What is Usana
Usana is an MLM company based in Salt Lake City, Utah (Utah is the mother ship for MLM companies!) that sells health care products. The company’s founder, Myron Wentz, PH.D., began the company in an effort to improve cell health. Although Usana produces dozens of items, they can all be separated into three different categories: skin care, vitamins, and nutritional supplements.

Usana employs a much smaller number of people than other MLM companies like XanGo, but it is still a multi-million dollar company. Unfortunately, Usana stock prices have been falling over the past several years. Several lawsuits and controversy over-inflated executive resumes have probably contributed to this decline.

Quality of Product
As far as product quality is concerned, there are several opinions on the matter. According to Usana, product quality is a paramount concern. During manufacturing, several tests are conducted to ensure uniform product potency, weight, hardness and purity. The company also follows Good manufacturing Practices for pharmaceuticals rather than food. With these guidelines and tests, Usana products have earned a reputation for safety, but effectiveness is another matter.

Some sources claim that more affordable dietary supplements can be just as beneficial as Usana products. There hasn’t been a lot of research conducted to prove these theories though. To establish their own credibility, Usana points to several Olympic athletes who use their products. On the other hand, those athletes are Olympians and they tend to be sponsored by Usana as well.

Compensation for MLM Associates
Usana works on a binary compensation plan. According to Usana, the average associate made about $600 in 2006 and the average commission qualified associate made about $1500. The company clearly states that these numbers are no guarantee of how much an associate will make though. As nice as it would be to have some extra money, these numbers don’t look like a dependable income for a family.

Additionally, many people spend more money on the products than they earn by selling them. According to several recruiting presentations, each new Usana distributor must buy a minimum of about $445 worth of the company’s business tools and health products to get started and then they must continue to buy about $290 worth of its health products every month thereafter in order to qualify for commissions. For avid Usana users, this might be a great deal because they are committed to the product. For someone on board for the money, it can make return on investment a difficult task though.

Conclusion
At the moment, Usana is under a lot of scrutiny. For most people, Usana probably isn’t the number one way to get rich either. On the other hand, their products are safer than many dietary supplements on the market and it might be worth becoming an associate if you like their products enough.

Usana News
Here are some recent news stories about Usana’s bumpy road:

Usana Borrowing $215 Million to Go Private

Usana Wins Best of State Award - Again

Usana CEO Tries to Buy Out His Own Company

If you want to keep up on Usana news, read the Usana blog.