Is Sunrider International A Scam? The Herbal MLM Company EXPOSED!
Welcome to my Sunrider International review!
If someone invited you to take part in a herbal business opportunity, you probably got invited to Sunrider International, one of the oldest MLM companies in the industry.
First of all, I must Congratulate you for taking your time to do your own research before buying into any “seemingly good” product.
Let me be completely transparent with you, I’m not affiliated with Sunrider International in any form. So, rest assured that I’m not here to pitch or sell anything to you.
This is a completely unbiased review of the company. I’m here to reveal what this MLM company is all about and the business opportunity they provide to its customers.
The question remains: Is Sunrider International a scam, or are they legit?
Let’s find out…
Sunrider International Review Summary
Company Name: Sunrider International
Founder: Founded by Tei-Fu Chen in 1982
Product Type: Health and Wellness MLM
Price: $120 Membership Fee + $120 Starter Pack + $200 Monthly Autoship
Best For: People who are capable of marketing herbal health and wellness products
Summary: Most of Sunrider’s products are overpriced and have no unique selling point that sets it apart from other competitors in the same niche. The startup cost for Sunrider is more expensive compared to other MLMs, and its compensation plan is pretty similar to most other MLM companies. There is nothing that sets it apart from other companies.
Rating: 25/100
Sunrider International Review Summary
What Is It?
Sunrider International is a multi-level marketing (or MLM) company. It was founded by Tei-Fu Chen, and has continued to operate up till this day.
They produce annual revenues of $700 million and has a large base in Asia – China is its largest market, followed by the United States, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong.
Sunrider’s Product Line
Sunrider is primarily known for its herbal products, namely their diet pills, teas and health snacks. All their products are both kosher and halal, which makes it suitable for Jewish and Muslim consumers.
It has a wide range of product categories, such as:
- Herbal Foods and Drinks
- Herbal Nutritional Supplements
- Weight loss/active lifestyle
- Skin Care
- Personal Care (Hair and Body Products)
- Oral Care
- Cosmetics
- Household Cleaners
The wide variety of products (plus its kosher/halal certification) makes it easier to market Sunrider to a bigger audience. However, we need to look at the quality of its products too.
This is hard to do as Sunrider does not provide the ingredients list for any of its products on its website, only vague claims of how the product may help you but with no actual evidence (or ingredient list) to back those claims up, we’re unable to take these claims seriously.
Sunrider’s herbal supplements are also not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. If you need details on their products, you can check the company website.
Price: Are The Products Worth It?
In order to be competitive in the market and to convince people to buy it regularly, the price of the products is important. I have taken the cheapest product from each category and compared it against similar products.
As you can see, most (if not all) of Sunrider’s products are super overpriced, and much cheaper alternatives can be found on other websites such as iHerb that may work just as well, if not better.
I mean come on, $2.20 for ONE tea sachet is pretty damn ridiculous. It’s a markup of over 1000%!
Reviews: Do Sunrider’s Products Work?
Sunrider’s products that can be found on Amazon, eBay and other sites with few, but generally positive reviews. Some have reported adverse health effects after taking the products, whereas others claimed that it improved their health.
One of the more common complaints are that Sunrider products are too expensive for what they are. Also, do bear in mind that positive reviews may be biased (from Sunrider’s distributors) or written by people who were paid or sponsored products in exchange for a review.
Sunrider’s Past Controversies
In 1995, the owners of Sunrider were charged by the federal government for money laundering and tax and customs fraud to evade $38 million in taxes. Both Mr and Mrs Chen served nearly a year in prison and six months of home detention respectively.
There were also accusations of Sunrider making exaggerated and false health claims of its various health supplements, for which they paid almost $200,000 to settle the case.
While the company seems to have recovered from these controversies, it is still something to be aware of for those who are interested to get involved in Sunrider’s MLM scheme.
Opportunity Breakdown: Can You Make Money With Sunrider?
Independent Business Owners (IBOs)
Sunrider calls its distributors/consultants Independent Business Owners (IBOs). Right off the bat, it’s expensive to become part of Sunrider’s business opportunity. To become an IBO, you need to purchase a Starter Pack ($120) and pay an annual renewal fee of $120, which Sunrider claims is a standard industry practice (I’ve researched many MLM structures and it’s definitely not standard practice).
