The company was founded in 1980 and it employs around 4,000 people worldwide. Herbalife reported net sales of USD 2.7 billion in 2010 and its corporate headquarters are in Los Angeles, US. The company distributes its products in 75 countries through a network of approximately 2.1 million independent distributors, some of whom earn profit on product sales and additional commission from a multi-level marketing (MLM) compensation structure. History
In February 1980, Mark Hughes began selling the original Herbalife weight loss product from the trunk of his car. Hughes often stated that the genesis of his product and program stemmed from the weight loss concerns of his mother, whose death he attributed to an eating disorder and an unhealthy approach to weight loss. Adopting the multi-level marketing system for distribution and growth, the company attracted thousands of distributors who sold its products door-to-door or through word-of-mouth, shunning commercial distribution in retail stores. The company's slogan, "Lose Weight Now, Ask Me How", became a marketing theme for distributors, featuring heavily on badges, flyers and posters. Early methods to recruit distributors included seminars, which would feature distributors giving health and weight loss testimonials on the Herbalife products and a keynote address by Hughes. By 1982 Herbalife had reached USD 2 million in sales and had expanded into Canada. In 1985, the California Attorney General sued the company for making inflated claims about the efficacy of its products. The company settled the suit for USD 850,000 without admitting wrongdoing. In 1986 Herbalife became a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ, and in 1996 Herbalife reached USD 1 billion in annual sales.
