brand-logo
Subscribe

Youngevity Set to Join Russell 3000 Index

by Leave a Comment

Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI)  announced it is set to join the broad-market Russell 3000® Index at the conclusion of the 2019 Russell indexes annual reconstitution.

Annual Russell indexes reconstitution captures the 4,000 largest US stocks as of May 10, ranking them by total market capitalization. Membership in the U.S. all-cap Russell 3000® Index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000® Index or small-cap Russell 2000® Index as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. FTSE Russell determines membership for its Russell indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.

“We are proud to be included in the Russell 3000 index and look forward to greater exposure to institutional investors as we move up from the Russell Micro Cap index to the Russell 3000,” said Steve Wallach, chairman and CEO of Youngevity. “This represents another important milestone for the company since we became listed on the Nasdaq exchange in June of 2017.”

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for active investment strategies. Approximately $9 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell’s U.S. indexes. Russell indexes are part of FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider.

“We are pleased to be added to the Russell 3000 Index and the other appropriate indexes that will come as a result of our inclusion,” said Dave Briskie, president and CFO of Youngevity.  “According to Nasdaq, over the last 90 days, YGYI has added 12 new Institutional Investors and Institutional share ownership in YGYI has increased by 543,000 shares. We believe our inclusion will continue this trend and broaden our group of institutional investors.”

SimplyFun’s Nite Lights Draws Recommendation from Mensa Mind Games

by Leave a Comment

SimplyFun’s strategy and spatial reasoning game Nite Lights has been chosen as one of 12 new games to earn a recommendation from American Mensa Mind Games®.

Nite Lights was praised by the Mensa judges with reviews that said, “Great concept and playable at all levels. Aesthetically pleasing with easy instructions,” and “fun multi-level strategy game. Very unique concept.”

“Our judges loved Nite Lights’ unique take on strategic pattern recognition, and nearly 80 percent said they would recommend the game to a friend,” said American Mensa CEO Trevor Mitchell. “Congratulations to the game designers and everyone on the SimplyFun team.”

Founded in 1990, Mensa’s Mind Games has become one of the most respected national games competitions. The 40-plus-hour board-game-judging marathon draws 300 Mensans and their guests from across the country where they vote on the year’s best new-to-market games.

This year, 71 games were selected for the Mensa Mind Games competition. Categories for evaluation included original and creative in concept, challenging to play, well designed, a good value for the price, easy to comprehend and, above all, fun.

“We are thrilled to learn that Nite Lights has been recommended by Mensa Mind Games as our team had a great time developing it,” said Stacy Longstreet, SimplyFun head of Product Development. “Our aim is to create fun, engaging and mind-developing games for kids and families. When we get recognized for this by Mensa Mind Games, we know we have achieved something special.”

Nu Skin President Named Chairman of the Board of the Direct Selling Association

by Leave a Comment

Nu Skin President Ryan Napierski has been selected to lead the direct selling industry as chairman of the board of the U.S. Direct Selling Association (DSA). He began his one-year appointment as chairman at the DSA Annual Conference on June 4.

“I am proud to be affiliated with so many outstanding member companies and suppliers and am excited to work with our DSA leadership team,” said Napierski. “Our team will focus on three key objectives this year – ensuring the reputation of the direct selling industry accurately reflects its integrity; repositioning our association to take full advantage of the macro trends of the gig economy, social sharing and the millennial workforce; and rejuvenating the industry to provide greater opportunities for all who seek the empowerment our industry has to offer.”

DSA President Joe Mariano added, “Ryan has been a leader in direct selling for years, both here in the United States and abroad, and has exercised that leadership as part of DSA’s board of directors and executive committee. In his role as chairman of the board, he will no doubt bring creativity and innovation to the association and entire direct selling industry.”

Napierski, who has been serving as treasurer of the DSA board for the past year, is the second Nu Skin executive to serve as chairman of the DSA. Nu Skin’s former CEO, Truman Hunt, held this position from 2014 to 2015.

Nu Skin Participates In Global Humanitarian Effort To Celebrate 35th Anniversary

by Leave a Comment

The company’s Force for Good Day projects support the Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation’s mission to improve children’s health, education and economic circumstances.

This year at Nu Skin’s global headquarters, employees and their families are providing service in the local community at libraries, schools, parks, recycling centers and nonprofit organizations. Employees will paint, clean-up and beautify the community as they perform meaningful service.