This ‘renewal fee’ gives you access to their Sunrider University, Business Center, Mobile App and various printed collaterals such as their newsletters, product catalogue and magazine. IBOs get 10% off retail price.
Preferred Customers
If you do not want to be an IBO, you can choose to be a Preferred Customer. Enrolling with a $30 annual fee lets you become a Preferred Customer, where you can earn 5% off the retail price. Enrolling in their monthly autoship program lets you earn 10% off the retail price – this means buying $200 of product every month!
Commission Scheme
As with most MLMs, Sunrider’s commission scheme is complicated and hard to understand. There are various incentives and bonuses and different payout percentages for the many ranks. The basis of it is to recruit as many people as possible and convince them to recruit as many people as possible too.
It places strong emphasis on reaching the first rank of Star in order to begin earning unilevel commissions, which is inaccessible just by being an IBO.
In order to attain some level of success, you need to constantly maintain a certain amount of sales in your group every single month and have a certain number of active group members (more for each tier).
This is challenging as it is a people-based business, which means your success is largely based on the motivation and willpower of others to share the products and build the business.
Product Sales
One large problem is that Sunrider’s products are easily accessible without signing up with the company. You can find it on various sites such as Amazon or eBay at Member’s Price or even lower, which means that its current distributors are trying to offload their stash of product to buyers.
This means that selling product will be an uphill battle for you, because you need to sell it at above Member’s Price to make any money – but if others are selling it for cheap, how will you succeed?
Cons
#1 Expensive Start-Up Costs
Sunrise International is as expensive as it gets for just the start-up.
You’re looking at a $120 membership fee (that needs to be renewed annually) just to get the products at wholesale, PLUS you need to purchase a Starter Pack at$120.
On top of that, you have to subscribe to the company’s monthly autoship program at $200/month, which can cause financial stress if you are unable to move or consume all the products you’re getting every month.
All these costs are from the get go, even before you’ve made your first dollar or signed up your first customer!
#2 Its Products Are Expensive And Generic
Let’s take a look at one of Sunrider’s product packs. If you’re an IBO, you get 10% off retail price, making it $235.22. There are 5 different items in the pack, which makes the average price of each item $47.
Can you sell this pack to customers? I’m afraid it’ll be pretty difficult. Here’s why.
I went on iHerb and looked for protein powders, shakes, slimming teas and appetite suppressant pills (everything found in the SunFit Pack). When you compare the products, ALL the ones from iHerb are cheaper across the board!
Not to mention most of them have considerably more servings than the ones from Sunrider, making it more sustainable to purchase and consume regularly.
#3 It’s Recruitment Focused
Building a reliable source of passive income will rely massively on how many people you can recruit, and how many people THEY can recruit, which is outside of your control.
Based on Sunrider’s income disclosure, only 1.45% of people make more than $1000 monthly. 42% of active distributors make $177.35 per month – when you factor in the necessary monthly commitment of $200, they’re losing $271.80 per year!
If you want something more sustainable, you need to look at other opportunities.
The Truth
The truth of the matter is that the percentage of people who succeed in MLMs is notoriously low. You need a company that has strong, competitive products that are constantly in demand and a great compensation plan, and Sunrider is NOT that company.
You also need to constantly sell products and recruit people – people who want to build the business and who can repurchase the products regularly – which is tough to sustain long term.
To be successful in any network marketing company , you need an incredibly strong work ethic and discipline because there is no one to tell you what to do and how to do it. A specific skill set is also important to be able to sell your products, generate prospects regularly and close them to buy or build the business.
There is a ton of work that goes into building a MLM business and unfortunately most people lack the mindset and motivation required and quit at the first sign of failure.
How Do I Make Money Online?
I’m not against MLM companies. In fact, I used to be part of one. However, if I had known about this method in the past I would have saved all those years of my life pouring my blood, sweat and tears into building an MLM business!
What I’m saying is that there’s a way better way to make more money in a shorter amount of time.
Affiliate marketing is my top recommended business model for anyone to make money online. Here’s why:
- You don’t need to recruit people to make money
- You have the freedom to promote whatever you choose, not just products from one specific MLM company
- Its straightforward, simple and most importantly, FREE to get started
There is no pitching of “business opportunities” to friends and family, no running around trying to hit sales targets and no selling involved. In affiliate marketing, you rely solely on your own efforts to attain success.
