MLM Blog – Network Marketing Blog

Sodium Benzoate Preservative Found In MonaVie, Xango and Ageless Xtra

Posted on 17. Feb, 2010 by Ty Tribble.

I just unleashed 7 of my most closely guarded Internet Marketing files for the first time. Download Ty Tribble's MLM Web Secrets. It's my free gift to you for visiting.

I was surprised to see so many antioxidant juices containing Sodium Benzoate, including MonaVie, Xango and Ageless Xtra.

EIRO SuperAntioxidant is free of sodium benzoate and is clinically proven to raise antioxidant levels in the bloodstream. Learn more here: EIRO Antioxidant Product

If you want additional scientific details about EIRO Research check out this site.

Even the Coca Cola company has stopped using Sodium Benzoate in it's products.

Here are the three big reasons for concern:

Sodium Benzoate with Vitamin C creates a carcinogen…

"Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed from sale."

Sodium Benzoate has been shown to damage cells leading to aging…

"Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the “power station” of cells known as the mitochondria.

He told The Independent on Sunday: “These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.

“The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it – as happens in a number if diseased states – then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA – Parkinson’s and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."

Sodium Benzoate when ingested with certain food coloring leads to hyperactivity in children…

"A study by researchers at the University of Southampton has shown evidence of increased levels of hyperactivity in young children consuming mixtures of some artificial food colors and the preservative sodium benzoate.

The possibility of food colors and preservatives affecting children’s behavior has long been an unresolved question for parents. This significant new research by a team from the University of Southampton’s Schools of Psychology and Medicine provides a clear demonstration that changes in behavior can be detected in three-year-old and eight-year-old children."

Continue Reading

Ex MonaVie Leader Raven Starre Has An Interesting Question…

Posted on 11. Feb, 2010 by Ty Tribble.

This comes from Raven's Facebook:

Keep seeing so many ACAI weight loss ads... If ACAI berries really make u lose weight, why are so many Top Level MONAVIE Reps/Executives overweight? Seriously, I was there for 5 years. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm Just honestly asking.

Continue Reading

Network Marketing Compensation Plans Part 2: The Binary Plan

Posted on 22. Jan, 2010 by Ty Tribble.

Company examples: MonaVie, Agel, Usana, Vemma, Exfuse.

History and definitions: Binary plans are built with two legs or teams and your ability to balance those two teams in order to be paid all of your volume. Some of the first Binary plans were 50/50 balanced so that you would only get paid on your volume when it matched exactly in each leg. When it matched up, you got what is called a "cycle" or a small amount of money based on the volume accumulated and matched up in each team.

Later companies moved to a 1/3 - 2/3 cycling binary plan where you would be able to cycle even though your team was balanced 1/3 in one leg and 2/3 in the other leg.

The newer binary plans do not cycle, but pay 10% on the smaller of your two legs, many times leaving large amounts of volume unpaid in one of your legs.

Commentary: In a binary plan company that had over 40,000 distributors, I set a record with the fasting growing team, top recruiter and fastest to diamond in the company history. So I know how to build a Binary plan. The problem was not my income, the problem was the income of the several thousand people on my team. It was laughable.

The smoke and mirrors of a binary plan is that in some cases, you have people on your team. Sometimes hundreds of people, yet those people rarely equate to actual income. This provides a new person with a false sense of success. The newest person sees people coming into their team, but no financial gain from those people. Companies are able to create momentum as a result of distributors getting a false hope by seeing one team grow even though they aren't making any money.

Some companies also have high product purchase requirements (up to $250) that many times leads to bottles stacking up in the garage as they hope for the future.

The good thing about the binary is the ability to create momentum and excitement over a short period of time. The bad thing about the binary is the reality of so many people losing money each month with a false sense of success.

Binary plans are also very back end weighted. They pay a handful of people really well and leave the vast majority of the distributors starving.

Continue Reading

Black Diamonds Leaving MonaVie?

Posted on 21. Jan, 2010 by Ty Tribble.

I get the sense that the $250 autoship and the "binary creep" is catching up to the once high flying MonaVie.  Binary creep has to do with the company getting in a position that they are paying out too much money so they must do a couple of things to stop the bleeding.  According to MLM compensation plan expert Rod Cook, companies like MonaVie sometimes have the following issues:

Everybody in the Binary has to be penalized by "Pooling." That means that the total allowable % of payout is put into a pool and the number of distributors generating matching commission pay points are divided into it. That drops the amount of everybody's checks and usually starts the decline of the company.