“Nu Skin’s force for good culture is instilled year-round,” said Ritch Wood, chief executive officer. “Our annual Force for Good day especially inspires our global sales leaders, customers and employees to dedicate their resources and time to help children in need, while celebrating the impact we have made on hundreds of thousands of children around the world. Whether at home or abroad, Nu Skin always strives to be a force for good.”

Global Force for Good Day Projects
A sample of this year’s global Force for Good Day projects includes:

  • Greater China – Nu Volunteers in Greater China will be spending the day with elementary students and teaching them safety skills.
  • Singapore – Nu Skin Singapore employees will be distributing 500 goodie bags to children in hospitals.
  • Indonesia – Employees in Indonesia will be assembling and delivering 1,000 school kits for children in orphanages.
  • South Africa – Nu Skin employees in South Africa will be hosting a charity event for an orphanage to teach more than 150 children entrepreneurial skills.

About the Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation
The Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation provides grants that improve the lives of children by offering hope for a life free from disease, illiteracy and poverty. It began as a campaign in 1996 and was formally organized as a nonprofit foundation two years later. The Foundation is funded by Nu Skin distributor and employee donations and from 25 centsof the sale of each Nu Skin Epoch product. Nu Skin covers all administrative and overhead costs, allowing for 100 percent of donations to be used for humanitarian and charitable causes. The Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States. More information is available at forceforgood.org.

Kannaway Names Peter Dale As General Manager of Japan Division

by Leave a Comment

Kannaway has appointed Peter Dale as General Manager of its Japan division slated to officially launch later this year.

Cannabidiol (CBD) products have been legal on a federal level in Japan since 2016, and have been available for retail purchase. Dale brings more than 40 years of consistently proven leadership experience at large corporations such as Neora International, Javita Japan, Waiora, LLC, Nature’s Sunshine Products, and Natural Health Trends, Inc. Before joining Kannaway, Dale was the Executive Manager of BUMP GK, a full-service market entry consulting agency, where he helped multi-national businesses navigate Japanese compliance regulations and utilize marketing resources to analyze the cost and rewards of the Japan market.

“Kannaway is proud to welcome Peter to the team as we continue our international expansion into Japan,” said Kannaway CEO Blake Schroeder. “Dale has successfully led other organizations as they entered the Japanese marketplace and we are confident in his ability to make Kannaway Japan a major success.”

 

DSA Announces 2019 Awards Winners

by Leave a Comment

In conjunction with its annual meeting, the U.S. Direct Selling Association (DSA), announced top honors to the industry’s standout companies at its 2019 DSA Awards gala in Austin, Texas.

In addition, the Direct Selling Education Foundation(DSEF) announced three new inductees to its prestigious Circle of Honor.

DSA Awards

DSA Awards recognize the outstanding programs DSA member companies have implemented. The 2019 DSA Awards category winners are:

DSA Highest Performing Companies

DSA also announced the 2019 highest performing member companies, recognizing those with the top net sales in the United States for 2018:

AdvoCare

Ambit Energy

Amway

Arbonne

Herbalife Nutrition

Isagenix International

Mary Kay

Medifast – OPTAVIA

Melaleuca

New Avon

Nu Skin

Pampered Chef

Scentsy

SeneGence

Stream

Team Beachbody

The Juice Plus+ Company

Thirty-One Gifts

Young Living

Younique

“Direct selling is a proven, go-to-market strategy that continues to have a significant impact on the way both entrepreneurs and corporations do business,” said Joseph N. Mariano, president of U.S. Direct Selling Association (DSA). “We applaud these companies for the products they offer consumers, the entrepreneurial opportunities they offer millions of Americans, and their dedication to ensuring the highest levels of consumer protection.”

DSEF Circle of Honor Winners

The Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) also announced the recipients of its highest honors during the DSA gala. The DSEF Circle of Honor recognizes industry leaders, academics and consumer advocates who made extraordinary contributions to the Direct Selling Education Foundation through personal efforts.

The 2019 inductees into the DSEF Circle of Honor were Dr. Victoria Crittenden, Professor of Marketing and Babson Research Scholar at Babson College; Dr. Linda Ferrell, Marketing Department Chair, and Professor of Marketing at Auburn University; and Dr. Greg W. Marshall, The Charles Harwood Professor of Marketing & Strategy at Rollins College. The three professors were integral in helping exceed the Foundations’ three-year goals, reaching 70,000 college students and building the DSEF Academic Fellows to more than 200 members.

