Welcome to our Youngevity Review!
My guess is someone has just introduced you to some “supposedly good” products from Youngevity or a great business opportunity for you to make money with this company?
They have probably told you a lot of bold claims about this “amazing” business opportunity and you are here to see if everything they told you is true…
Well, we are so glad you did! Taking the time to do your research is the best way to avoid scams and find only legit ways to make money online!
We are here to give you an unbiased opinion, we are not affiliated with Youngevity in any way and only want to share with you the information we found when we turned the microscope onto Youngevity.
Before you buy any products or even consider their business opportunity, let’s show you what we found out.
Is Youngevity a scam? Is it a legit MLM? Will it help you make money?
Let’s find out, shall we?
Youngevity Review Summary
Product Name: Youngevity
Founder: Dr Joel D Wallach, in 1997 (Now a publicly listed company
Product Type: Nutritional MLM Company
Price: $25 for starter kit + $115 – $500 for product kits, + monthly PV
Best For: Those good at networking and recruiting
Pros
- Publicly Traded Company
- Member of DSA
- Huge Growth
Cons
- Expensive Products
- False Health Claims
- Not Transparent
- 99% of People Fail with MLM
- Expensive Start up
- Pyramid Scheme in Disguise?
Summary: Youngevity is a well-established MLM company offering a range of products within the health and wellness sector. It is a member of the Direct Selling Association (DSA) and is also publicly listed. But after that, there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about signing up with them.
They have been in trouble for their over-inflated income claims by some of their distributors and there is no scientific research to back up their claims about their (expensive) products. On top of all that, you will be expected to do a lot of recruiting and expect the start-up cost to be much more than the $25 they tout.
Rating: 25/100
Recommended? No
Table of Contents
What is Youngevity?
Youngevity is a nutrition-based Multi-Level Marketing or MLM company. The name is an amalgamation of the words “Youth + Longevity” which became Youngevity!
They claim to provide you with products that help you become younger and live longer because of their products.
It was founded by Dr. Joel D. Wallach in 1997.
Wallach is a veterinarian and a naturopath. If you are wondering what a naturopath is, I had to do some googling myself.
Here is a quote from webmd.com
“Naturopathic medicine is a system that uses natural remedies to help the body heal itself. It embraces many therapies, including herbs, massage, acupuncture, exercise, and nutritional counselling”
So, he is into natural remedies to help the body heal itself. That is where his nutritional products come into play. More about that when we get into their products.
Like we said, Youngevity is an MLM company and their business opportunity is what I guess you are more interested in learning about to see whether it is a scam or not?
Their MLM business opportunity claims to give real “everyday” people the chance to earn money from home from one of two ways:
- Promoting their products to others
- Recruiting others into their business opportunity
You can learn more about them in their 7-minute promo video below…
Doesn’t their sales video make it look great and so easy??? But before you decide on whether this business opportunity is for you, you need to really dig into all the details you need to know before committing. Sales videos can be made to make anything look fantastic… but there is so much more you need to know. Let’s start with their product line.
Is Youngevity a Pyramid Scheme
Technically, no, Youngevity isn’t a pyramid scheme.
Their distributors are offered the chance to earn money just by selling their products, without the need to recruit.
However, the reality with many MLM opportunities is, that the only way to make a good income with it is to recruit more people into your downline team. Most of the bonuses and residual income comes from recruitment based targets.
So, the better question to ask is… Is Youngevity a pyramid scheme in disguise?
What’s a Pyramid Scheme?
A pyramid scheme is a company that promises payment in return for recruiting more members into the scheme. There are usually no products or services on offer, just the membership.
A scheme reliant on recruitment alone is not sustainable, and will collapse very soon into it’s life, as the diagram from Wikipedia below shows…
Just by recruiting 6 people each, the scheme would run out of people by the 13th level and that is based on the world populations. But to make decent money, you need to recruit a lot more than 6 people.
Youngevity does have a legit product line, but there are many MLMs that hide behind these products that their primary goal is to get you to recruit more members, as the company then guarantees itself more buying members.
As you have a monthly sales quota to achieve, and expensive products to sell, these are both signs that Youngevity could be operating like a pyramid scheme in disguise. More on that shortly, for now here’s a 5-minute video showing you how to spot these pyramid schemes in disguise…
Success is Rare at Youngevity
Success is rare at any MLM company, and not just Youngevity.
Did you know that between 72.5% and 99% of MLM members are losing money?
The main reason for this is that MLMs price their products really high when compared to retail products. Then they task their distributors with a monthly sales quota to remain active.
