Similar businesses, sometimes called “nutrition clubs,” have existed across the U.S. It begs the question: Are stores like Port City and Foreside Nutrition Herbalife’s way of restructuring business practices to focus on retail? It also vowed to make “substantial changes” to its sales and distribution practices, including rewarding participants for what they sell rather than how many people they recruit, according to the FTC.
Herbalife ultimately agreed to pay $200 million to consumers who lost money on its nutrition supplements. It also alleged the income participants were able to derive through the company was far less than marketing materials seemed to promise. “(Herbalife’s) compensation program incentivizes not retail sales, but the recruiting of additional participants who will fuel the enterprise by making wholesale purchases of product.” “In reality, however, (Herbalife’s) program does not offer participants a viable retail-based business opportunity,” the complaint stated. The lawsuit alleged that Herbalife led its distributors to believe they were likely “to earn substantial income, including significant full-time or part-time income, from pursuing a retail-based business opportunity.” Port City Nutrition, at 333 Clarks Pond Parkway in South Portland. The FTC’s 2016 lawsuit against Herbalife called it a multi-level marketing company “through which participants may earn compensation by selling weight management, nutritional supplement, and personal care products (by) recruiting new participants into the organization.” Herbalife Nutrition was founded in 1980 and has weathered several legal storms in the succeeding decades. Owners of Foreside Nutrition and Port City Nutrition either declined to comment or did not respond at all to repeated requests for an interview. “If you’re unsure of Herbalife or don’t know who/what they are, Google them.” The shops regularly share posts by customers on their Instagram stories.īut not everyone is pleased, as a quick look into Port City’s Yelp reviews revealed: “Their recipes and shakes are the exact same ones you’ll find among other Herbalife ‘nutrition’ shops,” reviewer Julius S.
EMBRACE NUTRITION FULL
The Instagram pages of Port City and Foreside Nutrition look alike too – full of photos of new tea and shake flavors that often rotate by month and are topped with cookies, sprinkles, or other non-Herbalife brand treats. Many of the shops’ websites call their smoothies “healthy meal replacement protein shakes,” and require users to click through before disclosing any mention of Herbalife. Rising Sun Nutrition in Topsham, for instance, also sells shakes and teas made with Herbalife products, as does Embrace Nutrition in Lewiston. They often use the word “nutrition” in their name.
The stores have opened in several states in recent years, but can be hard to identify. The Portland area is far from the only place where storefronts selling only Herbalife products have popped up recently. Instead, a sign on the counter at Port City indicates the shakes are made with an Herbalife powder called Formula 1, intended to be a meal replacement with as much protein as three eggs.Īdditionally, customers at both shops are offered a dollar off the total price of their drinks if they post a picture of them on social media. Menus at both Foreside Nutrition and Port City feature several shake flavors to choose from, but no familiar ingredients.
Neither Portland-area store appears to be doing anything illegal by selling Herbalife, and both clearly display the Herbalife containers of protein powder and other products. Still, customers with knowledge of the company’s history may wonder if it has changed its ways. A sign at Port City Nutrition in South Portland explains the contents of shakes, which are made with Herbalife Formula 1 mix. But the shops are linked by their inventory: shakes and teas made solely with products from Herbalife Nutrition, a multi-level marketing company that settled a $200 million complaint from the Federal Trade Commission five years ago after being accused of deceiving its distributors. Route 1 in Falmouth, both opened last year, and at first seem unconnected. Port City Nutrition, at 333 Clarks Pond Parkway in South Portland, and Foreside Nutrition, 251 U.S. Most smoothie shops provide a menu of drinks that are described by their use of ingredients like bananas, raspberries, and spinach.īut if you have recently visited two of the Portland area’s newest smoothie makers, you may have encountered something different.
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