“Since 2016, each of our newest DSEF Circle of Honor inductees has brought their very unique strengths, knowledge, and networks to DSEF to advance the foundation’s efforts to engage and educate the academic community on the ways direct selling empowers individuals, supports communities and strengthens economies worldwide,” said Gary Huggins, executive director of DSEF. “Their tireless efforts have produced published research related to direct selling, inclusion of direct selling in influential textbooks and academic symposia. This group has also been instrumental in launching a new Doctoral Sales Student Grant Program and shaping the vision for the Foundation.”

DotDotSmile Names Tatiana Galeas, National Sales Director and Silva Benlian, Vice President of Sales

by Leave a Comment

DotDotSmile LLC recently welcomed Tatiana Galeas, National Sales Director and Silva Benlian, Vice President of Sales to its executive leadership team.

As National Sales Director, Galeas will lead the sales force of independent merchandisers, growing staff count, training and motivating the field. Tatiana has worked in the industry for 21 years. She has Broad experience in door-to-door, party plan and Multi-level business models. Passionate for helping others achieve their goals. Listening skills and high emotional intelligence. Proficient in leadership development, training skills, business growth, Hispanic markets, seminars, conferences and International Markets.

In her new role, Benlian will head up our sales organization, customer service and Merchandiser experience coming up with market strategies for healthy growth in sales, recruits, customers and retention.  Silva is an industry Leader with over 25 years of experience in high performance teams in Direct Sales and MLM.  She is a strategic thinker focused on the future of the business and exceptional execution. She is passionate about the industry and the opportunities it provides women everywhere.

Southwestern Family Of Companies Announced the Promotion Of Kristi Anderson To Vice President Of Marketing

by Leave a Comment

Southwestern Family of Companies recently announced the promotion of Kristi Anderson to vice president of marketing, a newly created position for the family of companies.

In addition to leading a new team to create and execute marketing strategies and campaigns, Anderson will continue her involvement with the new business development team alongside chief executive officer Dustin Hillis, chairman of the board Henry Bedford, executive vice president and treasurer Cindy Johnstone and vice president and corporate controller Beth Jackson. As part of this team, Anderson will help the company integrate and develop new businesses as they are welcomed into the Southwestern Family of Companies.

“Kristi has helped Southwestern Consulting take its marketing efforts to the next level by redesigning the CRM functionality and crafting automated marketing campaigns for prospects. Additionally, she led the rebranding efforts for the entire family of companies and launched many new and updated brands and websites – all the while managing and growing the marketing team,” said Hillis. “We are excited to have Kristi apply the skills, dedication and focus that have helped Southwestern Consulting grow over the past three years, with her at the helm of the marketing department, on a larger scale with the entire global family of companies.”

 

LifeVantage Launches in Belgium

by Leave a Comment

LifeVantage (LFVN)  opened for business in Belgium, marking the company’s third European market launch in as many months.

“Our expansion strategy in Europe has been deliberate and aggressive, particularly this calendar year,” said LifeVantage CEO Darren Jensen. “It’s indicative of the traction the LifeVantage biohacking movement continues to gain in that part of the world, and we’re thrilled to now officially count the people of Belgium among our growing biohacking community.”

Select LifeVantage products have been offered in Belgium on a not-for-resale basis for approximately a year as part of the company’s Global Customer Acquisition Program. During that time, the country demonstrated consistent growth as a customer market, paving the way for the company to now open for distributor enrollments as well. It’s a blueprint that has helped drive much of the company’s recent growth and expansion in Europe.

“As a company, this model has allowed us to build a presence and customer base throughout Europe, which, in turn, is enabling current and new distributors to really hit the ground running in these respective European countries as they open,” said LifeVantage Chief Sales Officer Justin Rose.

LifeVantage opened in Austria in September, Spain in March, and Ireland in May. With the addition of Belgium, LifeVantage now serves 15 markets in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

U.S. Direct Selling Annual Retail Sales Reach $35.4 Billion for 2018

by Leave a Comment

According to the “DSA 2019 Growth & Outlook Report: U.S. Direct Selling in 2018” released today by the Direct Selling Association (DSA) at its Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, 2018 saw growth in retail sales, as well as the number of people selling and purchasing products and service through the direct sales channel.

Growth & Outlook is DSA’s annual survey that reports on the size and scope of direct selling in the U.S. and is audited by Nathan Associates, a third-party international economic consulting firm.

