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Food Banks Canada Receives 15,500 Units of Protein Snacks from Plexus

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Plexus Worldwide has donated 15,500 bags of protein to help support Food Banks Canada.

The company participated in the annual After the Bell event organized by Food Banks Canada, where hundreds of volunteers packed and organized food for donation to families and children in need across Canada.

“Giving back to the community is an essential part of the ‘One Plexus’ culture,” said Darla Brown, general manager, Canada. “I was honored and humbled by the opportunity to be a part of such an incredible event. Health and happiness make up the foundation of what we do and to be able to bring nutrition into people’s lives who need it the most was one the of most gratifying experiences of my career.”

As part of Plexus’ effort to end hunger in Canada, the company donated 15,500 units of Plexus 96™, a whey protein snack.

“To learn that we had a partner in Plexus, generously donating over 15,500 bags of P96—which as we learned meant over 197,000 protein snacks—was heart-warming and simply overwhelming,” said Brendan Ennis, director of Development for Food Banks Canada. “The immediacy in which the provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick asked to be recipients of this donation speaks to the urgent need for this kind of charitable effort. The importance of being able to offer protein to clients who walk through those doors cannot be understated.”

In January, Plexus partnered with Mary’s Meals, a global child hunger charity that feeds 1.3 million children a day. Plexus donated $25,000 to the organization and kicked off an ongoing commitment to making monetary donations for every serving sold internationally from its Plexus Lean™ product line. Since launching the Nourish One™ initiative in June 2018, Plexus has donated the equivalent of more than 10 million meals to food banks in the United States.

LifeVantage Celebrates 10th Anniversary

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LifeVantage, the Sandy, Utah-based direct selling company, recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.

At the company’s recent bi-annual event in Kansas City, Missouri, LifeVantage CEO Darren Jensen took attendees on a trip down memory lane and also painted a picture of the coming decade.

“We began in a lab with a single, powerful scientific discovery—a discovery that proved we, as humans, have more capacity, potential and ability within us than we had been led to believe,” Jensen said. “As rich and exciting as our history is as a company, I am even more excited about our future. I am as convinced as I ever have been that our best days are ahead of us.”

As part of that future, LifeVantage has announced its intent to expand its nutrigenomic product line. The new product will be the company’s first addition to its flagship Protandim® line since the launch of Protandim® NRF1 Synergizer in 2016.

The new product is slated to launch at the company’s Elite Academy in Long Beach, Calif., in October.

Jensen lauded the company’s activity rate of new enrollees and overall retention rate, which is among the best in the industry, but challenged attendees to escalate their efforts on bringing new customers and distributors into the business with a goal of increasing active members with a monthly product subscription to 300,000.

To this end, Jensen announced a number of new initiatives coming in 2020, including free shipping; a new cadence for corporate events that will introduce regional Elite Academies and an event known as Destination EA that will be one-part training and one-part experience; and the integration of a daily pay model into its commission structure.

The company also formally introduced its new senior vice president of research & development, Dr. Brian Dixon, who joined the company this month. Dixon has worked in the nutritional industry for more than 10 years in a variety of executive health and science education and product innovation capacities. He holds a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Oregon State University in affiliation with the Linus Pauling Institute, where his research focused on the underlying biochemical and cellular mechanisms of aging.

Nature’s Sunshine Announces Restructure of Global Business Units

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Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. recently announced the restructure of its global business units as well as the appointment of new executives.

The company’s restructure of its global business units included creating four regional Operating Business Units (OBUs) to further align and target regional strategies driving synergies in product, organizational and go-to-market capabilities across both the Nature’s Sunshine and Synergy brands. According to the company, the new structure will build regional capabilities that can enhance focus on local consumer needs, with strong management support and targeted strategic direction. The leadership of each OBU will report directly to President and Chief Executive Officer Terrence Moorehead.

In conjunction with the new operating structure, the company has realigned its executive leadership. Dan Norman has been appointed as executive vice president and president of Asia/Pacific (APAC) and Bryant Yates has been appointed executive vice president and president of Europe. Latin America (LATAM) will report directly to the president and chief executive officer until an OBU leader is appointed. These appointments follow the recent appointment of Eddie Silcock as executive vice president and president of North America.