Active means that you are eligible for commissions, so you want to stay active. But that means that if you aren’t able to sell enough products, you have to buy them yourself.
So, if the monthly sales quota is $100 a month. Typically as a new member you will be paying $100 a month, until you start making sales.
But as the products are so expensive, they are hard to sell. Which means you are stuck paying $100 a month for quite a while, unless you go down the route the MLM wants you to, and that is to recruit and force that task onto your downline team.
The truth is that most MLM members are spending thousands on trying to work for themselves, and never achieving it. But the company isn’t bothered, as they got you to buy some products to help their profit margin…
What makes it harder for you to understand if this is a good move for you is that Youngevity doesn’t product an income disclosure, so you cannot be sure of what the success rate is…
How Does Youngevity Work?
Youngevity is a health and wellness MLM that produces nutritional supplements and other health related products.
They also offer everyday people the chance to work from home and sell these products to friends and family to earn some money.
It sounds like a good deal for both parties, but the company is saving millions of dollars a year on marketing and passing the hard task of selling these products in a heavily saturated marketing at the same time.
Youngevity Product Line
Youngevity started out as just a Nutritional MLM company offering products related to that area but have since expanded at a huge rate. There are just too many products to get into, they have over 2,000 products with 31 brands across 15 categories!!
That is a huge range.
To give you an idea, here are some of the products in categories like:
- Health & Nutrition – a wide range of nutritional supplements for different purposes
- Home & Family – this includes all the household equipment for cleaning, the kitchen, gardening and pet care products
- Food & Beverage – this includes nutritional beverages, sports drinks, shakes, spices, wholesome foods, etc.
- Spa & Beauty – make-up and personal care products
- Essential Oils – singles, blends, diffusers and other equipment
That is only a selection, they also have an entire store of all the different product packages they offer. This ranges from packages for athletes, to lower blood pressure, support bones, help with your heart and brain, to repair digestive system and even weight loss packs…
You can see the Longevity product range here.
You should know that there are many other health and wellness MLM companies out there, all offering very similar products. They all claim to be special and unique, when really they are all offering the same thing.
Examples include:
So, is there something that makes them stand out from the crowd?
Flagship Product – Youngevity 90 for Life
According to Youngevity, the human body requires 90 different essential nutrients to reach optimum health. However, the body loses 90% of these essential nutrients as we are unable to digest them.
Their claim is that this product will not only contain the essential nutrients the body needs, but it also has a 90-98% absorption rate, which is unheard of. (No science to back this up though!)
They claim that it is because it is plant-based and have a natural negative charge, which aids digestion.
But again, I stress there is no research or scientific proof to verify this!!
Here’s an 8-minute video that describes both the company and their 90 for life product…
Haven't Made Your First $1 Yet?
How To Make Money with Youngevity?
Let’s see how you are going to be “making money” with Youngevity. Just like any other network marketing company, there are two main ways for you to make money with Youngevity:
- Sell their products and earn retail commissions
- Recruit members and build downline teams
Please note that you don’t actually earn money for recruitment, that would make it a pyramid scheme. Instead you only earn bonuses and commissions based on the sales of those you recruit.
But before we explore the compensation plan, you need to know the costs associated with getting started and their start-up costs are much higher than you would think given to their sales pitch…
Getting Started with Youngevity
The enrolment fee to get started with Youngevity is $25, this buys you their Welcome Kit. This welcome kit includes some training and materials to help you get started.
But there is something that is missing that you will require to be able to make any money and that is any products to show people.
I know it may not be compulsory to buy products, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need them… How are you going to promote products to other people when you don’t have any samples to show them, right?
This is common amongst the MLM’s! They make out their start-up costs are low. They make it a compulsory move in an indirect way.
So, be mindful you are going to need to buy some products and there are a few different packages to choose from. These range from $115, all the way to $500 which they call the “CEO Start-up Pack”.
Which do you think your sponsor is going to tell you to buy? Remember, they will earn a commission from your sale and they also will be looking to achieve their minimum monthly quota too.
They will tell you that it will give you the best start to your business and to grow your status quickly within the MLM. But it is all just talk. They are probably struggling for sales, like so many people within MLM and they just need you to buy the higher priced one to give themselves some breathing room.
Just consider that you haven’t even started your business yet and these are costs that you are going to have to factor in. It is so easy to build up a load of debt within MLM and then you are chasing sales not to make money, but to pay off your debt…
P.S. This program enabled us to Create a 4-Figure Monthly Passive Income Stream. It’s Free to get started and costs only $49/month to go full-time!