The annual Direct Selling Growth & Outlook Survey provided the following data on the industry:

Retail Sales

The direct selling channel generated $35.4 billion in retail sales in 2018 – up 1.3 percent from 2017. Wellness products remained the most popular product category in the U.S. in 2018, accounting for 35.6 percent of sales, followed by Services (22.6 percent), Home & Family Care/Durables (15.8 percent), Beauty & Personal Care (15.6 percent), Clothing & Accessories (7.7 percent) and Leisure/Educational (2.7 percent).

 

Direct Selling Population

The DSA further refined the 2018 data collection to better separate direct sellers from customers. This new research shows that the number of people selling products or services using the direct selling model grew 1.6 percent, with 6.2 million U.S. entrepreneurs selling in either a part-time or full-time basis.

Demographic breakdowns for both direct sellers and discount buyers include 6 percent (under 25); 19 percent (25-34); 26 percent (35-44); 24 percent (45-54); 17 percent (55-64); and 8 percent for 65 and older.

By gender, 75 percent of direct sellers in the United States in 2018 were women and 25 percent men. The percentage of women joining the channel increased by 1.5 percentage points from 2017 to 2018, men joining the channel dropped by 1.5 percent.

Ethnic and racial demographics for 2018 went unchanged from 2017. Eighty-five percent of those involved were White/Caucasian, 8 percent African American, 4 percent Asian, 1 percent American Indian or Native Alaskan, 1 percent Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 1 percent other not identified.

 

Demand for Direct Selling Products

The DSA said in their press release that in 2018, there were more than 36.6 million people actively buying through the direct sales channel, with notable growth coming from an increase in preferred customers. This customer count excludes those who have not signed an agreement with a direct selling company.

“The U.S. direct selling industry is moving in a very positive direction,” said Joseph N. Mariano, DSA president and chief executive officer. “Retail sales were strong, thanks largely to the U.S. direct sales force and their ability to attract millions and millions of customers. The 2019 Growth & Outlook Survey also provided additional insights into the people involved in direct selling – particularly due to segmentation efforts – helping our member companies provide an even better experience for those who buy and sell through our channel. As we look forward and evaluate industry data, as well as national economic and retail projections, we believe the industry will continue to see modest growth during the next three years.”

For more information on DSA’s 2019 Growth & Outlook Survey: 2018 Direct Selling Data in the United States, you can also read more on this topic atwww.dsa.org/benefits/research. The DSA has also added a new interactive component when you hover the arrow or cursor over various content on the page.

A Beauty Innovation 30 Years in the Making

by Leave a Comment

One of this year’s Bravo Growth Award Winners is here to revolutionize the modern manicure.

Color Street recently received two-fold recognition for the company’s incredible growth in 2018. Direct Selling News honored Color Street for its first appearance on the Global 100 List, ranked at No. 78, and presented the company with the second Bravo Growth Award for achieving 881 percent growth in sales. While Color Street’s record growth is praiseworthy, the determination of the company’s leader is just as deserving of recognition.

The Inspiration

Color Street Founder and CEO Fa Park immigrated to the United States from South Korea in the early 1980s to pursue a career in opera. As a young music student in New York City, he would take the bus to and from his lessons and one particular day he noticed a woman polishing her nails in the back of a cab. Brush a coat on, blow to dry,
brush, blow. As he sat on his bus, stuck in traffic, watching this woman patiently polish her nails, he knew there had to be a better way.

Twenty years, sixty patents and millions of dollars in sales later, this “better way” is Color Street’s nail polish strip – a proprietary appliqué of 100 percent nail polish that includes a base coat, color coat and topcoat all in one layer. No brushing, no blowing, no waiting, and no mess.

An Education

From that fateful day in Manhattan traffic, it would take Fa nearly twenty years to develop a product he could bring to market. “It took seventeen years to realize my vision,” he shares. “I filed my first patent in 1988. My learning process was very difficult, as I had to learn nail polish chemistry.”

Melissa Soete, Color Street’s Vice President of Sales, describes the beginning of that learning process. “Fa began by purchasing bottles of nail polish from the drug store, applying them on paper and drying the polish with a hair dryer,” she says. “The New Jersey area has several nail polish manufacturers, so Fa would bring home five-gallon pails of polish that were going to be thrown out. There were years and years of trial and error.”

