For the health-conscious customer, vitamins and other supplements are part of their healthy lifestyle. And it is these people that would be perfect customers for someone selling Usana products. If you’re on the fence about whether or not to join Usana, this information will help you make that decision. In this Usana MLM review, I will detail what it is, how it works, what makes it different from other MLMs, and if this will be a good opportunity for you in the end.

Usana Mlm Review

What is Usana MLM?

Usana was started by Dr. Myron Wentz, PhD. As a microbiology scientist, he specialized in immunology and pioneered the development of infectious disease diagnoses and human cell culture technology. His work led him to discover the value of antioxidants and their effects on free radicals in the body. In 1992, he founded Usana Health Services. Usana products are sold in the United States as well as 25 other countries and can only be purchased through Associates. This is the way typical MLM (multi-level marketing) companies work.

Their product line includes personal care products, nutritional supplements like vitamins, and weight management products. All the products are tested and developed onsite in their Salt Lake City headquarters.

Usana was the 24th largest multi-level marketing company in the world back in 2015. Unfortunately, Usana has come under scrutiny by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) for its business practices.

Are Usana Products Worth Their Price?

Usana has a range of different products. Their catalog includes products such as skincare, nutrition, weight management, bone and joint health, protein powders, vitamins and more.

One of the most popular product in their catalog are the CellSentials vitamins. These vitamins list for $59.35. Preferred Customers can buy them for $53.35. This is a 28-day supply and you take four tablets each day, twice a day with food.

Usana Mlm Review - Cellsentials Vitamins

According to the back of the container, there are a number of vitamins that exceed the RDA (recommended daily allowance). These vitamins include Vitamin C (330%), Vitamin D3 (250%), Vitamin A (120%), Vitamin K (340%) and Vitamin B1 (1,000%). This is by no means the full list.

So for people that do not have the best diet, these vitamins could be very beneficial. Can you buy cheaper vitamins? Yes. But I doubt any vitamins you buy at a local store will exceed the RDA like these vitamins.  Usana vitamins are definitely more expensive but they are probably worth the price.

The Usana MLM Opportunity

Like other MLMs, the Usana MLM opportunity allows you to work a very flexible schedule. As a business opportunity, you sell products and work on building your network. This can be done in your spare time or you can take the plunge and go full time. Usana allows you to set your own prices for products although they do make recommendations on pricing.

Usana products can only be purchased through an Associate. Products found in online stores such as Amazon have been deemed counterfeit. So there’s exclusivity with these products. Customers seem to really like the products as well which could make them easier to sell. But, the products are expensive so therein lies the challenge.

How Much Does It Cost to Join Usana?

The welcome kit will cost you $29.95 and is a requirement to get started. The Welcome Kit doesn’t contain any products. It contains documents that outline your role as an Associate. Some of the documents include the Get Started checklist, Online Resource Guide, Usana Policies and Procedures, Compensation information, and information on how to build your network.

Can You Make Money with Usana?

As an Associate, you would make money by earning commissions from the products you sell. Usana is unique in that you can set the prices of the products you sell. Usana recommends a 10% mark-up over the preferred price. The image below is an example of the yearly compensation from 2017 earned from the Associate down line.

Usana Mlm Review - Compensation

The Preferred Customer

Preferred Customers are becoming quite a trend in the MLM business model. Preferred Customers are customers who buy a membership that allows them to get discounts on product purchases and, in many cases, have products shipped free of charge on a monthly basis. In the case of Usana, customers will receive a 10% discount off products.

This additional Preferred Customer layer allows the Associate to create a steady monthly income if they have preferred customers who receive monthly products.

The other way to make money is by recruitment. Getting people to join your team also allows you to share in the profits from their sales.

Pros:

FDA Approved? Kinda….

There’s a lot of talk about MLM products being FDA approved. So far, I have not run across any product that have FDA approval. But, in this case, Usana was granted FDA drug-establishment registration in 2011. This does not mean that the products are FDA approved. It means that Usana is an FDA-approved facility. Usana hold themselves to a very high standard when it comes to production. The fact that it’s been recognized by the FDA says something.

No BBB Complaints

Usana is listed on the BBB (Better Business Bureau) website but there have been no customer complaints logged against them. They currently have an A+ rating.

No Product Complaints

According to my research, I could not find any customer complaints worth noting in this review. There was a product complaint listed on Amazon that said the products were fake and didn’t work. The response to this was from a Usana representative who said that Usana products are not sold through Amazon.

Customer Satisfaction

In conducting my research, I found many articles and posts from happy customers who love Usana products, in particular, their vitamins.