“We are excited to announce this realignment of our global operations, which is designed to strengthen our regional operations, align market strategies and drive synergies throughout our business as we leverage product capabilities, local market knowledge and our sales strategies across both the NSP and Synergy businesses,” said Moorehead. “Additionally, we expect to improve organizational efficiencies throughout our regional business functions. We are confident these changes, along with our new leadership team will help invigorate our regions and propel our company into the next phase of improved performance, positioning the company to benefit from ongoing industry growth while building value for our shareholders.”

Norman will continue to play a key leadership role in Synergy Worldwide’s global strategy as president of Synergy Worldwide, a position he has held since September 2007. His prior roles with the company include vice president of Operations and vice president of Information Systems. Prior to joining Synergy, he served as a senior manager of European Operations at another direct selling company from 1998 through September 2004.

Yates most recently served as president of the company’s Russia, Central and Eastern Europe & Wholesale division. Prior to his current role, he served as executive director of International of Nature’s Sunshine, director of International-Europe/Middle East and general manager of Nature’s Sunshine Products of Russia, an affiliate of the company. Mr. Yates has been employed by the company since 1999.

Silcock joined the company in April 2019 as executive vice president and president of North America. Prior to joining the company he held positions of chief sales officer and as executive vice president of Global Sales at other direct selling companies.

Tupperware Q2 Sales Down 11%

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Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) announced second quarter 2019 operating results.

Second quarter 2019 sales were $475.3 million, down 11 percent, and local currency sales were down 7 percent.

“Overall, the business fell short of our expectations in some markets as geopolitical concerns and lower consumer spending headwinds in two of our key markets resulted in a miss of our local currency sales expectations as we worked to adjust our product and promotion mix accordingly,” said Tricia Stitzel, chairman and chief executive officer of Tupperware Brands. “Despite these challenges, we met the low end of our adjusted earnings per share guidance for the quarter after considering two cents worse foreign currency since we provided guidance.”

Sales were down in each region:

  • Europe – Sales $121.5 million, down 8% and local currency sales down 2%
  • Asia Pacific – Sales $155.5 million, down 14% and local currency sales down 10%
  • North America – Sales $124.7 million, down 9% and local currency sales down 9%
  • South America – Sales $73.6 million, down 14% and local currency sales down 3%

To read the full Tupperware Q2 report, click here.

USANA Q2 Sales Down 15.1%

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USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE: USNA) second quarter 2019 net sales were $256.0 million, compared with $301.5 million in the prior-year period, or a 15.1 percent decrease year-over-year.

According to the company, its financial performance for the quarter was impacted by the continuing challenging consumer environment in China. In addition, the strengthening of the U.S. dollar unfavorably impacted net sales by $12.4 million for the quarter.

“The continuing challenging market environment in China was the major factor that impacted our second quarter results,” said Kevin Guest, chief executive officer. “We believe it could take several months for consumer sentiment and our momentum to improve in China. We remain optimistic in our long-term growth potential in this important market and our other markets around the world.”

Net sales in the Asia Pacific region decreased by 14.9 percent to $205.5 million for the second quarter of 2019. The total number of active customers in the Asia Pacific region decreased by 5.7 percent year-over-year. Active customers decreased by 12.3 percent in Greater China. In Southeast Asia Pacific and North Asia, Active customers increased by 2.9 percent and 27.0 percent, respectively.

Net sales in the Americas and Europe region decreased by 15.6 percent to $50.5 million for the second quarter of 2019, primarily due to an 11.6 percent decrease in active customers.

The company’s total number of active customers at the end of the second quarter was 555,000, compared to 597,000 in the prior-year period.

To read the full USANA Q2 report, click here.

Luis Vázquez Appointed Avon Global Sales Leader

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Avon Products, Inc. recently announced that Luis Vázquez has been appointed to lead its global sales team.

 

Vázquez, who has extensive direct selling experience, will spearhead the company’s efforts to open up growth by driving recruitment, retention and training for the millions of Avon Representatives across the world.

 

“I am delighted that Luis is joining Avon in this strategically important role for the company,” said Miguel Fernandez, Avon’s global president. “He will be focused on the transformation of Avon’s end-to-end Representative experience and help lead the drive to effectively use data and insights. This work will mean we are able to better deliver a truly tailored approach ensuring we can effectively help all our Representatives grow their business, whatever their earnings ambitions are.”

 

Vázquez will also lead the continued development of Avon’s Representative Academy, which provides tailored digital training content. All content will be segmented according to the level of earnings that Avon’s beauty entrepreneurs seek to make. Avon’s beauty fans (those Representatives who love Avon’s products and sell to friends and family), and Beauty Entrepreneurs (those Representatives who want to build a more meaningful earnings opportunity) will receive training relevant to them, and how they run their businesses.

