attracted me was LegalShield’s Net Promoter Score (NPS),” he explained. “The company had an NPS score that was up there with Starbucks and Southwest Airlines. This was an NPS score that was multiples of any of the best NPS score I’d ever had in the past. And I fell in love with the mission—I have never experienced such a mission-based culture.”

One of his biggest tasks when he took the helm of LegalShield was achieving the balance of honoring all that the company had become over five decades in business and identifying areas where it could grow. The latter is Warren’s specialty.

“I’m the guy with the adjustable wrench in the belt,” he laughed. “I like fixing stuff, so if it’s not broken, then you probably shouldn’t bring me to the party.”

Warren’s focus is making sure that all four of the company’s sales channels are firing on all cylinders. From the beginning, LegalShield has embraced different sales strategies to connect with its consumer audience. In the 1980s, founder Harland Stonecipher adopted direct selling as a tool to engage people through transformative stories and relationship building. By the 2010s, LegalShield had added a direct-to-consumer channel to the business. Today, the company works through four sales channels: business-to-business; direct-to-consumer; direct selling; and Primerica, a white label product.

“There’s a renewed sense of moving forward,” Warren shared. “We’ve gotten three out of four of our channels growing at the same time, and I want all of them to grow at the same time.”

While new to the direct sales industry, Warren recognizes the incredible power of stories and has been immersing himself in associate and customer stories since he stepped into LegalShield’s top leadership role. Just as founder Harland Stonecipher’s own story of needing affordable, accessible legal services served as the foundation of what the company would become, today’s associate stories continue to make a powerful impact.

“Our network associates are an amazing asset,” Warren shared. “Through their narratives, we can share with prospects the true impact LegalShield can have on one’s life. These stories—told person to person—showcase the power of our mission and demonstrate our unwavering commitment to making a positive difference.”

Warren believes the mission and profound impact LegalShield makes in people’s lives are compelling differentiators for prospective associates, but the differences don’t stop there. Attractive incentives, rewarding compensation and invaluable mentorship also draw new prospects to the company.

“I was just blown away by the opportunity,” he said. “They are so many people who wouldn’t have had this opportunity if they’d gone and tried to get a job at a big bank or a consulting firm, and yet they’re making really nice incomes—some of them extraordinary incomes. If you want to work; if you’re willing to be mentored and listen and be coached, you can do extraordinarily well. I love that piece. It’s democratic. It’s diverse. It’s America.”

Legacy Mission, Inspired Vision

Armed with an adjustable wrench, a listening ear and a collaborative vision, Warren is excited to be telling the next chapter of LegalShield’s story.

“Our vision is to revolutionize how the law is accessed and experienced by selling remarkable products that truly make a difference in people’s lives,” he shared. “With an unwavering commitment to innovation, we will continue to push boundaries; leverage technology; and deliver unparalleled legal solutions to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

With exciting associate events, training and incentive opportunities on deck for this year, along with enhanced technology and innovative solutions in development, Warren is confident that LegalShield will remain at the forefront as both a business opportunity and consumer partner.

“With a clear plan taking shape and a focus on our customers, we are poised for great progress,” shared Warren. “Our mission serves as the foundation for everything we do, unlocking countless opportunities for our network associates. As we continue to forge ahead, supported by our community of members and partners, there is so much to look forward to. LegalShield is thriving, and our collective efforts are driving us towards a future filled with success and fulfillment.”

From the September 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post LegalShield: Building Momentum first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Founded | 2005

Headquarters | Gothenburg, Sweden

Top Executives:
Dag Pettersen, CEO
Ørjan and Hilde Sæle, Founders

Products | Health and Wellness

Direct selling has always been personal. Even as our culture embraces more and more technology, direct sellers continue to find ways to make every connection a personal one. Both inside and outside of our industry, health and wellness companies have worked to make their products more personal, too, addressing the dozens of specific issues and challenges their customers face. But Scandinavian sensation Zinzino has made health and wellness more than personal—they’ve made it personalized.