Cons:

Low Success Rate

The documentation I found on the Usana website indicated that in 2017, 53% of U.S. Associates didn’t earn any compensation from Usana.

Usana Mlm Review - 2017 Stats

Scrutiny

Giphy

The company has come under scrutiny in the past. Several of the Usana executives had made false statements regarding their qualifications.

Misrepresentation

Through hidden camera footage, associates misrepresented Usana products (against company policy) by making false and misleading statements about the effectiveness of the products. In one such case, an associate recommended Usana products to treat illnesses like leukemia.

Lawsuit

Usana has been accused of operating a pyramid scheme. An expert witness even testified in 2008 that “you can make a very strong argument that this could be a pyramid scheme.”

Another lawsuit in 2008 involved two Canadian distributors who sued for wrongful dismissal and were awarded $7 million in compensation and damages.

Is Usana a Scam?

What makes Usana more credible than other MLMs is that the products were created by a scientist and their facility is FDA approved. But it should be noted that these products are more expensive than similar over the counter products. You can see by the compensation information above that the odds are probably against you making a decent living by selling these products. I think this comes down to price and whether or not people can actually afford to buy them.

Final Thoughts

Usana has a better reputation than other MLMs I’ve reviewed. But the bottom line is that you start out by buying a kit of some sort. So you are out of pocket before you make your first sale. And it’s all commission based. If you don’t sell products, you don’t make any money. And when you do make sales, the commissions aren’t all that great. If you want to build a business for yourself, check out my #1 recommendation. You get to pick any products you want. You’ll get a website, hosting, 24/7 support, training and some pretty awesome tools.

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6 Comments

  1. I really like this product and have been taking them for years. My immunity has improved.
    I’m writing about the fancy packaging they come in. I feel terrible recycling the perfectly reusable bottles every month. Is there any way to contact the company about a more environmental package ? Or perhaps sending back the bottles when enough have accumulated for reuse?

  2. I used to be a USANA representative from 1998 to 2008. The Essentials as their core vitamin, minerals and anti-oxidant package was called had the exact ingredients as shown on the label. I thought their quality control procedures were way above any other similar company at that time. USANA was one of the first to warn people about parabens in cosmetics and skin care products. They were pioneers in good practices that have since been adopted by their competitors.

    When the great recession struck in 2008, I lost my job and couldn’t afford the products. The commissions I was making from USANA was really small. Hence I stopped being a distributor. I felt really bad not being able to buy the products as I felt they did help me health wise.

    Jay, your assessment on the difficulty of making money in an MLM company is spot on. A relatively few make it. I have known distributors who rose to the top and eventually fell. They constantly needed to recruit to replace distributors who left.

    As long as there were sufficient replacements to meet sales requirements, USANA Corporate seemed to be happy. Their stock was a good buy and made money from that.

    It was fun being involved as I loved their conventions. They build an amphitheater that seats 10,000 for concerts. And they are big supporters of The Children’s Hunger Fund who have their facilities located near where I live. And I helped out there sometimes as a volunteer.

    If you had to chose an MLM company to direct your energies, USANA is a good company to join. Be aware you will have to work extremely hard to build a sales organization under you in order to make a decent living.

    Affiliate Marketing is a better way to go to create your own business. You can chose your own products as you stated. And you do not have to recruit anyone to become successful.

    Great job Jay in your USANA review.

    Edwin

  3. Hi Jay. MLM companies according to my experience have a business model which are very much the same. Do investors really make money and is the investment safe? The products might be valuable and of high quality, but not everyone can afford it though. Can I as affiliate marketer make money in the long run from USANA? Do it have have the affiliate marketers’ interest at heart or are there alternatives?

  4. Hi, Jay
    Thanks for sharing your honest review on the Usana MLM. Though the facility of production is FDA approved, there is no clarity on the end product. As you correctly said the money is out of your pocket to get starter kit even before earning a dime, and this happens with most of the  MLM companies. 2017 statistics indicate that 53% of Usana associates have not earned income, do we have the updates of 2018 onward?
    Warm Regards,
    Gaurav Gaur

  5. Am glad I got to see your post its was really nice seeing the usana product. I actively bought one of these some time last year.it worked really well but I will like to question the fact about the price I know its worth the take but dont you think is the price is less it will held more results?

  6. Even though this company seems to be above board, I would still be seriously hesitant in signing up with them, especially due to the legal issues that Usana has had.  These are big issues and of course it comes down to trust and if you can’t trust them in the first place, best to stay away.  
    Its good though to have reviews available on these companies so we can get a better idea of what they are really like.