“We had so many new products developed but didn’t have the opportunity to introduce those to our customers through mass market retailers. So we said, ‘Let’s manage our own destiny.'”— Fa Park, Founder and CEO

Fate would step in once again, ten years into the journey. “I’m lucky that I met a retired nail polish chemist in 1999 and shared my story with him,” Fa recounts. “He was impressed and told me that he’d teach me everything he knew.”

Understanding nail polish chemistry was only part of Fa’s self-driven education. He also taught himself the engineering and metal fabrication skills he’d need to build a machine to produce his nail strips. From 1988 to 2005, Fa worked various jobs and taught music classes to support his family, while focusing the rest of his attention on creating what he was sure would change both his future and the future of the nail polish industry.

Incoco—The First Dream

The closer he got to success, the more interested nail polish companies were becoming in his work. Several industry giants – L’Oreal and Revlon to name a few – made offers for Fa’s technology, but he insisted on keeping his innovation proprietary. In 2005, he landed his first official order – 1,000,000 nail strips for Avon. The years that followed would see orders grow and new customer relationships formed, including private label orders from Sephora, Sally Hansen and OPI. However, Fa saw more for his life’s work.

He founded Incoco in 2007, which today serves as the parent company for Fa’s three brands:

  • Incoco—nail appliqués sold at Ulta Beauty locations across the country
  • Coconut Nail Art—nail appliqués sold at Walmart nationwide
  • Color Street—Incoco’s latest brand, launched via the direct sales channel in 2017

Incoco’s move into direct sales with the launch of Color Street speaks to the company’s constant focus on innovation and Fa’s larger vision for his creation.

“When I worked with mass-market retailers, I could only change designs once a year,” he explains. “We had so many new products developed but didn’t have the opportunity to introduce those to our customers through mass market retailers. So, we said, ‘Let’s manage our own destiny.’”

Today At Color Street

In June 2017, with just over 1,400 original consultants, or “Stylists,” on board, Color Street launched with 62 nail strip designs to choose from. Those first Stylists were offered the opportunity to participate in the company’s Presidential Founder Campaign where they could work towards the milestones of the program and be rewarded with
a 1 percent share of Color Street’s sales volume.

“We’ll work hard until every woman in the world is wearing Color Street.” —Fa Park, Founder and CEO

Today, there are more than 44,000 Color Street Stylists across the country. New Stylists joining the company learn everything they need to know to launch a successful business through a simple onboarding process and a sales practice called Color 10. “We keep it as simple as possible,” Melissa shares. “We encourage our Stylists to get our
nail strips on ten people each week.” Stylists share the product line through one-on-one shares, social media and in-home parties.

Collections are introduced every month and are often tied to seasons, holidays, or specific nonprofit organizations and causes Color Street supports through the company’s philanthropic efforts. This consistent stream of new products makes it easy for Stylists to share these new looks with their customers.

What’s Next

In 2018, Color Street recorded revenue of $119 million, an 881 percent increase from the prior year. Sales are on track for huge growth in 2019.

“It took seventeen years to realize my vision. I filed my first patent in 1988.” —Fa Park, Founder and CEO

Color Street’s overwhelming success is due to the product’s natural fit in the direct sales model, explains Melissa.
“There are several reasons why Color Street is great for network marketing,” she says. “Very few women are going to buy nail strips in a store and think it’s real nail polish. So, we’ve made the product very easy to sample.

Customers can test it easily and see that it works—and we’ve made those samples inexpensive for the Stylists to keep on hand. Our price point is accessible, and we have a built-in promotion of “Buy 3, Get 1” for every set we sell.”

With such rapid growth, Fa and his team are focused on refining the company’s processes, giving Stylists new and exciting designs to share with their customers and expanding Color Street’s brand presence in the market. “Our vision for the next five years is to grow ten times more,” he says. “We’ll work hard until every woman in the world is wearing Color Street.”

2019 Global 100 Celebration

by Leave a Comment

Looking for the 2021 DSN Global Celebration? The broadcast will take place:
VIRTUAL EVENT – MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021 8:30 PM – 10:00 PM (ET)

Executives, guests join DSN to honor channel’s best at 10th anniversary Global 100 celebration.

The annual DSN Global 100 Celebration recognizes the direct selling channel’s proud history of providing individuals from all walks of life with unparalleled opportunities for entrepreneurship and personal development. The event also showcases the impact and growth potential of the $189.6 billion global direct sales channel. Worldwide, more than 116 million people are involved with direct selling, according to the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations.