The Proof Makes It Personal at Zinzino

Founded in 2005 by direct sales veterans Ørjan and Hilde Sæle, Zinzino is tackling one of the biggest shortfalls of the health and wellness industry—proof. Of the thousands of nutritional systems, supplements and products on the market, surprisingly few have proven results. Many companies may point to lab testing or clinical trials, but Zinzino’s founders expected more. Alongside their portfolio of nutritional supplements, weight management products and scientific skincare, the company offers innovative blood testing to provide customers with personalized data they can use to spend their wellness dollars wisely.

“We offer the power of knowledge and peace of mind,” said Zinzino CEO Dag Pettersen. “Our scientific health tests reveal unique insights about your body. We have the product that can put an end to the guessing game, and we offer cost-effective solutions to the lifestyle-related health challenges that affect 97 percent of the global population. Test, don’t guess, is the name of the game.”

Currently, Zinzino offers three blood tests.

1/BalanceTest: A comprehensive test that measures the levels of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the blood. A healthy balance of these two fatty acids is essential for maintaining overall health and wellbeing.

2/Vitamin D Test: A test that assesses vitamin D levels, identifying potential deficiency that can be addressed through diet, sunlight exposure or supplementation.

3/HbA1c Test: A blood-sugar-level test that includes a type 2 diabetes assessment, along with personalized recommendations for diet, activities and exercise.

All three tests are simple, confidential, at-home dried blood spot tests that customers can order online or through a Zinzino partner. Once completed, customers send blood tests to Oslo-based Vitas Laboratories, an independent GMP-certified laboratory that analyzes the dried blood sample and provides confidential results. From there, customers can make educated decisions about lifestyle and diet changes and nutrient supplementation, either through Zinzino’s line of products or any company they choose.

“Having a personalized health plan is pure logic,” Dag shared. “Getting proof that it’s working should be too. Our scientific health tests reveal unique insights about your body. Our proprietary range of nutritional supplements and biotech skin nutrients help you to manage every part of it.”

Zinzino was founded in 2007 in Sweden and offered premium coffee and lifestyle products to start with. In 2012 the company acquired Bio Active Foods and launched the innovative test-based Balance Concept, consisting of a DBS health test, which you conduct at home, and BalanceOil, an Omega-3 fish oil blend with pre-harvested olive oil, which will help you to achieve a healthy omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. 

While personalized testing is a huge leap forward for the industry, Founder Ørjan Sæle believes it will be the new normal in the health and wellness space because people want to make educated, informed decisions about their healthcare. “Thirty years from now, taking a blood test before changing your diet or exercise regime will go without saying,” he said. “Health is such a personal matter and leaving it to chance makes no sense when there are solutions out there that tell you exactly what your body needs.”

Building Thought Leadership Through Test-Based Nutrition

In 2019, Gabriele Helmer joined as Chief Marketing Officer at Zinzino. She was previously a member of the Board of Directors and has 20 years of experience in building international brands from leading marketing positions at companies like General Mills and Beiersdorf.

Together with the key stakeholders of the company and her team, she was defining the essence of the brand and the core offering including a complete rebranding of the packaging, evolving from an average nutritional bottle design to clean, eye-catching colors and design for both supplement bottles and test boxes.

This new packaging needed to stand out on social media but also shine on crowded office shelves, as health practitioners were beginning to stock Zinzino products for their patients. The fresh designs gave the entire line a cohesive story that could easily be shared by Partners, simply by reading the brand story book or by sharing content on social media.

“By achieving one million analyzed BalanceTests we can clearly solidify our test-based nutrition strategy and bring several brand benefits for the Zinzino brand. We have unique data and insights from our large blood test database which give us a competitive advantage, credibility and brand trust,” explained Gabrielle. “Since our product concept is valid for 97 percent of the world’s population, a global brand reach is what we are striving for. By conducting research, sharing insights and educating the public, we can be a true thought leader in our industry.”