The products or services sold in the Binary have to have a CV (commissionable volume) reduction put on them. Other wise if a product sold for $20 in a new Binary that amount would be put into the Binary for payouts. After CV (sometimes called BV or Bonus Volume) the product still sells for $20 put only $15 goes into the Binary for pay purposes.

I think the MonaVie Energy Drink pays out about 50% CV on the dollar....that is approaching Amway numbers.

When these things start to take place, some leaders get restless.  There teams are shrinking and no matter how hard they work, the team can't be replaced as fast as they are quitting.

Let's look at some of the evidence suggesting that MonaVie is sliding...

1. Black Diamonds are leaving. I'm not going to go into who is leaving and where they went, (perhaps another post), but they are leaving.

2. The number of new rank advancements in November was tiny when you consider the sheer numbers of MonaVie reps.

3. MonaVie never hit $1 Billion in sales in 2008 like they talked about.  The sales were big, over $800 million but I haven't heard a whisper about 2009 sales.  I suspect that those will not be announced.

I will be posting an article about the Binary compensation plan soon and one of the biggest points in the article is the fact that you can't cash 100 people at the bank.  What I mean by that is the binary plan can lead to early growth because Network Marketers get excited about people being placed on "their team".  However, those people very rarely lead to income and over time the luster of having a team will fade when the $8 a month income gets compared with the $250 autoship and another $100 in tools.

Continue Reading

Monavie Distributor Selling T-Shirts on Ebay

Posted on 18. Jan, 2010 by Dan Mitchell.

Check this out at Ebay. It's a Liquid Google T-shirt offered by a Monavie Distributor. I'd grab one quick before Google shuts them down for copyright infringement. It probably breaks a few Monavie rules as well.  Here's the description of the product:

This shirt catches so many eyes it's incredible! The Liquid Google shirt implies that Mona Vie is the "New Google!" If 12 years ago the founders Google approached you and said to you, "we have a technology that's going to change the world" and asked if you would like to be an investor, would you say yes or no to their opportunity? Most people probably brushed them off and I bet they regret that every time they go online!!. Well Mona Vie is Liquid Google, and people are still oblivious to this great product and business opportunity. This shirt is for the distributor who feels they have the best product for the world! Shirt has the Pulse Bottle, the new Mmun Bottle, Active Bottle and the Emv can. If you are into branding yourself, this is the perfect shirt to wear. People will ask you the meaning of it which is a perfect conversation starter to introduce them to the business. Mens shirt is 100% cotton and womens shirt is a spandex cotton that fits your body. PLEASE INDICATE IF YOU WOULD LIKE A WOMENS OR MENS SHIRT or "both" and also DON'T FORGET TO indicate the sizes you would like. The womens shirt come in V-neck, so be sure to indicate specifically which womens shirt you would like. We also have the Vneck with stones on it which is really beautiful. Type Mona Vie Liquid Google and you will see it. Both Mens and Womens shirts come in sizes small-2XL. PLEASE BE SURE TO NOTE ON THE PAYPAL FORM YOUR SIZE OR SEND AN EBAY MESSAGE INDICATING YOUR SIZE.

Continue Reading

MonaVie Sues Xowii: MonaVie CEO, Dallin Larsen Loses All Credibility

Posted on 27. Dec, 2009 by Ty Tribble.

The following is from a press release issued by MonaVie about the "Open Door Campaign", a campaign that was started shortly after MonaVie was sued by Amway over Orrin Woodward's Team leaving Amway for MonaVie:

"Non-compete agreements were designed for high-level corporate employees, not for independent contractors," says Dallin Larsen, MonaVie founder and president. "Some network marketing companies use overly burdensome language in their agreements as a punitive tool to tie their independent contractors to them for life, often interfering with the individual entrepreneur's ability to earn a living. It's my belief that direct selling companies need to earn the trust of their most valued asset, their distributors, on a daily basis. If a distributor, for whatever reason, no longer trusts his or her company, that distributor should be free to go in another direction without undue restriction."

MonaVie even launched a web site OpenDoorCampaign.com.  Here is a snip from that site:

“As a company, we pledge to respect our distributors and the value they bring to our organization. We know our success as a company is based on the success of our people. We will not bind any distributor to our company through unfair or illegal practices, including overly restrictive non-compete clauses. Instead, we promise an open door policy and are committed to creating an environment where distributors thrive.”

