Chances are, you're someone who’s tired of your everyday routine at the office. Maybe someone in Zurvita has offered you the chance to "be your own boss" and get healthier at the same time. But you're probably wondering... is Zurvita a pyramid scheme?
Let us check if Zurvita is the solution to your dilemma.
Before you dive into the MLM, here are some shocking pros and cons you need to know. This honest Zurvita review will help you to make an informed decision if it's right for you or not.
Zurvita Review
The overview and rankings
Name: Zurvita
Founder: Mark Jarvis and Tracy Jarvis in 2008
Type: Health and Wellness MLM
Products (Including Pricing): 40 out of 100
Success Stories: 1 out of 100
Price To Join MLM: $35 enrollment pack
+ $139.95-$549.95 quick start pack
+ 70 PBV ($100) per month to stay active
Total cost for 1 year = $1,374.95-$1,784.95 (35 out of 100)
What to look for in a MLM:
Summary: Zurvita sells some legit nutritional supplements that people quite like but they are pretty expensive compared to similar products out there.
It is possible for people to make money with the MLM opportunity. But it's important to be aware that at least 90% of members lose money and only 1 out of 71 members earn more than $10k per year before expenses. I'll explain why this is the case in this Zurvita review.
Make Time Online Rating: 25 out of 100
Recommended: No
What is Zurvita?
Zurvita is a health and wellness Multi-Level-Marketing company that was founded in 2008 by Mark and Tracy Jarvis.
They sell a range of nutritional supplements and protein shakes to help people stay in shape and be more "healthy". But they also offer everyday people the opportunity to "be their own boss".
The 3 minute video below explains more about this opportunity...
Some people would watch that video and get very excited about the opportunity. However, you're smart enough to realise this is just a promotional video by Zurvita and this sentence may stand out to you...
"Imagine changing your life and others simply by sharing and texting."
So you're probably wondering...
Is Zurvita a pyramid scheme?
Technically, no Zurvita is not a pyramid scheme.
MLM distributors can make money in this company just by selling the products.
However, Zurvita has got signs of being a pyramid scheme in disguise. Let me explain what I mean by that...
What is a pyramid scheme?
A company that promises its members payment for recruiting more people rather than selling a product or service.
These schemes are illegal in most countries because it is impossible for everyone to make money inside a pyramid scheme. Just see the Wikipedia diagram below to see why...
Most MLMs, like Zurvita, do offer legit products.
However, the truth is that distributors can only make good money inside Zurvita if they recruit a lot of people. They need to get their downline to sell and recruit more people for it to work. In reality, this means that most people do not make money because Zurvita is very similar to a pyramid scheme in disguise.
Just watch the 5 minute video below to see why...
Success is rare with Zurvita
In fact, success is hard to find inside any MLM.
Did you know that between 73% and 99% of all MLM representatives lose money?
Later in this Zurvita review I will dig into their income disclosure a bit more. But you can see that almost 90% of all consultants at Zurvita earnt less than $618 in 2016.
When you allow for the minimum annual expenses for 1 year of at least $1,374.95 you can see that at least 89.7% of members lost money in 2016.
This is a fact... but it is not something that you will see any Zurvita rep advertise.
Ready to make passive income online?
Hey, I'm Mike.
I created a passive income online within a year. I had no marketing skills or online experience when I started.
How does Zurvita Work?
Zurvita produces a range of health and wellness products.
Instead of spending tons of money on advertising and marketing each month they get every day people to sell their products for them. In return, these "Independent Consultants" can earn a living by working from home.
In theory it's a win-win.
Zurvita products
Before you dive into any MLM, it's vital to understand the products that they offer, as this is what you will need to promote.
Zurvita offer a range of products under the following categories:
- Nutrition- supplements, protein shakes etc.
- Performance- pre and post workout shakes or supplements
- Transformation system- a mixture of the above products
- Merchandise- Gift cards or protein shaker cup
So what makes Zurvita stand out?
Zurvita Zeal flagship product
Zurvita's main product is called "Zeal". It's basically a multivitamin drink that claims to help you improve your...
- Focus
- Energy
- Health
This may sound great, but again like I've mentioned, there are thousands of supplements that claim to be able to do this. So the only way to really know if it's any good is to try the product yourself. The next best things is to see what other people say about it...
You can see there are some very good reviews about Zeal, which is a great sign that Zurvita is not a scam.
But one thing to bear in mind is that is not "certified organic", although they do make this clear in the FAQ section of their website.
Also note that there are many other companies that offer very similar supplements products. Here are some of the top ones:
- Total Life Changes
- Vemma
- Usana
- Anovite
- CorVive
- QuiAri
- Nature's Sunshine
- Juice Plus
- Immunotec
- Juuva
- 4Life
- Carelumina
Check out the 4 minute video below if you want to understand more about about Zurvita's products...
