Is Isagenix a Scam? (Another Pyramid Scheme Exposed?!)

Welcome to my Isagenix review!

Chances are, you've just seen your friends posted on social media about their weight loss results with this company called Isagenix.

Or someone has shared this opportunity with you where you can lose weight, have more energy and make money at the same time.

In other words, they're saying that they can help you get slimmer while your wallet grows fatter.

Seems like the perfect scenario, right?

But no matter what, I must Congratulate you for taking your time to do your own research before buying into any "seemingly good" product or business opportunity.

That's the way to avoid scams and find the legitimate way to make money online!

Let me be completely transparent with you, I'm not associated with Isagenix in any form.

So, rest assured that I'm not here to pitch or sell anything to you.

Instead, I'm here to reveal to you the most honest truth about Isagenix and why there's so many people calling it a scam while a lot of people supporting it like crazy.

Is Isagenix a scam? Or is it a pyramid scheme?

Here's the truth...

Isagenix International LLC is an Arizona-based and privately held Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company that sells dietary supplements and personal care products, mostly focusing on weight loss.

Their mission is to help ordinary people "Take control of their lives".

That's why they adopted the MLM business model while selling nutritional products so that people have tje opportunity to enjoy both health and wealth at the same time by using and sharing their products.

Before we dig any further into their product line and business opportunity, I just want to mention something I discovered during my research...

Two of the founders of Isagenix, Jim Coover & John Anderson, were actually involved with a dangerous diet MLM called The Cambridge Diet which went bankrupt.

I know this doesn't mean anything for Isagenix but it's just something to take note.

Isagenix Product Line

Since Isagenix's main focus is on helping people lose weight, their flagship product is their 9-Day and 30-Day Weight Loss System.

Within the package, they have various kind of protein shakes, bars, herbal supplements meant for losing weight and sport drink.

(By the way, the cost of this System is $269-$378.50!)

Their main goal is to help you cleanse your body, support detoxification & metabolism so that you can eliminate body waste and stubborn fat to lose weight. This also lead to better overall health & well-being at the same time.

Apart from that, they actually have a pretty large product line which include:

• Other Weight Loss Solutions - Snacks & mini meals to curb the hunger while providing essential nutrition
• Performance Solutions - Protein shakes, bars and other products that can either fuel training or help in recovery (Basically, these are products that help with your exercises)
• Vitality & Well-Being - Various kinds of supplements for your daily nutrition requirements or targeted areas like joint health or brain support
• Essential Oils - Different kinds of Essential Oils + Accessories like diffuser (For best Essential Oil, check out Young Living and doTERRA)
• Personal Care + Beauty - "Age-defying" skincare products like serums, creams, toners, etc. (Similar to Jeunesse)

To see the full list of products, check out this link here.

To be honest, Isagenix's product line is very similar to companies like Purium, Yoli, Plexus and Shaklee.

The only difference with the Isagenix products is the inclusion of the herbal component in their supplements.

However, some studies have also shown that there's little evidence these herbal stuff actually assist with weight loss.

So, Do The Products Work?

This is always the most commonly asked question.

To be honest, I've not tried their products myself but here's what I found from my research...

The feedback from their customers are very polarized. People either love it or hate it.

Some common compliments include quality products that generate real effective results in weight loss and health, while the major complaint is their ineffectiveness and the high prices.

So, there are people who actually feel a huge difference after using the products, while others either don't feel anything at all or some even experienced side effects.

The only way for you to find out if the products work for you is to invest the time and money to test them out.

Just take a look at these feedback:

There are people who absolutely love and recommend the products (These could be Isagenix Associates trying to make money though).

And there are also people who had negative experience with Isagenix:

But here's a pretty reasonable and logical argument I found...

The terms ‘detox’ and ‘cleanse’ have become so mainstream in the dieting world that those terms don’t mean too much anymore.

Any reliable health or weight loss experts will tell you that our body is already cleansing ourselves everyday and that's what the liver, kidneys and colon are for.

So, you may feel positive effects by using Isagenix products but it's hard to tell if it's really the effects of using those supplements or it's just your body doing its job.

My opinion is that the legitimacy of the product is really subjective. They definitely don't work for everyone so the only way to find out is to try it yourself.

