In this Melaleuca Review we’ll find out about the Melaleuca Wellness Company, and whether it is worth your time and effort to become a Melaleuca ‘distributor’. We will also answer the question ‘is Melaleuca a scam or legit’?
Melaleuca is a multi level marketing (MLM) company in the wellness industry. However, they don’t want to be known as an MLM company despite following the typical MLM model, albeit with a few twists. They claim to be the largest online wellness shopping club in North America.
Some basic information about Melaleuca:
- Website: https://www.melaleuca.com
- In operation since: 1985
- Recommended: Only if you’re experienced in MLMs and have a track record of success with the MLM model.
My Melaleuca review will take you through the following sections:
- What is Melaleuca and how does Melaleuca work?
- How do you get paid with Melaleuca?
- Is Melaleuca legit?
- My recommended way of making money online
What is Melaleuca and how does Melaleuca Work?
The Melaleuca product line consists of over 400 products, covering:
- Vitamins and supplements – multivitamins, specialty supplements, peak performance products
- Food and weight management – weight management products, sports nutrition, fiber products, healthy snacking, beverages, gum and mints, and special dietary packs
- ‘Medicine cabinet’ – dry skin therapies, cold, flu and allergy support, pain and fever relief, first aid, skin care and acne treatments
- Sei Bella beauty products – skin care, cosmetics, hair care and fragrances
- Cleaning, dish washing and laundry products
- Home fragrances including plug in scented oils, wax melts and warmers, soy candles, air fresheners and fabric fresheners
- Bath and body products – shower products, body and skin care, facial care, hand soaps and sanitisers, dental care and kids bath and body products
- Essential oils – single oils, oil blends, carrier oils, and essential oil accessories
Melaleuca products are available in North America, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
The products are marketed as being green products and appeal to those who are health conscious and looking for environmentally friendly products.
You won’t hear any mention of the term ‘Melaleuca distributor’, and they certainly don’t call themselves an MLM. They refer to the model as ‘referral marketing’.
However, when you read the compensation plan (which you really have to dig around to find), you can see that they are an MLM through and through, regardless of whether you’re called a consultant, a distributor, a product advocate, or a marketing executive. There is something quite secretive about this company. The product prices not listed on the website, and the compensation plan is not forthcoming – it should be front and centre if you ask me. I had to really hunt for it.
With Melaleuca, you can become a Product Advocate or a Marketing Executive, as opposed to distributor or consultant.
All Marketing Executives need to purchase a membership kit. The company is clear that no commissions will be paid on customers who have not purchased a membership kit. However, it’s really hard to find out how much a membership kit actually costs.
The Melaleuca Compensation Plan
In most MLMs, there are two main ways you can earn money:
- By selling a product that is not sold in retail stores. In order to obtain the product you must order through a consultant/ distributor, or on a consultant’s website, and
- By receiving commissions from the sales of your downline (i.e. people you recruit into your network)
What this means is you need to able to sell products to people. If you genuinely want to be successful in a MLM company, you want to be recruiting new consultants/distributors who are also selling a lot of products. In the latter scenario, as well as selling products, you need to be able to sell the ‘lifestyle opportunity’ as well.
Like other typical MLMs, there are many levels within the structure:
- Product Advocates
- Business Builder (Director levels 1 and 2)
- Director levels 3 to 9
- Senior Director
- Executive Director
- National Director
- Corporate Director
Product advocates are the entry level, where you are simply selling a some products to people you know. As a business builder, you are still just selling products, but doing it more seriously with a view to earning more money.
Director levels 3 and higher are where it becomes more about building a team under you, and recruiting team leaders who can subsequently build teams under them.
With Melaleuca, you earn commissions from customers who were:
1) enrolled by you, and
2) enrolled by others.
You are paid commissions when customers you refer (your ‘organisation’) purchase products from Melaleuca. The commissions are calculated based on how many product points each customer purchases in a given month.
You can also be paid bonuses, and this can occur in four ways:
1) when you advance in status,
2) when those in your organisation advance,
3) as you increase the number of customers in your organisation, and
4) when you qualify for a monthly car bonus.
There is an advancement bonus each time you advance to a new status. The higher the new status, the larger the bonus. There are 46 statuses.
A Pacesetter Bonus is available for those who purchase a Value or Home Conversion Pack in their first full month with Melaleuca. The Pacesetter Bonus pays you double the Advancement Bonus each time you advance through the Director and Senior Director ranks. To receive the Pacesetter Bonus, you must advance to each status within a specific timeline. Each status has a different timeline.
There is a Mentoring Bonus available when your personal enrollees advance from one status to the next. You will earn an amount equal to the Advancement or Pacesetter Bonus paid to your advancing personal Directors through the Status of Senior Director. You will also be paid a set amount ranging from $2,200 to $5,000 for advancing personal Senior Directors 2 through the Status of Executive Director. You are paid in the same month your personally enrolled Marketing Executives are paid their Advancement or Pacesetter Bonus.
Other bonuses include the Core Mentoring Bonus, the Leadership Growth Bonus, the Monthly Car Bonus, and the 20/20 Bonus.
Here is a copy of the full compensation plan for Australia and New Zealand.
Is Melaleuca A Scam or Legit? It’s LEGIT! But…
MLM is a legitimate business model and Melaleuca is no different. Whilst it isn’t for everyone, you can earn money. It is all about moving as much product as possible for maximum income, and recruiting others to do the same.
Melaleuca has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB):
An A+ rating is an excellent rating, however, there are very mixed reviews on it. There are people who love it and people who hate it! At the date of publishing, there were 118 complaints (that’s quite significant). Many of the complaints seem to relate to difficulties with canceling subscriptions and perceived lack of helpfulness with that process.
How Much Money Can You Make With Melaleuca?
Melaleuca do publish an income statement on their website. However, the income statement hasn’t been updated since 2018, and as far as income statements go, it is conveniently vague.
If I’m reading it correctly, it is saying that Product Advocates with an average of 20 active customers, make an average of $573 per year.
The Director 1 and 2 level make up 89.7% of the cohort above the product advocate level. The more senior levels are made up as follows:
- Director levels 3 to 9 – 6.8%
- Senior Director levels 1 to 9 – 2.0%
- Executive Director levels 1 to 9 – 1.2%
- National Director levels 1 to 9 – 0.2%
- Corporate Director levels 1 to 9 – less than 0.1%
A Director at level 1 or 2 with an average of 73 active customers, makes an average of $2,209 per year. Obviously, the higher the level, the higher the income, and the smaller group of people within the level.
A more helpful metric would be to show the median earnings rather than the average earnings, because a few high earners can really push up the average and be misleading.
Knowing what I know of MLMs, getting 73 active customers isn’t easy – it takes a lot of work. Don’t assume that all of your friends and family will want to jump on board.
If you want to join Melaleuca to buy products online at a discounted rate, then this may be the place for you. If you want to join Melaleuca to make loads of money by promoting it to others, you should probably think again.
Want To Turn Healthy Living Into Your Own Online Business?
If you do want to sell health and wellness products without being in an MLM and spamming your friends and family, then perhaps affiliate marketing is for you.
There’s a reason why people are leaving MLMs feeling disillusioned and ripped off, and choosing affiliate marketing as their preferred way to build a preference.
One of the best things about affiliate marketing is that you don’t need to sell anything to your friends and family! And your reach is millions of people. You can start an affiliate website today and promote any products you like, from just about any company you like. With affiliate marketing, all of the profits go to you, not your upline.
Have you had any experience with Melaleuca or with other MLMs? What did you think?
If you have any comments or questions please leave them below, and I’m always happy to help you out.