Herbalife

Tupperware, Kleeneezee, Amway, Avon. What have these organisations got in common? Yes. You at the back... That's right. They are companies that have promoted and sold products in a different way from more typical organisations that present their products in stores or supermarkets.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw an intriguing classified ad in a magazine called "Teacher". The ad gave no clue as to what the product or service behind it might be. Anyway, I rang up and this morning drove to the Totley area of Sheffield to meet semi-retired couple Gillian and Mike who are well-ensconced in a company called "Herbalife". They gave me a "Herbalife" energy drink and a nutritional snack bar. Their home was spotlessly clean and I could see their cat waiting outside their spacious conservatory to be let in.

Until this meeting, all that I knew about "Herbalife" is that they sponsor David Beckham's current club - L.A. Galaxy. It seems that like the other companies I mentioned, "Herbalife" doesn't work through shops. It has the sort of construction we associate with pyramid selling whereby if I decided to join up and somehow sell a few products, a chunk of my commission would go to Gillian and Mike.

I have never been one for vitamin products, energy drinks or diet formulas and my life philosophy is more about enjoying my time on this planet, eating and drinking what I want rather than becoming religiously health-conscious. So I am already thinking that "Herbalife" hardly fits with who I am. However, I am not yet going to dismiss the "opportunity" completely. Before doing so I thought I would ask visitors to this blog what they know about "Herbalife". Has the company touched you in any way or have you heard particular stories about it?