An American Startup

After launching in Norway in 2005, Zinzino expanded steadily throughout Europe, reaching 100,000 customers worldwide in 2016 and listing on Nasdaq First North in 2017. Today, Zinzino is available in over 100 markets around the world, with a corporate team of 220 employees and a fast-growing field of 20,000 independent distributors called Partners.

Though the company officially entered the American market in 2014, Zinzino’s brand presence on this side of the Atlantic grew slowly. As American direct sellers expanding internationally are aware, opening a new market with a different language, culture and outlook on health and wellness is no easy task. Enter industry leader Art Jonak in 2019.

Art and Ørjan Sæle were already longtime friends when Ørjan suggested that Art should take a BalanceTest to check his omega balance.

“I thought I would do really well,” Art laughed. “I mean, I eat healthy. My wife does an amazing job of bringing healthy food into the household. I do the same thing. I was taking one of the most expensive omegas in the United States. I took my first test and my score was 20:1. I took a second test 120 days later, and I was in balance. So that was the journey—I got into balance, and I was like, there’s something here.”

Today Art serves as President of North America Operations. Over the last three years, he’s shifted Zinzino’s approach to the North American market from international newcomer to American startup.

“I thought what if we treat North America like a startup inside of this publicly traded company,” he shared. “The market was small enough, the field was small enough where we could move quickly. We could launch something; review it; fix it; and launch it again.”

Partners as Owners

Simplifying Zinzino’s brand story for an American audience of both customers and prospective Partners continues to be one of the team’s main objectives, as business in North America steadily expands—from negative 12 percent growth in 2018 to 13 percent growth in 2019 to 58 percent growth in 2020 to 24 percent in 2021 and 51 percent in 2022. This trend represents a steady growth of partners along with an organic growth amongst health practitioners resulting in a continuously expanding customer base. For prospective Partners, the possibilities are endless, since Zinzino is still hard at work building brand awareness here.

“Though the team has operated Zinzino in North America as a startup, the company’s deeply rooted global culture shines through, as Partners here have access to the Scandinavian-based products, corporate team and innovative compensation plan as Partners around the world.

“We have a unique collaboration between corporate and field because our culture is reflected in our owner structure,” Dag said. “Every Zinzino Partner can do the exact same thing as our founders and owners. This is a unique structure, an opportunity that most direct sales companies won’t offer. The culture we have is something that we need to protect and be proud of and share with as many as we can.”

This unique culture is just one more way Zinzino is making its work personalized, serving a world in need of individualized solutions that allow every person to make educated decisions about how they live and work.

“This growing interest in hard facts and being able to make informed decisions about your personal, long-term health creates an enormous business opportunity as well,” Dag shared. “Megatrends tend to do that. And we are the pioneers, driving the movement.”

From the July/August 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post Zinzino: The Power of Proof first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Founded | 1993

Headquarters | Concord, NC

Top Executives:
Robert Stevanovski, Chairperson & Co-Founder
Greg Provenzano, President & Co-Founder

Products | Essential Services

Entrepreneurs are like magnets. They find each other, recognizing that same spark and vision. So, a group of entrepreneurs talking through new ideas is really nothing out of the ordinary—that is, until inspiration strikes and something entirely new is born. For the four founders of ACN, this lightning bolt moment changed everything and launched a business that shows no signs of slowing down, three decades later.

New Season, Same Values

Greg Provenzano, Robert Stevanovski, Tony Cupisz and Mike Cupisz dreamed up ACN at that fateful meeting 30 years ago. They all came to the table with significant direct sales experience, so they knew what they loved about the industry and what their previous opportunities were lacking. And, most importantly, they also knew what their dream company would stand for.

“In 30 years, our core values: integrity, commitment to giving back, Independent Business Owners and customers above all—these have stayed the same,” Greg said. “But we’ve adapted and updated our products as needed and remained open to pursue other offerings.”

“When we met in 1992, we searched for an opportunity that we could put our faith and trust in,” Robert added. In the fall of 1992, we had the crazy idea to start our own company. We decided early on to always find ways to give back and do things the right way.”