 

“I am excited to be joining Avon at such an important time in its history,” said Vázquez. “I am passionate about supporting Representatives through every part of their journey and am looking forward to delivering tools and training that will support them, their teams and their customers.”

USANA Signs Official Supplement Supplier License with KBL

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USANA Korea recently announced that it will be the official supplement supplier for the Korean Basketball League (KBL).

As part of the deal, USANA will provide a selection of various nutritional supplements designed to help players maintain well-balanced diets and intake a wide range of various vitamins and minerals, as well as essential carbohydrates, proteins and fats. USANA plans to also supply various upcoming basketball events with their products, from the 2019–20 All-Star Game to the KBL Media Day.

USANA products will be available to the general public at 10 different stadiums across the country starting in October, while the Seoul stadium is planning to celebrate the official partnership by holding a USANA brand day event in the winter.

“USANA is working hard to use our experience and accumulated technologies in the health functional foods and nutrition industry to develop and produce world-class products to help people realize their health and fitness goals,” said USANA Korea General Manager Gary Hong. “We hope the new partnership can contribute to the development of the Korean Basketball League, and we hope to take this opportunity to showcase our brand and our products to basketball fans in Korea.”

USANA Korea is also running the USANA Athletes program which has continued to encourage developments in the Korean sports industry by supporting over 50 local pro athletes, including the Hanwha Eagles and the Goyang Youth FC.

Young Living Acquires Nature’s Ultra

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Young Living Essential Oils recently announced its acquisition of Nature’s Ultra.

Nature’s Ultra, with its more than 1,500 acres of hemp farms in Colorado, will continue to operate independently to provide industry-leading CBD products that are legal under federal law and are certified natural, organic, vegan approved and gluten free, and with the added benefits of Young Living’s industry leadership and expertise in offering the highest quality oil-infused products.

“The pristine conditions in the Rocky Mountains allows Nature’s Ultra to source pure CBD from Colorado hemp fields that are grown without the use of pesticides,” said Dr. Mike Buch, Young Living’s chief science officer. “By adding our oils to this high-quality isolate, we are able to offer a Smart-Spectrum™ product that doesn’t compromise on quality, and Nature’s Ultra CBD oils can proudly display the Young Living logo because they meet our stringent Seed to Seal® Standards.”

After being rigorously tested, Nature’s Ultra farms and cultivation practices have received Young Living’s Seed to Seal approval. Its industry-leading hemp farms use organic and sustainable farming practices to infuse 0 percent THC and Young Living essential oils.

“It’s a match made in health—Young Living is the world leader in essential oils, and CBD belongs in that space,” said Richard Ricketts, Nature’s Ultra founder and CEO. “Their Seed to Seal commitment to quality so closely mirrored our own that it only made sense to work together to bring high-quality CBD to the world.”

The entire Nature’s Ultra product line is organically and naturally cultivated from one of the first hemp farms in the United States to hold the USDA organic handler’s certification. Its CBD isolate is infused with Young Living essential oils sourced from corporate-owned or partner farms as well as Seed to Seal-certified suppliers.

Young Living essential oil-infused products sold by Nature’s Ultra will include Boost, Calm, Soothe, and Zest CBD roll-ons; a range of flavored CBD oils; and a CBD muscle rub. Young Living members, customers and general consumers can purchase these CBD products exclusively from Nature’s Ultra website.

Paulo Moledo Named Hy Cite Enterprises Senior Vice President of Strategy

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Hy Cite Enterprises announced that Paulo Moledo has joined the company as senior vice president of Strategy.

Moledo will be responsible for implementation of the global brand strategy as well as management of the Product Development Group, leading the field adoption of CRM and becoming a member of the IT Digital Transformation team.

Moledo has 12 years of experience in the direct selling channel. He previously served as president of U.S. operations for one direct seller and as general manager for both the North Latin America and South Latin America regions for another top direct selling company.

Avon Declares Support for UN Women’s Empowerment Principles

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Avon CEO Jan Zijderveld and Avon general managers across the world pledged the company’s unwavering support for the United Nations (UN) Women’s Empowerment Principles.

Avon leaders have written to the UN to declare support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), which encourages organizations to take decisive action towards gender equality. The WEPs list steps that organizations can take to empower women and promote gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community, and around the world, emphasizing the need for corporate action.

