May 19, 2020
Herbalife Intl. is a well-known MLM (multi-level marketing) company that sells weight loss products in the U.S. and abroad. It sells meal replacements (protein shakes, drink mixes, weight loss enhancers and healthy
snacks).
However, what some may not know is that, based on its sales, it ranks as the third largest weight loss competitor, behind only WW Intl. and Medifast. Based on data from the firm’s Annual Report, its weight loss product sales in 2019 were an estimated $633 million, up 5.1% over 2018. Total worldwide weight loss sales were $3.1 billion last year, and 21.0% of its net sales came from North America.
The company’s weight management sales have been on a slight downtrend the past three years, representing 64.2% of net sales in 2017 and 61.8% in 2019.
Herbalife sells lots of weight management products outside the United States. For example, in the firm’s Asia/Pacific region (not incl. China), responsible for 25.6% of total net sales, diet product sales were worth an estimated $795 million. And, in the EMEA region (Europe, Mid-East, Africa), they tallied $635 million–as much as in the U.S.
According to the company: “…In certain geographic markets, we have introduced segmentation of our Member base into two categories: “preferred members” – who are simply consumers who wish to purchase product for their own household use, and “distributors” – who are Members who also wish to resell products or build a sales organization. One of the key outcomes of this new member segmentation is to provide clear
differentiation between those interested in retailing our products or building a sales organization, and those simply consuming our
products as discount customers. As of December 31, 2019, we had
approximately 4.7 million Members, including 1.0 million preferred members and 1.0 million distributors in these markets where we have
established these two categories.”
Bottom line… MLM is one of the major distribution channels for weight loss products in the U.S. and worldwide, and it has been for decades. Yet, these companies and this channel get very sparse coverage by Wall St. and other analysts.
For More Information & Historical Trends Regarding MLM Weight Loss Market…
… See Marketdata LLC’s 2019 report: “The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market”, with a description and Table of Contents available at: marketdataenterprises.com/studies. Or call Research Director, John LaRosa, at: 813-971-8080. Marketdata has tracked medical and commercial weight loss programs, and retail diet products, since 1989. Marketdata also performs custom research projects (free proposals), consulting, and teleconferences.