Guilt by association is a daunting business obstacle.
How do you change a sketchy reputation you didn’t earn?
That’s the perception problem facing Utah natural products companies who sell lotions and vitamins and tropical juices door-to-door as they pursue coveted direct sales licenses from the Chinese government.
Collectively – and with repeated gentle hints from Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and aggressive lobbying by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Foreign Commercial Service – they are trying to erase the too-recent memory of unscrupulous pyramid schemers who decimated parts of China with financial scams in the 1990s. But in a country where consciousness is measured in millennia, progress takes years.
Dissecting the success of Provo-based Nu Skin, executives from Nature’s Sunshine, Tahitian Noni, USANA and XanGo believe they have hit upon a solid strategy: Build a factory. Open stores. Hire workers. Eventually, get a license. But each step is excruciatingly slow.
Salt Lake Tribune – Direct sales reps lobby for market
