The Herbalife Company

Herbalife was started 29 years ago in 1980. Mark Hughes was its founder, and the company was originally based solely on weight loss products. In fact, its original slogan was “lose weight now. Ask me how.” The products were sold door to door by independent distributors, and Herbalife became one of the fasted growing multi-level marketing businesses in history.

By 1982, Herbalife had made 2,000,000 dollars in sales and opened its first distributing location outside of the United States, in Canada. In 1986, it was being traded on the NASDOQ. The year 2000 brought many changes for the company after Mark Hughes' sudden death from a prescription drug overdose. The company was sold to Whitney & Co. LLC and Golden Gate Capitol for 685 million dollars. They originally took the company private, but as of 2004, it was being traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company currently has 1.9 million distributors in 70 countries worldwide.

As the company grew, so did the product line. Scientists, doctors and nutritional experts have developed an extensive meal replacement and nutritional supplements line. The products are divided into four basic types. Weight Management contains meal replacements, high protein snacks, multi-vitamins and weight loss supplements. Targeted Nutrition has supplements for specific health concerns and needs, such as joint support, digestion, immunity boost and vitamin supplements for children. The Energy and Fitness category includes energy drinks and a protein drink for help in muscle building. The Personal Care and Outer Nutrition line contains products for the skin and hair.