Lifeplus

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lifeplus is an American company that sells nutritional supplements and personal care products. The company sells its products with the help of recommendation marketing, also known as multi-level marketing (MLM). Consumer advocates criticize the dietary supplements on offer as usually superfluous, and recommendation marketing is also criticized.

history

In 1992, the American pharmacist Bob Lemon decided to develop and manufacture dietary supplements. According to the company, this developed into one of the “probably world leaders in MLM business marketing”.

In 1999 Gabi Steiner, a former single mother and wholesaler from Baden-Württemberg, began recommendation marketing. Today she lives as a millionaire in Mallorca, among other places. The Mallorca Zeitung reported in November 2015 that more than 91,000 people from Gabi Steiner's team had ordered products worth 14 million euros from Lifeplus “in the past month”, i.e. approx. 160 € / person / month.

In 2017, 15,000 people gathered in the Stuttgart exhibition halls to take part in a Lifeplus congress.

facts and figures

Employee and sales figures cannot be found on the Lifeplus website.

The German-language website names Lifeplus Europe Ltd. as the contact address. based in Cambridgeshire, England.

Criticism of dietary supplements

The products from Lifeplus are "quite expensive" compared to other products from drugstores, supermarkets or pharmacies, judges the Internet portal "Klartext Dietary Supplements", which is the responsibility of the consumer advice centers. However, a high price is no guarantee of better quality. The portal emphasizes that healthy people who eat a mixed diet do not need any additional food supplements. Germany is not a country with a lack of vitamins. That was shown by the National Consumption Study II .

Criticism of recommendation marketing

In recommendation marketing or multi-level marketing, customers recommend the products to their friends, family, friends or work colleagues. You will receive a commission if the recommendation leads to an order. Those who have won customers who also acquire customers and thus generate sales receive additional commissions. "Klartext Nutritional Supplements" writes that the income of the individual is higher, the more customers or business partners he has recruited. According to the Stuttgarter Zeitung, the company operates “in a legal gray area”. But not if it were a prohibited pyramid scheme , as each advertiser has no normal consumer for Life Plus, but also business partners. "Klartext Nutritional Supplements" judges that advertising messages in word-of-mouth advertising are difficult to control. Dietary supplements should not be advertised as curing or alleviating diseases. “Whether consultants adhere to this legal situation or go far beyond it in their promise of salvation cannot be verified,” writes the portal. In March 2019, an "advertisement" from Lifeplus Europe Ltd. was posted on the n-tv website . published a text defending Lifeplus' business model. A similar text appeared on the website of the Handelsblatt and the magazine Focus .  

Controversy over television reports

BR TV broadcast a critical report on Lifeplus and its nutritional supplement business in November 2014. Lifeplus responded with a statement that the BR published on its website. In it, the company rejects various allegations regarding its products and sales methods. The ARD broadcast on September 9, 2019 report, which also made dietary supplements and their distribution on the subject. It alleges that Lifeplus distributors also recommend Lifeplus products for the treatment of cancer patients. According to the ARD broadcast, Lifeplus said: "Alleged product recommendations for people with cancer" are "not known" to the company. Misconduct by “Lifeplus partners” will be “immediately sanctioned”.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Lifeplus Products: Health Assessment. Consumer advice center portal, March 29, 2018; last accessed on January 17, 2019
  2. ↑ a b Not all MLM business marketing companies are created equal. Manufacturer's website, last accessed on January 17, 2019
  3. ↑ What kind of chances are these ?! Gabi Steiner's website, last accessed on January 17, 2019
  4. ↑ a b Stephanie Schuster: She didn't want to grow old and got rich in: Mallorcazeitung, online edition, November 25, 2015; last accessed on January 17, 2019
  5. ↑ a b Claudia Bell: Happy with vitamin pills? in: Stuttgarter Zeitung, online edition, June 20, 2017; last accessed on January 17, 2019:
  6. ↑ Referral Marketing Company Lifeplus. Manufacturer's website; last accessed on January 17, 2019
  7. ↑ Lifeplus Europe Ltd .: Lifeplus' business model - why the criticism? March 15, 2019, accessed September 11, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Lifeplus Europe Ltd .: The company Lifeplus: Is the criticism of the MLM business model justified? June 4, 2019, accessed September 11, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Lifeplus Europe Ltd .: Lifeplus under fire - but why? May 29, 2019, accessed September 11, 2019 .
  10. ↑ The business with dietary supplements. Bayerischer Rundfunk, The Story. November 12, 2014; last accessed on January 17, 2019
  11. ↑ Statement from Lifeplus Europe Ltd. , November 12, 2014; last accessed on January 17, 2019
  12. ↑ ARD: Exclusively in the first: Army of the Savior. The dubious business with dietary supplements. September 9, 2019, accessed September 11, 2019 .