This years’s event, held April 24 at the Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West, was the 10th anniversary Global 100 Celebration. Direct Selling News unveiled its exclusive ranking of the top revenuegenerating companies in direct selling. Hosts Todd Eliason, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Direct Selling News; and Lauren Lawley Head, Senior Vice President of SUCCESS magazine, welcomed executives from nearly 60 companies around the globe.

“The ranking we celebrate tonight has become a much-anticipated yearly event – not only for those in the channel, but also for researchers, educators, and investors worldwide,” Eliason said.

For the seventh consecutive year, Ada, Michiganbased Amway claimed the top spot as No. 1 direct seller in the world, with $8.8 billion in revenue in 2018. This 60-year-old global giant maintains a large portfolio of some the world’s best-selling brands, including Nutralite vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements, Artistry skincare and color cosmetics, eSpring water treatment systems, and XS Sports Nutrition and Energy Drinks. More than 3 million Amway independent business owners offer 450 unique products in 100 markets and territories throughout the
world.

London-based Avon Products once again took the No. 2 spot on the DSN Global 100 list, with $5.57 billion
in revenue in 2018.

Coming in No. 3 on the DSN Global 100 list was Herbalife Nutrition, with $4.9 billion in revenue in 2018.

2019 DSN Global 100 (Based On 2018 Revenue)

The Global 100 have plenty to celebrate this year:

One Global Family
Representatives from all over the world were in attendance at the Global 100 Celebration including DXN Marketing from Malaysia,
Immunotec from Canada,
Oriflame from Sweden, and PM International from Luxemburg, we also had two first time-attendees Jakob Spikjer from Sweden, representing Zinzino; and Yura Slinkin from Russia,
representing Faberlic.

  • 21 companies achieved more than $1 billion in net sales. That’s more than one-fifth of the ranking. Collectively, these 21 companies generated $55 billion for the year.
  • The top 10 companies were responsible for $40.8 billion in combined revenue.
  • There are 23 mid-market companies—those between $300 million and $1 billion—on this year’s ranking. Five companies are above $700 million, and another five above the half-million mark.
  • Collectively, the 100 companies in the ranking achieved $75.6 billion for 2018. Among those companies are 20 that grew by $100 million or more in the past year.
  • 18 companies are making their first appearance on the Global 100 list, including companies from Brazil, Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Malaysia, and Sweden.

The Bravo Awards

Each year, the DSN Global 100 celebration recognizes a direct selling executive whose exceptional leadership qualities have propelled his or her company to extraordinary new heights. This year’s recipient of the Bravo Leadership Award, Stella & Dot Founder Jessica Herrin, had the goal of revolutionizing entrepreneurial opportunities for women by creating a modern home-based opportunity. Naming Stella & Dot after her beloved grandmothers, Herrin envisioned a new kind of company that would allow today’s busy women to achieve unparalleled success and balance through a career they were passionate about. Thanks to irresistible products, use of innovative technology, and exceedingly personal service, a proven formula for passionate earning and personal success was born, and Herrin became a nationally recognized leader. In 2014, Herrin further broadened the company’s mission of giving every woman the means to individually style her life when she launched Stella & Dot Family Brands. Expanding beyond the flagship Stella & Dot line of accessories, the Family of Brands gives women
greater opportunity to create a flexible social selling business opportunity that more precisely fits their goals as Independent Business Owners. To date, the company has paid out more than $500 million in commissions to more than 50,000 independent business owners in six countries.

“I’m so lucky to have a team of innovators that never rest on their laurels and never just assume that what worked last year is going to work next year, or what got us here is going to get us there in this fast-paced world of change. They’re truly brave, and they make such an impact,” said Herrin, who was unable to attend the Global 100 Celebration, in a pre-recorded video message. Stella & Dot Family of Brands Chairman Mike Lohner, who accepted the Bravo Leadership Award on Herrin’s behalf, said that “If leadership is about inspiring people, to dream more, to do more, to learn more, to feel more, to love more and to become more, then Jessica Herrin is a really qualified recipient of this award. I feel extraordinarily lucky to be her partner and friend. I suspect you’ve only begun to see what the Stella & Dot Family of Brands will do and become.”