Just like any other MLM businesses, there are 2 main ways for you to make money with Isagenix:

1. Sell their products to your customers and earn retail commissions
2. Recruit people and build your downline teams to earn various bonuses and incentives in their compensation plan

And the way for you to promote their products or business opportunity is via their method called...

"Eat it, love it, share it"

That's the basis of network marketing - You get compensated for sharing the products you like with your friends, family and all the people you know.

Isagenix mainly focuses on 2 types of marketing:

1. Word-of-Mouth Marketing
2. Social Media Marketing

That's why you may have heard Isagenix from your friend or family. Or you may have came across Isagenix via Associates' social media posts.

But before you even start sharing, we need to understand how to get started and actually qualify for the commissions...

How to Get Started with Isagenix?

If you search on Isagenix's website, they don't have any information on how to get started and what's the cost.

All they ask you to do is to get back to the person who introduced this opportunity to you - a very typical method used by MLMs.

This is just one minor reason why I don't recommend Isagenix because there are a lot companies out there that allow you to register online without all the hassle of contacting your friend.

Anyway, in order for you to become an Isagenix Associate, you have to first become their Preferred Customer:

You're definitely recommended to sign up for the $29/year membership because you're eligible for additional discounts and rewards with that membership.

After purchasing the membership, the second requirement is to place a "Qualifying Product Order".

Basically, they have a few Starter Packs for you to choose from which have different products and prices. (The Starter Packs are usually a few hundred bucks. You can check the prices here.)

On top of that, in order for you to remain active and qualify for commissions, you need to generate at least 100 PV (Personal Volume) per month, which is equivalent to around $150/month.

You can achieve that by either selling products or consuming products yourself.

Isagenix Compensation Plan

Isagenix adopts a binary compensation plan which you need to recruit at least 2 people, one on your left and one on your right to build 2 downline teams:

There's a total of 5 different ranks:

1. Associate
2. Consultant
3. Manager
4. Director
5. Executive 

The higher your rank, the more commissions and bonuses you can earn.

But in order to advance in ranks, you have to recruit more people. Ranking is based on the number of people you recruit and the sales volume your downline teams can generate.

On the other hand, there are 6 ways you can get paid by Isagenix based on their compensation plan:

1. Retail Profits - Associates purchase Isagenix products at wholesale price and resell them to customers at retail price earning the difference
2. Retail Direct Profits - Same as retail profits but these are the sales made when customers purchase retail products through Associate's Isagenix website
3. Product Introduction Bonuses - Commissions earn from the sales of new members' "Qualifying Product Order" (Starter Packs)
4. Team Bonuses - Residual income earned based on the sales performance of your binary downline teams
5. Executive Matching Team Bonuses - Additional 10% matching bonus based on the sales volume of your direct referrals
6. Special Incentives & Promotions - Ranks Advancement Bonuses, Leadership Pool Bonuses, etc...

As you can see, MLM's compensation plan can get very complicated and this is just the basics. (Another reason why I don't recommend MLM)

So, I'm not going into anymore details as it's not necessary here.

But this video can make things much clearer for you:

1. Could Be A Placebo Effect

A lot of people have doubted the effectiveness of Isagenix's health & weight loss supplements.

Think about this...

Isagenix weight loss solution is mostly about cutting down your calories intake by replacing your food with their shakes, bars, meal replacement and some other nutritional supplements.

Additionally, it's also about changing your diet and keeping yourself to a "healthy eating plan".

To be honest, even if you don't have any of the Isagenix products, you can still lose weight as long as you're committed to controlling what you put into your body and your diet plan, can't you?

If you have a good diet plan and you have the discipline to stick with it, you'll surely lose weight.

What's even better is if you also have an exercise plan at the same time.

So, in my opinion, you're paying more for the "commitment" instead of the actual products.

One reason why many people can experience positive weight loss results is probably because they're more committed once they've taken out their credit card and actually pay for something.

The act of paying automatically creates a form of commitment.

Let me ask you, once you've made a decision to pay for something, let say a course, would you just pay for it and do nothing?

You won't.

That's the same concept for such weight loss solutions.

Anyway, I think your money will be better invested if you spend it on a gym membership or a gym class, yoga class, etc.