Avon has been championing and supporting women for more than 130 years. Earlier this year Avon launched stand4her—its plan which aims to positively impact the lives of women around the world. It is a promise to the women who work for Avon, who work with Avon, who work in Avon’s supply chain and to customers to create a better world for women.

The business continues to champion women worldwide and this year it has launched the Avon Academy, a new, on-demand training program for Representatives. As one of the world’s biggest female training programs it will provide over 500,000 Representatives per month with online and face-to-face learning, helping them to earn more. Avon’s estimated investment in this program for 2019 is $14 million.

In November 2018, Avon announced its support for the UN Standards of Conduct for Business to tackle discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people, as part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion. In March this year, Avon UK became the first beauty brand to sign up to charity Changing Faces’ pledge to feature people with visible differences in more campaigns. These are just a few examples of the many ways in which Avon is championing women today.

“Equal treatment of women and men is not just the right thing to do, it is also good for business,” said Zijderveld. “The full participation of women in our enterprises and in the larger community makes sound business sense now and in the future. A broad concept of sustainability and corporate responsibility that embraces women’s empowerment as a key goal will benefit us all. We encourage business leaders to join us and use the Principles as guidance for actions that we can all take in the workplace, marketplace and community to empower women and benefit our companies and societies.”

2019 Prime Day Surpasses Black Friday, Cyber Monday Combined

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This week’s Prime Day was once again the largest shopping event in Amazon history with more than one million deals exclusively for Prime members.

Over the past two days—July 15 and 16—Prime Day sales surpassed the previous Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Prime members purchased more than 175 million items throughout the event.

Global Highlights from Prime Day 2019

  • Prime members worldwide saved more than $1 billion throughout Prime Day.
  • Millions of items shipped in one day or faster using Prime Free One-Day, Prime Free Same-Day, or Prime Now worldwide—making it the fastest Prime Day ever.
  • Members in 18 countries shopped—double the number since the first Prime Day five years ago.
  • Amazon welcomed more new Prime members on July 15 than any previous day, and almost as many on July 16—making these the two biggest days ever for member signups.

U.S. Highlights from Prime Day 2019

  • A record number of Prime members shopped during Prime Day in the U.S.
  • Prime members purchased more than 100,000 lunchboxes, 100,000 laptops, 200,000 TVs, 300,000 headphones, 350,000 luxury beauty products, 400,000 pet products, 650,000 household cleaning supplies and more than one million toys.
  • Prime members in the U.S. received tens of millions in Prime Day savings when they shopped at Whole Foods Market. The best-selling Prime Day deals were organic strawberries, red cherries and blueberries.

Spotlighting Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Prime Day 2019 was another record-breaking success for independent third-party sellers—mostly small and medium-sized businesses. Products from these unique businesses increase variety and contribute to the ever-expanding selection available to Prime members worldwide. Globally, these businesses far exceeded $2 billion in sales this Prime Day, making it the biggest Amazon shopping event ever for third-party sellers when comparing two-day periods.

Janne Heimonen Appointed Managing Director of Kannaway European Division

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Medical Marijuana, Inc. recently announced that its subsidiary Kannaway® has appointed Janne Heimonen as managing director of its European Division.

Kannaway currently ships products to many countries within the European Union. The company is working to expand access to CBD and hemp throughout Europe.

“Kannaway is fortunate that Janne joined our team last year, and we’re excited to see his professional expertise and development take our company to the next level in European markets,” said Kannaway CEO Blake Schroeder. “Research firm Prohibition Partners is forecasting that Europe is poised to become the world’s largest legal cannabis market over the next five years and we’re excited to be at the forefront of that expansion.”

Heimonen brings more than 25 years of leadership and sales experience in the direct selling industry, fulfilling roles in both European and U.S. based companies. Starting his direct selling career in 1994, Heimonen began selling health and wellness products as an independent distributor. After earning a degree in International Marketing Management, he began his management career as an executive for a direct selling company in Scandinavia and, as he gained success in his sales and marketing roles, held international director and president positions in large U.S.-based direct selling companies. He also ran his own direct selling consultancy and has been involved in several B2B operations.

“I have a passion for direct selling and the rights of consumers to look after their own health and wellness,” said Heimonen. “Hemp is a real gift to people around the world and I’m excited to help Kannaway play a big role in the comeback of this wonderful plant.”