Is Shaklee a Scam? [The Complete Review]

Welcome to my Shaklee MLM review!

If you’re looking for a multi-level marketing company that’s already stable, has performing products, and an opportunity to earn money, then Shaklee is the best MLM to look at.

Joining the right business can be a difficult decision. I know for a fact that you’ve landed on my page because you’re looking for a complete review of Shaklee. 

You’re in the right place!

Is Shaklee a scam? No, Shaklee has been in this business for more than 60 years already. It’s most well-known for its weight management products. It’s one of the few MLM companies that focus on the performance of the products rather than recruitment.

Before we get started I would like to commend you on taking the time to do your due diligence so you don't get taken by all of the scams and rip-offs that are found everywhere on the internet.

That's how you find the legit way to make money online!

I would like you to know that I'm not in any way paid by or associated with Shaklee. This is an honest review for the purposes of providing you, the consumer the information necessary so that you can make an informed decision on whether or not Shaklee is for you!

In this article, I’m going to discuss all the things that you’re looking for about Shaklee. I will go through how Shaklee began and the products that they offer. I will explain how you can join the company and the compensation plan they offer. I will also reveal the lawsuits that Shaklee has received and filed.

At the end of this article, you will be able to identify for yourself if Shaklee is a scam or a legit company.

Let’s not delay this any further, let’s get started.

Is Shaklee a Scam? MLM Review Summary


is Shaklee a scam?! The complete reviewProduct Name: Shaklee

FounderDr. Forest C. Shaklee

Product Type: Health and Wellness, Beauty, and Household; Multi-level Marketing

PriceShaklee has a lot of products to offer. The company is most well-known for its health and wellness products. Prices differ from region to region and product, it may range from $20 to $400. To become a distributor, you need to buy the Distributor Welcome Kit worth $49.95 and a Success Pack of your choice. The price would range from $298 to $1,000.

Best For: Health and Wellness enthusiast

Rating: 20 /100

Recommended: As a product user, yes. As a distributor, no.

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How Shaklee Began – Struggle in Ownership


Dr. Forest C. Shaklee was a chiropractor and spent most of his life serving his community. He spent his time writing articles about one’s mind towards health and wellbeing when he retired in 1945. 

He believed in his two principles: “thoughtsmanship” and the ability of our bodies to heal. With this, he built the Shaklee Foundation to help grow the public interest in nutrition.

He saw the growth of the market and, soon enough, he opened the doors of the Shaklee Corporation in 1956. The company is one of the oldest direct selling companies that sells health supplements.

You’ll find the business operations in countries like Canada, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and China. In recent years, the annual revenue of Shaklee reached $844 million and it’s still going strong.

With the company’s continuous growth and performance, Shaklee was ranked #10 on DSN’s Top 50 North America MLM’s list, and #21 on the international stage.

Change of Management

Over the course of Shaklee’s success, it faced many changes in its ownership. For some time, the company was even traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, the owner is Roger Barnett. He purchased Shaklee in 2004 for an amount of $310 million.

The current President of Shaklee is one of the industry veterans, Heather Chastain. He came from another MLM company as the Chief Sales Officer and Vice President. She also had the chance to be the Chair of the Direct Selling Association Ethics Committee.


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Shaklee Products – Beliefs and Values


Like what I’ve mentioned earlier, Shaklee offers a lot of products which is why I’m not going into every product.

Shaklee products

Source: https://us.shaklee.com

What I will show you is a summary of the products and the packages that Shaklee offers.

  • Nutrition – This includes multivitamins, protein shakes, nutrition regimes, and more. You’ll get to see here the multitudes of products that focus to improve and boost one’s health and well-being. 
  • Healthy Weight – This includes protein bars, shakes, tea, and more. One of the most popular products of this company is the Shaklee 180 Metabolic Boost.
  • Beauty – This includes the company’s popular Anti-Aging Collection and Personal Regime
  • Sports – This includes Performance Packs, energy drinks, recovery products, and more.
  • Green Home – This includes household cleaning materials and other products.

Shaklee Packages

Shaklee kit.

Source: https://us.shaklee.com

To further help the consumers have the right products, Shaklee has produced packages and plans that consumers can buy. Here are some of the packages you’ll see when you shop at Shaklee:

  • Life Plan – This package includes a variety of supplements from Life Strips that would last for 30 days. You’ll find multivitamins, B complex, omega 3s, liquid gels, and Life Energizing Shakes.
  • Vitalizing Plan – This package includes Life Energizing Shakes and Vitalizer supplements. The shake includes 24g of protein per scoop. The supplements would include Vitamin B, omega 3s, and multivitamins.
  • Shaklee 180 Starter Kit – This kit includes the Shaklee Metabolic Boost supplement and two canisters of the Life Energizing Shakes. It also has Vita-Lea multivitamin, 1 box of Shaklee Snack Bars, and a support program.
  • RX for a Healthier Life Plan – This package includes Vivix Liquid Gels, Vitamin B complex, and multivitamins. There’s also Life Strip, Life Energizing Shake, and Omega Guard. What’s good about this package is that you can customize it depending on your diet.

No Animal Testing

Shaklee does not do Animal Testing in any of its products. 

There was an incident when an individual bombed the Shaklee World Headquarters in 2003. This is because the company was mistaken to be doing animal testing. 

The company was quick to answer that, although the pharmaceutical corporation who owned Shaklee at that time was doing animal testing, they never used this method on their products. 

Sustainability

Shaklee sustainablility

Source: https://us.shaklee.com

Shaklee is one of the first-ever companies to receive the climate-neutral certification that offsets the co2 emissions. Thus, providing a net-zero impact on our environment. 