Can you make money with Zurvita?
It is very hard for consultants to make money selling Zurvita.
The few members that do make a full time income act more like a full time "sales manager" than someone "being their own boss". Typically these quite extroverted people are great at selling the dream to people to work from home.
Then they spend most of their time in Zoom meetings encouraging their downline to sell more and recruit more people.
If this sounds like something you would enjoy then this may work for you. But you need to be aware that the vast majority of people you recruit won't make any money and may become quite annoyed with you for "selling them the dream".
How to make money with Zurvita
There are 2 ways to make money from Zurvita, like most MLMs:
- Sell their products
- Recruit people and earn bonuses from what they sell
Many people that call MLMs an outright pyramid scheme don't understand this part. The reason MLMs are not scams is because they do not pay their distributors directly for recruiting people.
They only pay you bonuses if your downline spends money on the company themselves or sell products to others.
So you're probably wondering...
How much does it cost to join Zurvita?
It costs $35 to join as a Zurvita Independent Consultant and receive a welcome kit.
But then you will be encouraged to buy a Starter Pak...
These range in prices from $139.95- $549.95 and come with a range of products.
If you are serious about making money from Zurvita it would be wise to actually try the products yourself and these "Paks" are heavily discounted.
But the costs do not stop there...
Zurvita monthly cost
To remain an active consultant and earn all the bonuses available you will need to sell 70 PBV (personal business volume) each month...
In English that means you need to sell around $100 worth of Zurvita products every month. And if you can't get other people to buy it then you will need to buy it yourself.
This is why you will be recommended to join the monthly "autoship" program to spend at least $100 a month.
So the minimum expenses for your first year as a consultant would be:
- $35
- $139.95-$549.95
- $100 x 12
Total cost for 1 year = $1,374.95-$1,784.95
And this is before you take into account other expenses such as marketing, postage and packaging or additional training.
Zurvita compensation plan
For some reason most MLMs like to make their compensation plan harder to understand than solving a Rubik's cube blindfolded.
And Zurvita is no different, so I will do my best to keep this simple.
There are 7 ways you can get paid from Zurvita:
- Personal sales (20% commission)
- Builders bonuses ($50-$100 if your new recruit purchases a Starter Pak)
- Customer all star bonus (enroll 5 new customers in 30 days to earn $250)
- Team all star bonus (accumulate 3,000 TBV [around $4,000 team sales] when reaching All Star bonus in 30 days to earn $800 bonus- max of 50% from "one leg")
- Team bonus ($400 bonus when you achieve 3,000 TBV in 30 days)
- Overrides (get bonuses for the sales of up to 8 levels deep, see diagram below)
- Rank bonuses ($500-$25,000 bonus for "ranking up")
Now, that may still sound confusing! And the reason MLMs use so many acronyms and weird terms is because they want to make it seem like there are tons of ways to get paid.
The reality is you can only do 2 things to earn money:
- Sell products
- Recruit people
And do you notice that 6 out of 7 ways requires you to recruit people?
If you want to get your head around the compensation plan a bit more then check out the 10 minute video below...
Or you can find the full Zurvita compensation plan here.
Is Zurvita a scam?
No Zurvita is not a scam.
They sell legit products and pay their consultants like they claim they will.
However, some people get annoyed at the pyramid structure of the company and get frustrated when they don't make any money. This often leads them to writing bad reviews about the company and calling Zurvita a scam.
The rest of this honest Zurvita review will let you make an informed decision if it's right for you though...
Just to be fully transparent with you, I am not a distributor myself and I do not endorse Zurvita in any way.
I have researched the website, testimonials and information on the Internet to get to the bottom of what this program genuinely does. This is because I have been burnt from programs just like this in the past and I want to prevent others from making the same mistakes. If you’d like to learn how to “Spot an Online Marketing Scam” then click the highlighted text.
Tired of MLMs? Check out how I make money online here!
What I like about Zurvita
There are a cople of things that I like about Zurvita and think it makes it better than some other MLMs out there...
Key Terms:
- Pyramid Scheme – recruits members via a promise for payment from referring others to the service rather than providing a product
- Affiliate Marketing- Connecting a customer to a product they are looking for and receiving a commission for doing so
- Red Flag - A warning sign
#1 Proven History
Did you know that only 1 out of 3 MLMs survive past 10 years?
Zurvita was founded in 2008 so it's a great sign that Zurvita is legit and probably won't disappear tomorrow like many MLMs do.
#2 Positive product reviews
When you read positive reviews like the one below, you know that real people actually like the products...
Sometimes you can only find positive reviews from MLM consultants trying to promote their own products. When you find real reviews like the one above you know there are real people that actually like and buy the products.