Now fast forward a few months and lets read from the recent lawsuit filed by MonaVie against new MLM Xowii, which by the way has nearly the same compensation plan as MonaVie (in other words the average associate is going out of the frying pan and into the fire should they choose to join Xowii):

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

MonaVie LLC is suing former distributors and an fledgling California competitor alleging they are trying to steal its independent sales force by spreading lies about the Utah company's financial prospects.

The South Jordan-based MonaVie is suing the startup XOWii LLC of Newport, Calif., in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City.

The two companies are among a legion of multilevel marketers among whom competition can be fierce to attract and hold networks of independent distributors of their nutritional and personal-care products.

In the lawsuit filed this month, MonaVie names former distributors Rodney Robards of Oklahoma and Shaylon Hart and Chris Byram of Texas, who now work with XOWii, as well as officers of the California company.

The three obtained lists and contact information of MonaVie's distributors, potential distributors and customers and used them to spread false information about it in order to lure them to XOWii, the lawsuit alleges.

They and possibly others "have contacted existing and prospective distributors and customers of MonaVie, both personally and through the utilization of an automated messaging system, and made disparaging statements that reflected poorly upon MonaVie," according to the complaint.

The lawsuit also names XOWii officers Richard Kelly, James Christiansen, Brandon Rath and William Sickert, who it alleges knew of and endorsed the publication of the false statements.

MonaVie said the statements are defamatory and harmed it and is asking the court for unspecified monetary damages.

Commentary:

A few months ago Dallin Larsen was the "freedom fighter" fighting against the evil Amway empire for holding Orrin Woodward's "Team" hostage with "overburdensome" non-compete langauge and today his company is suing Xowii distributors over the very same issue.  Pot meet kettle.

Continue Reading

MonaVie Partners with NBA’s Houston Rockets

Posted on 17. Dec, 2009 by Dan Mitchell.

MonaVie is pleased to announce that it is now the official partner of the Houston Rockets for the 2009–2010 NBA season!

As official partner of the Houston Rockets, the team’s fans will be introduced to MonaVie EMV through the advertising and sale of MonaVie EMV at the Toyota Center.

MonaVie EMV web banners will also be featured on www.rockets.com, and the healthy energy drink will have a presence at several community events.

“MonaVie distributors will join Houston Rockets fans to cheer on the team and boost energy levels in the arena with MonaVie EMV,” says MonaVie Founder, Chairman and CEO, Dallin A. Larsen. “Thousands will experience the MonaVie edge first-hand, and will rally with brand ambassadors at the Rockets Run, the Blacktop Battle, and Road Jam Events.”

Source: MonaVie

Continue Reading

Monavie Rep Takes Hype and Lies To New Level

Posted on 17. Dec, 2009 by Dan Mitchell.

I found this over at the Juice Scam blog. It's a letter that a MonaVie rep sent to promote MonaVie. I've re-posted it in its entirety as it takes hype and lies to a whole new level. With a healthy dose of fear-mongering! Go Monavie!

Greetings!
Being a committed Christian standing firm on Gods word. Mormonism vs. the Christianity belief initially was never a concern with our place in Mona-vie. We had to stand firm knowing that Gods word never fails and can be used as a blueprint for our life that we live. John 10:10 tells us that: “The thief (devil; he’s a small font devil)) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to full”. – NIV.

Mona-vie is truly a God Blessed business. So you better believe that if Mona-vie is changing people’s lives physically, financially and spiritually. The enemy will do whatever he can to stop the progress, it’s his labor. Everyone who puts their hands to this business and works it will be blessed. Believing that the devil knows that his days are growing shorter, we need to understand that attacks are going to come against families spiritually, financially and physically. We do sell ourselves. We sell ourselves as Christian’s in life hoping to live by example so that our life will reflect well in the eyes of others to hopefully give the unbeliever a desire to have what we have which is Jesus Christ. We do not follow under the umbrella of Mormonism in Mona-vie, we follow under the umbrella of Christianity through R3Global. To critique otherwise would also require us to examine where we do our every day shopping.

If we apt not to take advantage of living in a capitalist society and be “religious minded”, which by the way Jesus Christ despised the “religious minded” because it was them that hung Him on the cross, then we have to look at where we shop. If we buy any product from Wal-Mart, Publix, Winn Dixie, Target or even the Dollar Store, then it would suggest that we need to look at the Christian beliefs of the founders of these mentioned companies as well. There again we need to stand on Gods word and know that what the devil intended for evil, God will make good. At the most recent R3Global conference in Orlando, there were over 200 people that gave their life to Christ. If it was only one soul saved through Mona-vie, then Mona-vie is worth the effort.

