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Vemma

Coordinates: 33°38′38″N 111°53′57″W / 33.643787°N 111.899148°W / 33.643787; -111.899148
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Vemma Nutrition Company
Company typePrivate
IndustryDietary supplements
Predecessor
  • New Vision International
FoundedTempe, Arizona (2004 (2004))
FounderBenson K. Boreyko
Headquarters
Scottsdale, Arizona
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
BK Boreyko (CEO)
Karen Boreyko (co-founder)
Lauren Boreyko (co-founder)
Brad Wayment (COO)
Yibing Wang (Chief Scientific Officer)
ProductsVemma, Verve, Bod·ē, NEXT
Websitevemma.com

33°38′38″N 111°53′57″W / 33.643787°N 111.899148°W / 33.643787; -111.899148

Vemma (/ˈviːmə/) Nutrition Company is a privately held multi-level marketing[1][2] company that sells energy drinks, nutritional beverages and weight management products.[3] The company, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, was founded in 2004 by Benson K. Boreyko and family.[4]

History

Vemma was preceded by New Vision International, a Tempe, Arizona-based dietary supplement company founded by the Boreyko family in March 1995.

Products

Vemma has five product lines, all based on their core Vemma nutritional formulation: Vemma, Verve, Thirst, Bod-e, and Next.[5] The name "Vemma" is an acronym representing: vitamins, essential minerals, mangosteen, aloe.[6] Several of the company's products contain caffeine, with some drinks in the Verve line being similar in caffeine content to energy drinks.[7][8] The "Verve" line is one of the official drinks (along with Gatorade) of the Phoenix Suns, which also acts as a distributor.[9]

Business Model

Vemma has been described as a multi-level marketing (MLM) company,[1] or a network marketing company[10] Although Vemma's website has described the company as using MLM,[11] as of 2013, it has started describing itself as an affiliate marketing company, although its compensation plan hasn't changed.[12][13] The company sells its products through its website, and also through independent distributors (referred to internally as affiliates) who can potentially earn a share of the revenue from their own product sales as well as those from the network of distributors they build.[14]

The company has heavily focused on recruiting college students as distributors,[15][16] which has brought attention from consumer organizations.[2]

False advertising complaints

The parent company, New Vision International, was enjoined in 1999 by the Federal Trade Commission against engaging in certain advertising practices they were accused of using previously.

New Vision was accused in the FTC complaint[17] of "unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and the making of false advertisements" about the health benefits of some of their products. In the Decision & Order,[18] the FTC ordered New Vision to stop making various claims; specifically they were ordered (1) to stop saying that one of their product recipes was effective in treating ADD or ADHD, or useful as an alternative to Ritalin; (2) that they not indicate or imply that any testimonial or endorsement of any of their products is typical or ordinary; and (3), that they make no claims about safety or effectiveness in reducing the risk of developing any disease or disorder; and that they communicate all this to their team members in mailings.

References

  1. ^ a b Celarier, Michelle (29 September 2013). "Verve energy drink turning college students into sales force". New York Post. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Nine Things You Should Know About Vemma". Truth in Advertising.org. 4 October 2013 (updated). Retrieved 11 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Vemma, Building A Solid Nutritional Foundation IS Vital To Your Overall Health". Vemma. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  4. ^ "Executive Bios". Vemma. May 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  5. ^ "Products". Vemma. July 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  6. ^ "Vemma Science - Vemma Formula". Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Caffeine in Verve Energy Drink". Caffeine Informer. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Vemma Verve Nutritional Facts". Brian Willet. May 25, 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
  9. ^ Lombardo, John (11 February 2008). "Phoenix Suns deal with Verve puts team in distributor role". Phoenix Business Journal. Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  10. ^ Stanford, Duane D. (8 January 2013). "Herbalife Distributor Decamps for Energy Drink Company Vemma". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference vemma-mlm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Nuyten, Ted (13 November 2013). "Vemma 2.0 Announced – Brand Partners Will Be Affiliates". Business for Home.org. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  13. ^ "Vemma Makes the Move To Affiliate Marketing". Pitch Engine (press release). January 6, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  14. ^ "Vemma Compensation Plan" (PDF). Vemma. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  15. ^ Murphy, Kate (14 October 2013). "College students gamble with network marketing". The Elon University Pendulum. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  16. ^ Oliver, Elizabeth (5 November 2012). "Network marketing attracts students". The Chapman University Panther. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  17. ^ US Federal Trade Commission, Donald S. Clark, Secretary (March 1999). "New Vision International Inc. - Complaint No. C-3856". Ftc.gov. Retrieved 2013-06-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ United States of America, Federal Trade Commission, Robert Pitofsky, Chairman (March 1999). "New Vision International Inc. - Decision and Order No. C-3856". Ftc.gov. Retrieved 2013-06-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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