Youngevity Compensation Plan
MLM’s love to have complicated compensation plans and Youngevity is no different. But the short story of most MLM’s is the fact that you could make some money selling their products, but the way to make more money is through the recruiting side. It is a side that often gets MLM’s tagged as a Pyramid Scheme. But that is often down to how many distributors chase recruiting people into their downline in the hope that their teams make sales which earn them bonuses.
But the key to succeeding with any MLM is your ability to conduct face-to-face sales and recruiting people who are good at conducting face-to-face sales or at least your ability to train them to do it.
All of the bonuses on offer at Youngevity are based on those two factors – selling or recruiting:
- Retail Sales
- Fast Starter Bonus
- Infinity Bonus
- Refer 3 Get Yours Free
- Residual Bonus
- Vacations Reward
- Status Reward
- Car Bonus
- Global Revenue Pool
All the finer details are available in their compensation plan PDF. But if you would more detail, we found a selection of videos that would help. You can find them below.
Find the terms and definitions here:
Here is more information about their Quick Start Bonus:
Ranks & Residual Income:
Find out more about their coding bonus:
All about their car bonus:
Just remember that this compensation plan, like so many other MLM’s one is to trigger your emotions. They make it sound like every distributor is reaping these benefits of having luxurious holidays and cares, when in reality only a small percentage of people are…
Is Youngevity a Scam?
No, Youngevi isn’t a scam… They have a legit product line, and pay their members on time like they say they do.
So, why do so many MLMs get labelled as scams? Well, most of the time people are so desperate to recruit members that they don’t give them the full facts. It’s a business opportunity with a sizeable startup costs, and monthly costs too. Before long they soon realise that selling overpriced products to people is not easy.
They realise that they are constantly losing money, and are no closer to a solution, so they quit and call it a scam.
The remainder of our Youngevity Review will help you get all of the other details you need to know, so that you can make an informed decision about whether this is the right business opportunity for you…
Just to be completely transparent with you, I’m not a distributor of Youngevity, nor do I endorse Youngevity in any way. I have researched the website, testimonials, and information available on the internet to get the details about what this program genuinely does. I do this, as I have been caught out by a scam in the past, and am trying to help others avoid a similar fate…
Tired of MLMs? Check How We Make Money Online Here!
What We Liked About Youngevity
Here is what we liked about Youngevity:
#1 Publicly Traded Company
Youngevity is a publicly traded company with a symbol of YGYI at Nasdaq. This shows a credibility that many similar competitors lack.
#2Member of the DSA
Youngevity is a member of the Direct Selling Association (DSA). If you are unfamiliar with the DSA, it is a body that enforces certain rules and regulations on direct selling companies like Youngevity to ensure business ethics and service to customers are followed.
Both of these points above go to show that Youngevity is a legit company.
#3 Huge Growth
Yahoo finance shows that the revenue of the company has continued to grow in recent years. Youngevity has gone from generating $80,000,000 in 2013 to over 180 million dollars so far in 2019. This shows up companies still expanding and showing no signs of slowing down as many MLM companies do.
What We Didn't Like About Youngevity
Here is what we didn’t like about Youngevity:
#1 Expensive Products
This is a major stumbling block for anyone making a go of an MLM business opportunity. The products are just so expensive. You are going to be expected to sell these products to people who can find cheaper alternatives elsewhere, and you are going to be expected to buy products yourself every month.
The main reason on why MLM companies products are so expensive is that they make their “distributors” have to order products every month. It is referred to as their PV or Personal Volume. This means the company gets a huge profit just by making their products expensive, because their distributors are obliged to buy them.
When you compare the two products above, they include the same nutritional benefits, but the price is the major talking point…
#2 False Health Claims
It is shocking what some distributors or companies will do to make a sale…
In order to sell products and ultimately make money, distributors and the leaders of Youngevity have made plenty of inappropriate health claims about their products (see the proof here)
For example, distributors have marketed products like some sort of magical cure-for-all. Claiming it can treat all sorts of diseases like diabetes, ADHD, autism, anxiety-relief and they have also claimed it can prevent Cancer!
They have also claimed that their “Beyond Tangy Tangerine CT” is better than chemotherapy.
Wow, that is a huge claim and has been clearly proven to be false.
Be mindful when you read such claims as the ones above.
#3 Not Transparent
On top of the inappropriate health claims of their products, Youngevity distributors have also been making deceptive income claims…
The bigger problem is that the company does even have an income disclosure statement for us to get an idea of what the real income of distributors is.
This is a document necessary for all MLM companies to disclose how much money people are really making.