2. FAKE "Health Experts"

One major problem with such health & wellness MLM is that their distributors will most likely be somewhat "brain-washed" and think themselves as some sort of "health experts", going around trying to give their friends and family members "health advice".

I'm not saying all of them are not qualified to give others health advice and you really don't need a degree or anything like that for you to help others improve their health.

There are definitely people who are knowledgeable enough to give you advice but most people don't.

Most of them simply want to sell you their products and that's why they're trying to offer unqualified and dodgy health advice.

If you're interest in Isagenix, you really need to beware of that and always do your own research like what you're doing right here.

3. Potential Side Effects

Weight loss and nutritional solutions are not all safe and free of hazards.

People have reported potential side effects such as diarrhea and weakened immune system.

That's why it's recommended to consult your doctor before taking any new supplements, especially if you have existing health conditions or you're taking other medication at the same time.

4. Most People FAILED!

Now, pay attention to this!

This is Isagenix's income disclosure statement 2015 (the latest I could find):

Here are some shocking truths you need to know...

97% of the distributors made $15,363 or less per year on average. This is equivalent to $1,280.25/month.

$1,280.25/month could be a good side income. But take note, that on represents 5% of them.

The other 92% earn less than $6,972/year on average!

I'm not saying it's impossible for you to succeed with Isagenix.

The income disclosure above showed that there are still people getting rich with this MLM business but the percentage is very small.

The unfortunate reality is that most distributors are struggling.

1. Customer First

We all know there are a lot of MLMs simply focus on recruiting people to become their distributors and keep them on autoship so that people on top of the multi-level structure can make more money.

It's good to know that Isagenix didn't go that way.

In fact, everyone who wish to become Isagenix distributor must become their Preferred Customer first and then create your Associate account.

Also, 83.3% of their members are actually product users.

This means that they're not pushing every member to become their associate. That's why they have quite a number of happy customers who simply enjoy using their products.

2. Easy Payment Process

Isagenix has their own payment processor and debit card.

This means you can get your commissions directly without waiting for bank transfer.

This can also minimize extra processing fees.

3. Yes, YOU Can Become a Millionaire

As of Dec. 31, 2017, there were 254 Isagenix Millionaires globally.

These are Associates who have exceeded $1 Million in cumulative gross earnings since joining Isagenix, with 180 of those millionaires being U.S. Associates.

So, it's definitely possible for you to make money and get rich with their business opportunity. There are people who've made it.

However, it's gonna take A LOT of time and hard work.

Most importantly, you need to keep learning and adopt the right skills & techniques.

The pathetic income disclosure I've just shown you is a great proof that not many people have the capability to achieve this.

And for your information, those millionaires in this U.S. group averaged approximately 6 years as an Isagenix Associate before becoming an Isagenix Millionaire, with the longest being over 15 years.

So, it's definitely not a get rich quick scheme or any easy money stuff.

No, Isagenix is NOT a pyramid scheme and there are a few clear proofs for this:

1. They have real products to offer
2. They're not completely focusing on recruiting as they recommend people to become a customer first (In other words, it's product-oriented!)
3. You don't get paid by recruiting people. You get paid when there's a product being sold.

You can take a look at Wikipedia's definition on Pyramid Scheme. It's different from what Isagenix is doing.

Once again, no Isagenix is NOT a scam as well because it's clear that you can make real money and they have many satisfied customers.

If you want to lose weight and get healthy, you can try their products to see if they work for you.

However, I don't recommend Isagenix as a business opportunity to make money, simply because the success rate is too small.

This is pretty evident from the pathetic income disclosure.

97% of all Associates are not making a profit! That's a serious thing to consider.

Anyway, like I've said, people either love Isagenix or hate it.

But I managed to find this pretty balanced and honest comment which I think it's a good way to summarize Isagenix and end this review...

I'm not a fan of MLM, not because it's illegal or not profitable, but because of all the restrictions and the expensive costs involved.

Instead, Affiliate Marketing is my top recommended business model for anyone to make money online.

The reason is simple...

• You don't have to recruit anyone to make money
• You have the freedom to promote any products you want and not being restricted to only promote the products from one MLM company
• It's Free to get started

In fact, with affiliate marketing...