The company is also doing its best effort in making sure that its products are of top quality and safe. They do more than 350 tests to check for pesticide residues that may affect their ingredients which go beyond any regulatory requirements.

Shaklee’s goal is to have a certification as a non-GMO for their food products.

Because of the world-class products of Shaklee, there’s no wonder why they have been successful in their business. But let’s go to the most important part of this article, the compensation plan of Shaklee.

Shaklee Compensation Plan


If you’re an avid fan of their products, you have the option to become a Member or Premium Customer. You will only have to pay $19.95 one-time and you’ll receive between 15-25% discount on all the products that you buy.

Like most MLM companies, you would need to pay a start-up fee for you to become a Shaklee distributor. 

Levels as a Shaklee Distributor

The business opportunity of Shaklee offers you three levels. The levels vary on the amount of Personal Value that you are required to have each month. If you’d like to experience all the benefits that Shaklee can offer, then you would need to be at the highest level.

Source: https://us.shaklee.com
  1. Distributor – This is also called a Business Builder. It is the first level in order for you to earn in Shaklee. You need to pay a $49.95 start-up fee and have the required minimum of 100 monthly Personal Volume.
  2. Director or Business Leader – If you reach more than 2,000 monthly Personal Volume. At this level, you need to start building your team through recruitment. You’re also eligible to come to the New Directors Conference every year in San Francisco.
  3. Senior Director – You would need to build your downlines and promote them to the Director level to become a Senior Director.

Ways to Earn as a Shaklee Director

There are 8 ways to earn as a Shaklee Director. See the summary below:

  1. Success Bonuses – You can get $25 if you help sign up 3 Members in your first 3 months. You can also get $50 for every sign up of Distributor under you. If you can reach at least 3 Distributors, you can get an extra $150.
  2. Price Differential – You get a 15-25% discount for your retail pricing. This becomes your personal commission as a Distributor.
  3. Personal Group Bonuses – If your recruits and Members reach the minimum volume of the products that they sell and/or buy, then you are eligible for this bonus.
  4. Fast Track Bonuses – This is an incentive program for Distributors who are achieving rapid growth in recruit and sales.
  5. Lifestyle Rewards – You get extra incentives and prizes if you reach a certain volume of sales.
  6. Car Bonuses – If your team was able to reach at least 3,000 Personal Group Volume and you are promoted as a First Generation Director, then you are eligible for the Car Bonuses which is valid for up to 3 years.
  7. Leadership Bonuses – You are eligible for this bonus once you are promoted as a Director.
  8. Infinity Bonuses – You can get up to 8% commission on the personal volume of all the leaders.

To know more about the current compensation plan of Shaklee, you can visit this official page.

 

Reviews | Complaints | Rating


The easiest thing to do if you’re wondering if an MLM company is legit is to look it up on BBB.org.

Shaklee only has 5 complaints registered in BBB.org. The company has an A+ rating for its ability to provide great customer service and was accredited in November 1965.

Here’s a sample of the complaint from the site:

Shaklee BBB complaints 1

In multivitaminguide.org, the Shaklee Vitalizer Multivitamins are #6 on the top multivitamins with a score of 8.7. What does this mean?

Shaklee Vitalizer Multivitamins is one of the best products when it comes to supplements. The Shaklee Corporation invested more than $250 million in research and development for their products.

Shaklee review

Lawsuits

Even as a well-established company, Shaklee is not without lawsuits. 

1978, Shaklee sued its former distributors for interfering with the business and defaming the company’s products. The distributors were discovered to be connected to a rival company. Shaklee won the lawsuit in 1981. This was also when Shaklee discovered that their tablets had alfalfa on them.

1974, Shaklee agreed to the terms of FTC to not engage in anticompetitive practices and fix prices. FTC also asked for the records of Shaklee and its two Distributors.

2013, the Shaklee Vitamins United and Elizabeth Dopf received a legal warning from Shaklee Corporation. They asked to stop the defamatory tirade of the group. Dopf responded with a sue of her own to Shaklee and claimed that the company is a pyramid scheme.

Is Shaklee a Scam or Legit?


With the stability and continuous growth of Shaklee, there’s no doubt that this company is legit. You’ll find that most of the reviews about their product are positive.

But don’t be fooled! Joining Shaklee or other MLM businesses can be a difficult job.

You have to consider that Shaklee already has hundreds and thousands of Distributors. In most cases, you’ll find some of the Distributors right around the corner of your home. That is the reason why I don’t recommend you on becoming a Distributor.

Also, research shows that almost 99.5% of the people who join MLM do not earn money at all. It also shows that you have the chance to earn more money by doing a minimum wage job.

MLM business can be an overwhelming job. In this article, I’ve debunked the myths you’ll hear about multi-level marketing.

Affiliate Marketing Recommendation


If you’re looking for a business opportunity, I suggest that you take a look at affiliate marketing

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Here are some extra benefits of why you should choose Wealthy Affiliate:

  • There’s no start-up cost.
  • You don’t need to recruit.
  • There’s no need to hard-sell any product.
  • There’s a complete step-by-step guide on how to start.
  • It’s complete with training materials.
  • You’ll have great support from co-affiliates.

Shaklee

$49.95
5.3

Training

5.0/10

Support

7.0/10

Compensation

5.0/10

Opportunities

4.0/10

Pros

  • Well-established company
  • Proven and tested products
  • Affordable products
  • Support and Tools from Shaklee
  • Great customer support

Cons

  • Lawsuits addressed to Distributors
  • Vague compensation plan
  • Company is more focused on product development rather than Distributor development

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