But if it is our guess is that this follows the same route as many MLM’s, and they do not want you to see the reality. Read our next point to learn more:
#4 99% of People Fail at MLM Ending Up in Debt
There was an article released by the FTC and it really opens your eyes to the MLM world.
Of the 350 MLM’s that they had analysed, 100% of them were recruitment-driven and 99% of people lost their money.
When you factor in how much it costs to get started and how many people you realistically have to recruit to start making money (that figure is roughly 3 active members) you can see that many MLM distributors join up for a month, they then realise it wasn’t what they thought it was and then they give up. Possibly walking away with a lot of debt, a load of products they are never going to use and realise the effect they have had trying to sell this business opportunity onto your friends and family…
#5 MLM is an Expensive Start-Up Cost
Don’t get fooled into thinking you will only need to pay $25 to get started with Youngevity. Like we covered earlier, this is only the starter for ten.
Here is a quick overview of the costs:
- $25 Welcome Kit (compulsory)
- Product Packages – $115 – $500 (highly recommended and indirectly compulsory)
But there is also something else that you need to consider on top of these costs. There is a compulsory monthly order for distributors too.
Every distributor is required to purchase a certain number of products every month, this is so you will be eligible for commission. It is known as your Qualifying Volume (QV).
It is common amongst MLM’s, it also guarantees the company sales. If you do not sell, they still get sales as you have to buy stuff.
Another thing we discovered is that as you progress through the ranks at Youngevity, you will be required to purchase more each month. This part is not common amongst MLM’s! Most have a fixed monthly quota for all ranks.
P.S. This program that has enables us to generate a 4-Figure Monthly Passive Income is FREE to get Started and only costs $49/month to go full-time.
#6 Too Many Products
Having too many products can be a serious drawback for both consumers and distributors.
For a consumer, it can be really hard to choose the right product to buy (and they might end up not buying anything)
For distributors, it is going to be really hard to understand all of their products and the benefits they are going to bring to your potential customers. How are you going to understand the specifications for over 2,000 products?
This can be really overwhelming for beginners.
#7 Is Youngevity a Pyramid Scheme?
This is probably going to sound very controversial… But there is an element of truth surrounding it.
Whilst we can say that Youngevity has products, so technically it is not a Pyramid scheme it has such an emphasis on recruiting. It just makes it look as though their nutritional products are just a way of avoiding being labelled as a Pyramid scheme.
But the fact that they do not disclose an income statement for its distributors says that many are not looking to sell products but are more focused on recruiting members into the business opportunity.
This is only my opinion, and there will be many Youngevity distributors who will tell me that I am wrong, but where is the proof that their distributors are bucking the trend against 99% of MLM distributors lose money?
Where is the proof that recruitment is not actively encouraged? We all know that the super successful within MLM have got there by building up a really good downline all trained to be super-efficient at sales and recruiting, but also that they got there when the business was new and fresh. This company is over 20 years old, so I do not think there is the opportunity anymore.
If you are awesome at face-to-face sales and recruitment, then you might flourish. But not many MLM’s will teach you how to harness online marketing to help you, face-to-face sales are not able to compete with the online world. But with the right training, you could. Learn more HERE.
Haven't Made Your First $1 Yet?
My Youngevity Review - Final Conclusion
Youngevity is clearly not a scam, it would not be a member of the DSA if it were. It has been a legit business for over 20 years. But that doesn’t mean we would recommend it to someone looking to get started in the make money world. There are a few problems with this company, especially for beginners.
You have to consider that you are going to need to invest in a few hundred dollars to get started and then you are going to need to put a lot of effort into recruiting people into your team.
But this in turn does not mean badgering your friends and family into it. MLM’s have been responsible for many relationships being damaged because you sold them a business opportunity that wasn’t right for them. Consider sales and recruiting are the most important aspects to success with an MLM. But this are often not learnable skills. An introvert will find it very hard to network with people they do not know. Why recruit someone like that to watch you both fail.
Regardless of any sales pitch MLM’s make (you know the ones that tell you that anyone can be successful with MLM but have income disclosures that prove 99% of them are not), you need to make the right decision for you.
You are going to need to do a lot of networking, this includes meetings, face-to-face sales, recruiting. If that doesn’t sound like you (I know it doesn’t sound like me), then here is what we recommend…
How We Make Money Online
I’m not a fan of MLM, not because it’s illegal or not profitable, but because of all the restrictions and expensive costs involved.