When we first got involved in Mona-vie and being so analytically minded, my goal was to tear the product and company apart and see what the hype was all about. The science behind the product was truly astonishing. Knowing that the vitamins and minerals we get in vegetables can also be obtained by a vitamin pill. There will never be a vitamin pill that will give us the necessary anti-oxidant and phyto-nutrients (phyto meaning plant derived) needed found inone serving of Mona-vie. Two servings give us the nutrient equivalence of 13 fruits a day. That is a fact. Most people believe that just eating the common fruits which are apples, bananas and oranges is enough. But after researching the fruits in Mona-vie which are not massed farmed, which contributes todepleting the nutrient value are not organic but wild. Wild is better than organic nutritionally. Our proprietary blend of fruits are from some of the most remote regions of the world that the toxic levels of pollutants has to be measured in parts per billion as compared to parts per million (ppm). That’s wild! Organic fruits and vegetables contain such a minimal difference in nutrient value as compared to wild, that most people waste their money purchasing organic as compared to regular store bought. Today we are seeing more over weight people and health issues then ever before in our history.

Which now makes the sickness business a huge money maker. We want to keep people out of the doctors office. Mona-vie can not make medical claims because as soon as we do the government wants to get their hands on the product. But with one of our new products, Pulse, we can state a medical claim. Don’t you know that the government can mess up a good thing? So lets keep their hands off. It’s not FDA approved, it’s God approved! The body was made naturally to heal itself, we just have messed it up for so long it took medical science to try to fix the mess we made of it. That’s another fact. Keep the government out of Mona-vie unless they want to initiate a great Health Care Plan and get everyone on the product. Praise God for doctors, but I knew of one doctor that actually stated he did not want his patients to get on Mona-vie because of the kick backs he was getting from the pharmaceutical companies. That’s a fact and sad.

A product generally goes from the Manufacturer to the wholesaler, to the jobber and then on to the retailer. Which ends up in our home. When I first looked at Mona-vie with a very skeptical and analytical mind and then read the reports and then did the research myself, I could not find anything bad on the product, company and their business model to market the product. What an amazing product! Finally a product that in my eyes if our government wanted to develop a health care plan they need to put everyone on Mona-vie. The sickness business, which by the way we are in the wellness business, is the only trillion dollar a year industry. Mostly generated from the pharmaceutical business which is killing 105,000 people annually. And these are medications taken as prescribed by their doctors. Amazing fact. The propriety blend in Mona-vie is what makes it so loaded with nutrients it allows our bodies to get back in balance. The acai berry has been proven to be the only food that can sustain the human body with life. It has the protein profile of an egg and contains the necessary amino acids and nutrients needed for the body to survive. No other food has ever displayed this life sustaining profile.

The product VIBE may have some health benefits, but it’s the proprietary blend that sets Mona-vie apart. Our ORAC value of the acai berry that is part of this blend stands at 1,027 when freeze dried. Any other product that claims more is not factual with their harvesting practices, if you can find out how it is harvested. And we need to remember that the body will only assimilate so much in one serving and the rest will end up in our septic system. A solid pill form vitamin only has the absorption rate of 17-20% into our body. That’s one reason after taking a multi-vitamin our urine is so yellow in color. We own the patent process to harvesting our acai berry. That is big. Companies jumped on the band wagon with the acai berry after discovering the amazing super food that it is. Put the acai berry freeze dried to keep its high pure ORAC value with 18 other wild exotic fruits and you have a nutritional product that no one can touch. Mona-vie went under years of research before being marketed. This gave the company an infrastructure scientifically, medically and in leadership that no one can touch. We had a Medical Advisory Board in place and the scientific research to back our product before the company was ever introduced to the general public. As a Christian one area of the company that intrigued us was knowing that before the company was rolled out, they had their eye’s on people. Before they made their first dollar the M.O.R.E. Project was being introduced. Mona-vie Operation Rescue. Getting kids off of the streets, teaching trades, feeding people and giving people hope that the enemy wanted to keep them from.. Key Note: People can mess up a good thing. On the Oprah Winfrey show Dr. Nicholas Perricone stated that the number one “super food” is the acai berry. Dr. Perricone has revealed the secrets of youthful, perfect skin and is known as the Dr. of the Inflammation Theory. Ever wonder why the Brazilian’s have such beautiful skin? They live near the equator where you would expect their skin to appear more aged. It’s because their consumption of the acai berry almost in their every day diet in pure form. Their disease rate is low and life long. People have taken the fact that Dr. Nicholas Perricone stated that the acai berry is a “super food” on the Oprah Winfrey show, mixed her name with it as someone who endorsed the product, which has led to controversary. We can not control what people say and if anyone follows Oprah to any degree knows that she has a cult like following.. You can YouTube Oprah and witness her stating that Jesus Christ can’t be the “only way to God”. She has a following of over 2 million people with this New Age belief that is totally contrary to Gods unchanging word. So whatever comes out of her mouth, unless it’s repentance, has to be taken with a discerning spirit.

