From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MonaVie
|
|
Type
|
Private
|
| Founded |
2005 |
| Headquarters |
Salt Lake City,
Utah
|
| Key people |
Dallin Larsen, Henry Marsh, Dell Brown,
Randy Larsen, Amy Cowley, Mark Iscaro |
|
Industry
|
Multi-level marketing
|
|
Products
|
MonaVie Original Blend, MonaVie Active
Blend, MonaVie Pulse Blend, MonaVie Gel Packs, MonaVie Active Gel
Packs |
|
Website
|
MonaVie.com
|
MonaVie is a multilevel marketing
(MLM) company with juice products made from blended fruit juice
concentrates, açaí pulp powder and purée.
Marketing claims made about the products suggest that they provide
antioxidants and health
benefits. MonaVie has been the subject of recent media controversy,
and several sources have questioned both the product's value and
the legality of claims regarding its reputed health benefits. The
manufacturer of MonaVie products, as well as some of its senior
distributors, were involved in four lawsuits between 2007 and
2008.
[edit]
Company Overview
MonaVie juice was originally launched in January 2005 by MLM
company Monarch Health Sciences, which was founded in 2003 as a
distributor of diet and weight loss supplements. In 2005, the
executives of Monarch founded MonaVie LLC/MonaVie Inc., a
privately-held MLM company based in Salt Lake City,
Utah. The newly formed company took over the bottling,
distribution, and marketing responsibilities for MonaVie juice
products. Monarch Health Sciences and MonaVie, Inc. were both
founded by Dallin Larsen, who graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.S.
degree in Finance.
[1]
Larsen previously
held senior executive positions with the MLM companies Dynamic Essentials and
Usana. According to company sources, MonaVie juice was
originally developed by Ralph E. Carson, now the company's Chief
Science Officer.
[edit] Executives
- Dallin Larsen, Chairman and CEO
[2]
-
Henry Marsh, Executive Vice President
[3]
- Randy Larsen, Executive Vice President/Chief Operations Officer
(former)
[3]
- Dell Brown, Chief Operations Officer (current)
[3]
- Charles Brink, Chief Counsel
[2]
- Ralph E. Carson, Chief Science Officer
[2]
- Mike Kennedy, Chief Medical Officer
[2]
- Devin D. Thorpe, Chief Financial Officer
[3]
- Amy Cowley, Vice President of Finance
[4]
- Jeff Graham, Vice President of Product Development
[5]
- Steven King, Vice President of Distributor Services and Human
Resources
[6]
[edit]
Medical Advisory Board
[7]
- Ralph Carson
- Mike Kennedy
- Denise Bruner
- Lyle Mason
- Jose F. Allongo
- Vicki Berkus
- Roger Rinn
[edit]
Product Overview
The MonaVie product line consists of three forms of bottled
juice -- MonaVie Original, MonaVie Active, and MonaVie Pulse -- as
well as gel pack versions of the products. The suggested retail
prices for MonaVie Original, Active, and Pulse juice are $39, $45,
and $46 respectively, per one 750-mL (25.5 oz.) bottle. The
manufacturer's recommended daily serving size is 2 to 4 ounces.
MonaVie Original and Active juices list the following
ingredients: blend of açaí (freeze-dried powder and purée);
100% fruit juice from concentrate (white grape,
apple, acerola, purple grape, cranberry, passion fruit, apricot,
prune, kiwifruit, blueberry, wolfberry (goji), pomegranate, lychee,
camu camu); fruit purée (pear, banana,
bilberry); citric acid, sodium benzoate. In addition to these
ingredients, MonaVie Active lists d-glucosamine hydrochloride and esterified fatty
acids as additives.
Monavie Pulse juice, launched on September 25, 2008, lists the
following ingredients: blend of açai (freeze-dried powder, purée),
reconstituted fruit juice blend (Concord grape blend, pineapple, apple, prickly pear, pomegranate, elderberry, yumberry, bilberry, blackberry, blueberry, cherry,
cranberry, raspberry, aronia),
puree fruit blend (acerola, strawberry, cupuaçu, camu camu), plant sterols (emulsified with corn
syrup solids, polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, gum acacia), Apple Phyto-Phenolics (polyphenol blend), omega-3 (cranberry seed oil), resveratrol, natural flavors, potassium sorbate (preservative), sodium
benzoate (preservative), citric acid. According to the company, 4
ounces of MonaVie Pulse provide 0.8 g plant sterols.
A patent application for the freeze-dried açaí powder (Opti-Açaí) used
in MonaVie was submitted to the World Intellectual
Property Organization in 2004 by developers Alexander G.
Schauss and Kenneth A. Murdock.