It's far easier to sell something to people that actually want it!
What I don't like about Zurvita
There are some hidden truths that I think everyone needs to know before diving in...
#1 Expensive products
It is a huge red flag to me that a MLM may be a "pyramid scheme in disguise" when their products are overpriced.
Just look at the difference in price between these multivitamins...
- Zurvita Zeal supplement = $1.83 per serving
- Highly rated Amazon supplement = $0.58 per serving
And the nutritional information is actually better with the Amazon product!
So why would anyone pay 3 times the price for the same thing?...
#2 Hidden monthly expenses
The reason people spend money on these overpriced products lies in the hidden monthly expenses...
So even a Zurvita Independent Consultant proves that you need a monthly auto shipment to remain active.
And I'm not sure if she's just lying or if the compensation plan has updated, but there is also a sales quota to remain active...
If you need to get 70 PBV each month then that means the consultants need to spend money on these overpriced products every month unless they can convince their friends and family to buy them!
When you combine these 2 hidden truths you can see why...
#3 Zurvita is a pyramid scheme in disguise
If the products are overpriced can you really expect to sell a lot of them to random people? Even if you can sell some do you really think you can make a living from selling them?
This is the reason that the only way to make good money from Zurvita is by recruiting people. And when that is the focus of an MLM it ends up looking like this...
Even if you are great at recruiting and one of the few at the top of this pyramid, you will need to do it by recruiting other people who will lose money in the system. And that's not the most ethical business model!
If you still don't believe me that most people lose money, then check this out...
#4 Only 1 out of 71 make more than $10k a year. Can you really make money with Zurvita?
There were 18,261 active Independent Consultants at Zurvita according to the 2016 income disclosure.
And only 239 IC's (1.4% of all members) earnt over $10k for the year.
In simple English that means that only 1 out of 71 members made over $10k income for the whole of 2016.
When you account for expenses you can see the vast majority of IC's lost money in 2016.
#5 Downward trend
The final nail in the coffin for Zurvita is found on Google Trends...
When you compare it to other MLMs like Farmasi you can see the trend is going the wrong way.
After all, it's far easier to sell something that people are already searching for.
Ready to make passive income online?
I've created a growing passive income online with no previous marketing skills or online experience...
I've made a special video for you to explain exactly how I did this.
My opinion - Zurvita
People seem to like the products offered by Zurvita. But you will find it hard to sell many of these overpriced products to your friends and family.
Therefore, what do I think of this "business opportunity"?...
If you can make money at Zurvita you will need to become a full time sales manager. And the majority of people you recruit will end up losing money and becoming very annoyed at you for selling the dream to them.
And I certainly wouldn't want to be in a business that involves misleading people so I could make money.
How I make passive income online
MLMs are not scams or illegal. However, I'm not a fan of them because of the restrictions to the expensive products you have to promote.
Once I learnt about affiliate marketing, I realised it's a far superior business model because:
- You can promote anything you want and truly own the business
- You never need to sell to friends and family
- It's completely free to start
In 2018 I had no idea what affiliate marketing was.
But I went from a full time PE teacher to making a passive income online within one year...
If you want to discover how I did it then check out this special video I created which explains exactly how. You can also get your free 7-day bootcamp to get started.
Actually this is a very blunt review and I like the unbiasedness displayed in this review. To be honest, this is a great one. This zurvita has shown to provide just 1% or less in success rate and that to me, is very bad to see. For a company like this. Also, the niche is too competitive than to be investing in a lesser product against the industry leaders, it might be too difficult to come out victorious. Thanks for the review
Glad it could help Ella
Yes, I was introduced to this business and even though the start up pack is not so expensive, I had a feeling that I really needed to do my own little research to see if it actually works. Today, I now understand that it used a business model that is not very profitable and cannot meet up with some claims. I do not think I can get referrals as much they would expect me to. Its better to just stay away. Thanks!
Hey Riley, yeah very true. Some people do make it work. It’s just it is much harder than they will make it sound.
Hello….am glad to have received the information concerning Zurvita. No one wants to sell their dreams to others but in Zurvita people are selling their dreams and most of the are not aware. I count myself lucky to have read your article.But why should some one think of joining a pyramid scheme based company? I understand that most of us join website under the impression of low cost capital and maintenance but what will you gain in a pyramid schemed company….nothing.. right? The best thing is to do a research before joining.
Hey thanks for your thoughts. People can gain a lot from a MLM. For example they can learn how to “network” with people and they will often offer some additional live training events that you have to pay for but they can be a real eye opener for some people.
They are not outright pyramid schemes either. They just have signs of being a “pyramid scheme in disguise” due to the emphasis on recruiting to make any money. Either way, there are better ways to earn a living and make a real impact on other people’s lives. You’ll still need to additional training to actually market the MLM well