Mona-vie is generating hope and health for people and a lot of money. It has blessed my family financially and we have the tax statements to prove it. You can not take a percentage of people making money based on the number of people that have been sponsored. Only 1% as stated by a recent article mathematically incorrect. The numbers would be skewed by the fact that the actual people working Mona-vie is not in any comparison to the actual number of working distributors. Business takes work. It’s a business and those that quit have lost their vision or have been poisoned by what they have found on the internet or ignorant words of another. You can search on the internet the word Christianity or Santa Claus and guaranteed to find junk from somewhere. Our lives from Mona-vie has been changed. Since our first month in the business we have never paid for a case of the product because we saw the business model and quickly got to the point where our work paid for the juice. We could not afford it in the beginning, but we had hope in Christ and Mona-vie, God did the rest.

The product works and it is going to attract “ambulance chaser” lawyers to just lay and wait for the moment that someone makes a claim that is not approved by Mona-vie. Mona-vie has more going for them than against. And one with God is a majority. Attached is a little information that we hope you can find useful. Don’t let dream stealers steal your vision. Remember, people without vision will perish. Obama stated that our country was no longer a Christian nation. We know where that lie came from. We were founder on Christian beliefs and principles and no one can ever take that away.

Mona-vie is a company worth talking about.
Blessings,
[Name Withheld]
Mona-vie Gold Executive
[Email Withheld]
P.S. If you want to scientific facts, we can provide them.

Continue Reading

Orrin Woodward and The Team (MonaVie Reps) Lose $25 Million Arbitration Suit

Posted on 06. Dec, 2009 by Ty Tribble.

In what is called "the final award", Orrin and Laurie Woodward are liable for $12,736,659 for soliciting other IBO's to resign from Quixtar and compete with it's business (in MonaVie).

Chris and Terri Brandy are liable for $9,578,756 and Tim and Amy Makes are liable for $3,533,230.

Check out the PDF here.

Update with some comments from Orrin Woodward:

The arbitration award is far from final and with the recent ruling by a Federal judge in Utah that former IBO’s should not go through Amway’s arbitration, we will see what happens. There are several major pieces of evidence that were denied us in our defense that is now coming to light. In either case, if the judicial system rules that we must pay after hearing the facts, we will bond and continue to fight for justice. I will never surrender to tyranny and if Amway can point to even one person that I solicited to leave Amway then I ask them to name them? I haven’t nor ever would solicit anyone as I believe that someone convinced against their will is of the same opinion still.

Continue Reading

MLM Energy Drinks Comparison

Posted on 03. Dec, 2009 by Ty Tribble.

EIRO Energy

Calories: 25
Artificial Flavor: No
Preservatives: No
Carbonated: No
Carbs: 10g
Sugar: 0g
Energy Blend: Green Tea, Guarana, Gingko Biloba, Ginseng and Vitamins

MonaVie EMV

Calories: 170
Artificial Flavor: No
Preservatives: No (?) pectin (stabilizer) and xantham gum
Carbonated: Yes
Carbs: 40g
Sugar: 22g
Energy Blend: Guarana, Green tea, Maca, Yerba mate, Ginseng

Vemma Verve

Calories: 72
Artificial Flavor: No
Preservatives: Yes
Carbonated: Yes
Carbs: 18g
Sugar: 18g
Energy Blend: Guarana, Green Tea, Vitamins and Minerals

Efusjon (Edge)*

Calories: 80
Artificial Flavor: No
Preservatives: No
Carbonated: yes
Carbs: 20g
Sugar: 20g
Energy Blend: Synthetic Caffeine and Vitamins

Amway XS Energy Drink (Citrus Blast) 

Calories: 8
Artificial Flavor: Yes 
Preservatives: Yes
Carbonated: Yes
Carbs: 0g
Sugar: 0g
Energy Blend: Synthetic Caffeine and Vitamins
Other: Artificial Colors

Continue Reading