[8]
WIPO’s Preliminary
Report on Patentability deemed that many of the claims in the
patent application did not support the novelty, inventiveness, or
industrial applicability of the process,
[9]
and as of 2008, the
patent had not been approved. Opti-açaí is marketed by K2A
International, a business partnership between Schauss, Murdock, and
MonaVie vice-president Jeff Graham.
[edit]
Product Research
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study
in 12 healthy adults suggested that consumption of MonaVie Active
raised antioxidant activity and inhibited lipid peroxidation in
serum.
[10]
[edit] MORE Project
The company founded and operates a charitable organization known
as The MORE Project or MonaVie's Operation Rescue.
[11]
based in South Jordan, Utah. The organization's
director is Katy Holt-Larsen.
[edit] Criticism
Critics of MonaVie include physician Andrew Weil and nutritionist Jonny Bowden, who
claim that MonaVie’s nutritional and health benefits are not proven
and that the product is exorbitantly priced relative to more
cost-effective
conventional antioxidant-rich foods, such as blueberries, raspberries, and pomegranates.
[12]
[13]
According to
Men’s Journal
, a
nutritional analysis conducted by ChromaDex,
[14]
a
contract-testing laboratory, showed that MonaVie Active juice
“tested extremely low in anthocyanins and phenolics” and that “even apple juice (which also tested poorly) has more
phenolics”.
[15]
The report also
noted that “MonaVie’s vitamin
C level was 5 times lower than that of Welch’s Grape Juice.”
Bowden,
Newsweek
correspondent Tony
Dokoupil,
[16]
and
Palm Beach Post
reporter Carolyn Susman
[17]
commented on the use of
misleading promotional testimonials by MonaVie distributors in
which the product was said to prevent and treat a variety of
medical conditions. Dokoupil noted that “the FDA warned MonaVie
about medicinal claims on its Web site” in reference to the
Food and
Drug Administration's action against MonaVie distributor Kevin
Vokes in July 2007. According to the FDA's warning notice, Vokes
had promoted MonaVie as a drug in violation of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. § 321(g)(1)] by claiming that it
was effective for treating inflammation, high cholesterol, and
muscle and joint pain.
[18]
In a 2008 article in
Forbes
magazine, reporters Emily Lambert and Klaus
Kneale described MonaVie as a pyramid scheme and noted that a MonaVie video
testimonial by distributor Louis “Lou” B. Niles implied that the
product could cure cancer.
[19]
MonaVie CEO and founder Dallin Larsen was previously a senior
executive with an MLM company that sold a similar juice product
prior to being shut down by the FDA for illegal business practices.
According to Newsweek correspondent Dokupil, Larsen, who was “a
20-year-veteran of the multi-level marketing industry", "left a
senior post at another juice company in 2002, a year before the FDA
destroyed the company's ‘bogus products’ that were being falsely
promoted to treat ‘cancer, arthritis and attention deficit
disorder’." The company in question, Dynamic Essentials,
distributed an MLM juice product known as Royal Tongan Limu juice.
[edit] Litigation
On July 11, 2007, Monarch Health Sciences, the company that
originally launched MonaVie, filed a lawsuit with the Utah district court against rival açaí juice
manufacturer Amazon Thunder,
[20]
alleging that
owner/founder Todd Reum had made “harmful, false, and defamatory
statements" about MonaVie which "purportedly injured Monarch’s
reputation”.
[21]
The suit sought
$75,000 in damages. On November 15, 2007, the Utah district court
ruled to dismiss the case against Reum.
On March 17, 2008 MonaVie preemptively filed a lawsuit with the
Utah district court asking for a ruling as to whether Quixtar
Inc. and Amway Corp. had been over-reaching the boundaries of
its non-compete agreements and address whether or not such
agreements are enforceable for independent distributors.
[22]
On March 18, 2008,
Quixtar North America filed a multi-count federal
court complaint against the MonaVie company and 16 of its
distributors (John Brigham Hart, Lita Hart, Jason Lyons, Carrie
Lyons, Lou Niles, Farid Zarif, and 10 anonymous defendants) for
unfair competition.
[23]
The complaint alleged
that MonaVie competed unfairly by making false claims about its
products.
[24]
According to a
company press release, MonaVie filed to dismiss the Amway/Quixtar
lawsuit on April 15, 2008.
[25]
On November 12,
2008, MonaVie et al. filed a lawsuit in the Colorado District Court
against Quixtar
[26]
On May 5, 2008, the MonaVie company, its board of directors, and
several of its senior distributors were sued by Imagenetix, Inc.
for $2.75 billion over trademark infringement arising from false
claims that Monavie Active juice contained the ingredient
Celadrin.
[23]
[27]
The case was
settled out of court and the lawsuit was dropped on May 20,
2008.
[28]
[edit] References
-
^
"Usana Health
Sciences Inc · DEF 14A For 5/27/99 [Filed 04/12/1999; SEC File
0-21116; Accession Number 927356-99-647]".
sec.edgar-online.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"The Monavie Executive Team". Retrieved on
2008-12-19.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"MonaVie Executive Team". Retrieved on
2008-12-19.
