Sports Drinks | Juices | Energy Drinks

In 1996, Tahitian Noni Juice started the super fruit juice craze. Since then, everyone and their grandmother with a million bucks has started their own version of TNI. Word on the street (and this is all the REALLY matters in MLM) is that TNI is old, tired, and a has been opportunity. As the founder of this craze, it is arguable that Tahitian Noni didn’t really appreciate what they had. Instead of focusing on the actual amazing new craze they had started- namely, Noni Juice, they apparently missed the mark by venturing into weightloss, animal feed, skin care- just like everyone else out there- in spite of their mantra, “We will NEVER be another network marketing company!”

Mona Vie- nothing new, just another juice right? What are they doing right? For starters, they have a highly aggressive marketing strategy. Giving away, Ferrari’s, millions of dollars, etc. based on a binary marketing plan so enticing that mainstay die hard Amway top dogs salivated to the point of lawsuits and controversy that propelled Mona Vie to near yearly billion dollar revenues. Will Mona Vie sustain? Doubtful it will sustain its current level of success (but in all fairness, who ever does?). One reason they will not sustain is that a binary payout pays out big on top- and very little to the average guy. Uni-level hybrid plans will sustain lower level distributors much longer than binary- therefore they will stick around much longer.

The dearth in growth TNI has experienced that last few years is a telling sign that innovation in the wrong direction can be fatal. It is never too late with network marketing programs however. It was once joked that once a company reaches $10M a month in sales- you couldnt kill it if you beat it with a stick…. it is certainly true in many cases. Neways Japan for example struggled severely in the end of the 90’s- it was all but over for them. Now they are a dominant force in Japan. What was the change? The right people, the right incentives, and the right products? Who really knows exactly… but it was something to do with motivated distributors.

Super Fruit Juices are here to stay. It is up to TNI, to see if they can reinvent themselves now the right way to revive what was once was most prolific and exciting stranglehold the business had seen in decades. Cutting distributor commissions was a deathly blow- regardless of the reasons. It was poorly executed, and arrogantly implemented. Products began to be less and less lucrative. If you are looking for a how-to-NOT grow a company from $500M to a $Billion, you need look no further than TNI in the last 3 years. But as it was true for Neways in Japan, so it can be true for TNI, time will tell.