The BRAVO Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual who has made a lifetime of extraordinary professional contributions to the direct selling community that will be felt for generations to come. Presenting the award this year was John Fleming, former publisher of DSN and the very first recipient of the Bravo Lifetime Achievement Award. This year’s honoree, Stan Fredrick, has either chaired or been a board member of both the Direct Selling Association and Direct Selling Education Foundation for more than 30 years. He personally led the Direct Selling Education Foundation’s Development committee and led the effort to raise more than $12 million for the foundation’s capital campaign. Fredrick is the major shareholder in several direct selling companies, is currently Chairman of the Board at Mannatech, and was founding shareholder of five community banks. He was first introduced to direct selling in the 1940s when his father sold cookware and his mother sold beauty products to supplement the family income. Later, he and his brother, John, put themselves through college selling cookware; in fact, Fredrick earned enough to buy a car just two weeks after starting his first direct sales business at 16, and that boundless optimism and belief in direct sales has never worn off. Fredrick has been a tireless advocate of the industry ever since.

This award “honors what we all know is the thing that drives and makes us as individuals and makes our companies go and that’s achievement,” Fredrick said. “Moving from one level to the next, like a ladder. The rung of the ladder is not to stand on but just to hold one foot while the other one moves higher, and that’s what we do in direct selling—we help people get on the rung of the ladder and not stay there but move upwards and onwards.”

Reflecting on his 64 years in the direct selling industry, Fredrick said he thought of something the late Viktor Frankl, Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, once said: “If the why is strong enough, the how will come, and I think that’s what we found out in this business. We have a how—our how is the direct selling industry. That’s been my how for 64 years, and I can’t think of doing anything else.” “We have a great opportunity to grow this business and expand it, and I hope that as we look at the future of direct selling, we won’t forget that our true business model is about sharing the opportunity. It’s about helping people have their own business and have the freedom of starting their own business and doing their own things. I found out a long time ago that if I want something, all if have to do is sell one more set of cookware, recruit one more person, start one more downline, buy one more company…there’s always something else that can be done to make this business grow. So as you begin to think about your future, I like to think about what Confucius said. He said, ‘If you plan prosperity for a year, plant grain. If you plan prosperity for 10 years, grow trees. If you plan prosperity for 100 years, grow people.’ And that’s the beauty of our industry. If we never forget it and we keep growing, recruiting and developing people, we will continue to thrive as an industry, and we will continue to help people around the world.”

For the first time this year, DSN recognized two companies with the Bravo Growth Award. The first winner, MyDailyChoice/HempWorx, is a Las Vegas-based company that has achieved astounding growth in just two years in business. Using cloud technology to cut overhead costs and taking advantage of ever-growing consumer interest in hemp-derived products, this company saw sales increase from $10 million in 2017 to $100 million in 2018 – a growth of 900 percent. Chief Operating Officer Kathleen Earle was in attendance to accept this prestigious recognition on behalf of founders Josh and Jenna Zwagil, who were unable to attend the event due to the impending arrival of their first child. She shared the story of how the Zwagils started their company and built it from the ground up, leaning on Josh’s experience as a top direct seller and his knowledge of compensation plans, and Jenna’s strength in building relationships and mentoring others. “They’ve built a company of affiliates by affiliates. And the affiliates love them—they believe them, they follow them, and they just continue to build. We’ve had this huge growth rate, but we’re on track this year to triple our sales again.”

The second Bravo Growth Award honoree, New York based Color Street, offers a vast array of colors and nail art design and grew an incredible 881 percent over the last year, from $12 million in 2017 to $119 million in 2018. Founder and CEO Fa Park and his team accepted the award. From the stage, Park reflected on his company’s beginnings. “It started with a very simple idea to make a nail polish film,” he said. In 1984 while stuck in a traffic jam in New York City, Park spotted a woman in a nearby cab trying to polish her nails. In that fleeting moment, Park wondered if there was an easier way to apply nail color. There wasn’t any chemistry to produce that product, nor was there necessarily a market, but Park wasn’t deterred.

Despite having no background in engineering, chemistry, research and development, or direct sales, Park, an aspiring opera singer, gave up a promising career in music and spent the next 17 years studying, researching and developing how to create a 100 percent nail polish film unlike anything the industry had seen before. He was approached by several big names who wanted to buy his technology or his company outright. “After 10, 12, 15 years of my effort, and my millions of teardrops, I was poor,” Park recalled. “Some offers were very attractive, but my vision wasn’t money. My vision was, how can I deliver this product to the world?” In 2016 he made the critical decision to start a direct sales company. Following last year’s phenomenal growth, he said, Color Street is expected to reach more than $200 million in revenue by the end of 2019.