-
^
"Monavie Executive Team: Amy Cowley". Retrieved on
2008-12-19.
-
^
"MonaVie: On The Move -- Friday Afternoon and Breakout
Sessions". Retrieved on 2008-12-19.
-
^
"MonaVie Names Steven King VP Of Distributor Services
And Human Resources". Retrieved on 2008-12-19.
-
^
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/533121/Monavie-Presentation
-
^
"Jucara and açai fruit-based dietary supplements (WO
2004/084833). K2A Inc. (Application Number
PCT/US2004/008739).". World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO). Retrieved on 2008-08-21.
-
^
"Jucara and açai fruit-based dietary supplements (WO
2004/084833). International Preliminary Report on Patentability
Chapter II". World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Retrieved on 2008-08-21.
-
^
Jensen GS, Wu X, Patterson KM, Barnes J, Carter SG, Scherwitz L,
Beaman R, Endres JR, Schauss AG (2008). "In vitro and in vivo antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory capacities of an antioxidant-rich fruit and berry
juice blend. Results of a pilot and randomized, double-blinded,
placebo-controlled, crossover study" (pdf). J Agric Food
Chem 56 (18): 8326-33. http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/jafcau/2008/56/i18/pdf/jf8016157.pdf
.
-
^
M.O.R.E.
Project, retrieved July 28, 2008
-
^
Andrew Weil (2/8/2008). "Thumbs Down on MonaVie?", drweil.com. Retrieved on 24 August
2008.
-
^
Johnny Bowden (June 11, 2008). "New Rules: No More Claiming Mona Vie Cures
Cancer!", The Huffington Post
. Retrieved on 24 August
2008.
-
^
"ChromaDex Inc.
Homepage". Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
-
^
Jamie Beckman (December 04, 2008). "Superjuices on Trial", Men’s Journal
. Retrieved on 12 December
2008.
-
^
Tony Dokoupil (August 2, 2008). "A
Drink’s Purple Reign". Newsweek. Retrieved on 2008-08-24.
-
^
Carolyn Susman (July 16, 2008). "On Health: FDA checks product claims on the
Web". Palm Beach Post.
Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
-
^
Jennifer A. Thomas (July 6, 2007). "FDA warning letter to MonaVie distributor Kevin A.
Vokes". FDA Center for
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Division of Enforcement.
Retrieved on 2008-08-24.
-
^
Emily Lambert and Klaus Kneale (August 11, 2008).
"Climb to the Top". Forbes.
Retrieved on 2008-09-09.
-
^
United States
District Court for the District of Utah, Central Divison (July
11, 2007). "Monarch Health Sciences, Inc. vs. Amazon Thunder,
Inc. et al". www. dockets.justia.com. Retrieved on
2008-09-28.
-
^
United States District Court for the District of
Utah, Central Divison (November 15, 2007). "Monarch Health Sciences, Inc. vs. Amazon Thunder,
Inc. and Todd Reum". Retrieved on 2008-09-27.
-
^
"Monavie LLC vs. Quixtar, Inc./Amway Corp". United
States District Court for the District of Utah, Central Divison
(March 17, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-09-16.
- ^
a
b
Laura Hancock, "MonaVie Sued for 2.75B", Deseret News,
May 16, 2008
-
^
"Quixtar Inc. Plaintiff, vs. MonaVie, Inc., MonaVie LLC,
John Brigham and Lita Hart, Jason and Carrie Lyons, Lou Niles,
Farid Zarif, John Does 1-10,". United States
District Court for the District of Utah, Central Divison (March
18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-24.
-
^
"MonaVie Files to Dismiss Quixtar Lawsuit".
eMediaWire (April 16, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
-
^
"Mona Vie, Inc. et al v. Quixtar Inc. [Case#
1:2008cv02464". United States
District Court for the District of Colorado (November 12,
2008). Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
-
^
"Imagenetix, Inc. vs. Monavie LLC et al.".
United
States District Court for the Southern District of California
(May 05, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-09-20.
-
^
"Trademark Suit Against MonaVie Dropped", May
20, 2008
[edit] Further reading
- Ferguson A. Superfruit: Antioxidant-rich acai berry is newest
trendy ingredient, Gwinnett Daily Post, October 21, 2007.
- Fryer J. MonaVie and superjuices, worth the price?, KARE
11 News, July 21, 2008.
- Arango T. Sumner Redstone's anti-aging secret, CNN.com,
September 4, 2007.
- Gale C. FOX 13 Investigates MonaVie, FOX 13 News,
November 10, 2008.
-
Unmasking MonaVie, WSAV 3 News, April 29,
2008.
[edit] External links