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Youngevity on track to make Top 100 direct-sales companies

The following is an excerpt of an article published in the San Diego Union Tribune on April 30, 2012.

Steve Wallach thinks so. He’s the CEO ofYoungevity Essential Life Sciences, which develops and sells health and wellness products — liquid supplements, weight-loss programs and skin creams — through independent distributors who mainly work from home.

Its most popular product is Beyond Tangy Tangerine, a citrus-flavored drink mix packed with vitamins, minerals and amino acids. A newer product is a “functional gourmet coffee” enhanced with added nutrients. It also sells the ThighMaster Toning System and other products by Suzanne Somers.

“It’s not just about length of life; it’s about quality of life,” Wallach said. “If there’s a silver lining to the poor economy, it’s that people seem to be taking better care of themselves.”

The 15-year-old company is growing rapidly. It had $40 million in sales last year, nearly double the previous year’s sales. Its 58,000-square-foot headquarters and distribution center in Chula Vista ships out enough packages each day to fill a semi truck. Through a recent merger with a publicly traded company, it’s on track to do $67 million in sales this year, Wallach said.

The company contracts with mostly U.S. producers to make its products with ingredients from around the world. Some of the suppliers are trade secrets, but one of its primary producers is the giant Pharmachem Laboratories in New Jersey, Wallach said.

Wallach’s goal is ambitious. He wants Youngevity to be among the top direct-sales companies in the world. This year, he expects the company to break the Top 100 under the umbrella of newly formed AL International, he said.

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