Instead, Affiliate Marketing is our top recommended business model for anyone looking to make money online
The reasons are simple…
- You can promote anything you want and aren’t restricted to only promote products from one MLM company
- You don’t have to recruit anyone to make money
- You never need to sell to your friends and family
- It’s free to get started
In fact, with affiliate marketing we’ve been able to Create a 4-Figure Monthly Passive Income Stream. If you want to learn more, click here.
Thanks for checking out our Youngevity Review! If you have any questions or comments to add, then please write them in the comments section below. 😉
Sharing is Caring…
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Youngevity
$25 starter kit, plus over $500+ and monthly order volume
Pros
- Publicly Traded Company
- Member of DSA
- Huge Growth
Cons
- Expensive Products + Range is Too BIg
- False Health Claims
- Not Transparent
- 99% People Fail at MLM
- Too Much Emphasis on Recruiting
John, Thank you for this comprehensive article, Is Youngevity a scam. You have really broken down what this MLM company is all about and I thank you for that. I still can’t wrap my head around starting to do business with a MLM company so I am looking into your recommendation on Wealthy Affiliate.
Hey Russ,
thanks for checking out our review. It takes a certain degree of experience to be successful with MLM, but even then people would struggle with this particular MLM. MLM is very restrictive and expensive to get started in, whilst we would not recommend it to beginners.
But we would recommend affiliate marketing to the beginner, because it doesn’t cost a lot to get started and with effective training from Wealthy Affiliate you will find that you will be earning money online and not losing it with an MLM.
All the best
John
It’s very bold to make claims that your body will absorb these nutrients when it normally does not, as if Youngevity products were a miracle cure … And the prices are really high! I would not pay that much for health supplements, their prices are usually much lower and you can get products that are just as good or even better quality.
If the company is not transparent, that is also a bad sign. I am not a fan of MLMs anyway. I would not participate in an MLM scheme. I think that there are better ways to make money.
Hi Christine,
thanks for checking out our review! A lot of these MLM companies in the health and wellness sector are making these kind of bold claims and it seems like it is because it sounds good rather than any real proof.
Whilst I believe they may hold some benefits, the fact they are quoting these kind of stats take it completely out of proportion and that is the problem. It leads to their distributors believing this stuff and using it to sell, but it only leads to them looking the fool.
As for transparency, if it was working for many of their distributors why wouldn’t you display it. The truth is they don’t want you seeing the truth as it would stop you handing over your money. That is the reality!!
All the best Christine,
John
Hey nice review you have there about Youngevity. I have heard little about this platform from a friend. Having gone through this article, I now have a better perspective of its framework. Despite that Youngevity is not proven to be a scam in this article, in my opinion I honestly thinks that for a company to do well in business it must show an element of transparency in all its doings, this will in turn create customers confidence and desire to invest with them.
HI Edah,
thanks for checking out our review! How can you trust a company that is not upfront, I ask you? It is the hallmark of a good company that honesty and transparency flows through it and this is not evident with Youngevity. There is such a focus on recruitment, that it will not work out for many people either.
all the best
John
I must say, I really compliment your time and effort you spared to carry out a thorough research on Youngevity and their products/business opportunity and sharing your candid findings with us all…your research did go along way to helping one decide on which way to go…
Thanks for the preview
Hi Evans,
thanks for checking out our review. We want to help people get an objective view of many products, some of them are good and some of them are bad. Going into something with all the facts is a must for any success to be. But as many of these MLM’s do not really offer effective training to get people going in the right direction, it makes it extremely difficult to get going and many people end up in debt or cutting their losses and questioning whether there is an opportunity out there.
We prefer to recommend affiliate marketing as the learning curve is so much easier for a beginner and affiliate programs are free to join… Why put extra pressure on yourself to try and achieve the impossible with an MLM, when affiliate marketing is the much better route…?
All the best
John
Hello there, thank you so much for this very comprehensive and detailed review on if youngevity is a scam, I was introduced to youngevity by a friend and I decided to make some enquiries about it, and from my findings here I can see that its really a legit business but it can be very tasking and over demanding thus I’m checking out your number one recommendation, think I might like it there.
Hi Jomata,
thanks for checking out our review. MLM can be extremely demanding, but so can many businesses. It is all about the amount of time and effort you are willing to put in to achieve success. But the problem with MLM is they put road blocks in the way. For example, expensive start up costs, the expectation to buy stock monthly to qualify for sales and then to hit sales targets too. All without proper training and support.
That is why we think MLM is going to be extremely tough for a beginner. That is why our top recommended program focuses on affiliate marketing. A much better place for beginners who are looking to make money online!!
All the best
John