Today ACN operates with Independent Business Owners (IBOs) in 27 countries. While ACN began as a provider of long-distance telephone service, the company has evolved tremendously and now offers a range of residential and business services covering 12 categories, including mobile phone service, energy, internet, credit card processing, health care and travel.

“We started with long-distance service, yet we remained open and very flexible in our mindset to pursue other services that would create long-term residual income for our IBOs and provide real value for our customers,” Greg shared. “We knew if we created the right environment and platform, we would attract the right kind of people. People who were looking for an opportunity and wanted to do something special for themselves and their families.”

ACN’s residential services include travel, mobile, identity theft protection, gas and electricity, health care, internet, television and security and automation. Business services include gas and electricity, internet, health care, payment processing and security and automation.

Each service category is represented by a brand or several brands. For example, ACN recently introduced Impact Health Sharing, an affordable healthcare program that offers customers an alternative to health insurance. Another recent addition at ACN is Truvvi Lifestyle, a members-only subscription that offers travel benefits and discounted rates.

“Our menu of services has never been better, especially with our recent additions of Impact Health Sharing and Truvvi Lifestyle,” Greg said. “I believe that we can build billions of dollars of revenue with these two services alone. And the timing of our opportunity has never been better.”

An Unparalleled Opportunity

As the direct selling industry evolves, finding new competition outside of the industry in nearly every product category, the ACN business model stands apart from the crowd. Customers across the world use key essential services everyday—from the energy they use in their homes to the wireless and security systems that protect them and beyond. While other direct selling companies are researching new product possibilities and new ways to keep their customers engaged, ACN taps into those key services customers are using already.

“There are a lot of good opportunities in direct selling, but we don’t rely on discretionary income. Our offering is mostly services that are necessities,” Robert shared. “Our income opportunity allows for residual income on everyday name brand products and services. We don’t have to change buying habits.”

ACN is service-focused so there is no inventory for IBOs to purchases. ACN provides a personalized website, training & marketing tools, business tracking powered by the Salesforce Platform, IBO & Customer Support, ACN Perks and ACN Loyalty rewards.

All IBOs can access the company’s extensive training and support system including an opportunity for specialized leadership training with the Co-Founders. From online training to local, regional and international training events and ongoing personal development, IBOs have everything they need to grow readily accessible to them.

“We are always looking for unique and innovative ways to support and connect with our IBOs,” Greg shared. “We’re offering a hybrid approach of Zoom and live meetings; increasing the number of in-person events; and doing social media training as another tool in their toolbox to help the IBOs attract others to themselves. We remain relevant by staying in tune with our leaders and what they want and need to grow their businesses.”

When the four founders met to dream up their ideal direct selling organization, they each came with deep experience that would shape ACN for the better. They knew they wanted the IBO experience to be seamless, supported and successful—so they created a family atmosphere that is results focused and rich with rewards and recognition.

“Since the very beginning we have always put the success of our IBOs above the success of the company,” Greg said. “I believe that when you have a higher purpose with the right intentions and focus, great things will happen for the company. And that is exactly what happened at ACN. Thirty years later, and we are more relevant today than at any point in our company’s history.”

Cheers to the Next 30 Years

ACN has much to celebrate, as it enters a new decade of serving IBOs, through steadfast leadership and ongoing expansion. In the last several years, ACN has grown through the acquisition of two companies: Kynect and Team National. Both companies’ essential service offerings fit perfectly into ACN’s portfolio, creating value for existing ACN IBOs as well as those IBOs that transitioned from Kynect and Team National.

“Both are service based companies, with similar core values,” Robert shared. “So, it was an easy transition for both companies, as both have high expectations and a family environment. It’s been great to add them to the team as IBOs and in the corporate office.”

ACN’s founders, corporate team members and IBOs are eagerly looking to the next 30 years, as they continue to grow together through serving their customers’ essential needs.

“We’re excited about continuing to help others,” Greg said. “The recent addition of services like Impact Health Sharing and Truvvi Lifestyle makes us very bullish about the future.”

From the May 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

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