This article is boldly spoken and may offend some. It is not my intent to be offensive. I am stating my opinion and facts known generally to the public.
The 6 year old court case between Young Living and doTERRA was finally concluded recently.
First, I’m very happy the courts resolved it in favor of doTERRA but the fact the case even started is troubling. There are so many things about this case that cause me concern. I started a small business while I am still working in the corporate world. This case is exactly why I want out of the corporate world! The behavior and extent some companies will go to for their own gain is unethical and damages not only their reputation but the reputation of the industry, their employees and those who use their products.
It all started…
It all started when Young Living sued doTERRA for allegedly stealing secrets that were allegedly used to start the now global leader in essential oils, doTERRA. After millions of dollars and time spent sorting through this situation, the courts found Young Living acted in bad faith and the original claim for this case was false. They now need to repay damages and fees to doTERRA.
In a time when direct marketing already has a negative impression for many people and is often compared to pyramids, this lawsuit did nothing to improve the reputation of the industry.
For that I say, Shame on you YL. You hurt a lot of good people beyond those at the doTERRA leadership table who depend on direct marketing for their incomes. You hurt our industry and were not good stewards of this business.
YL – Just Another Corporate Bully
Young Living has a sorted history. Their original founder and president Gary Young was recently replaced by Jared Turner in January 2018 due to Young’s illness that ultimately took his life in May 2018.
While running Young Living however, Young was known to have cut several corners to favor profit over quality. This was one of the reasons the leadership that would form doTERRA left the company.
I will not describe the acts for which Young was charged and accused as a simple Google search will show you that information. I will however say that type of general corporate behavior for a complete lack of integrity is one of the reasons I started my own side business in order to get away from that sort of thing. I thoroughly researched companies to find a direct marketing company that was truly different from what I was experiencing in my own corporate work life and wanted something that aligned to the principles of right and wrong, integrity, trust and respect that I believed in.
Quality & Cost
The point of using essential oils is to improve your health with natural solutions. When you use a product that is less than pure or made by a company that lacks integrity, such as YL with this lawsuit, it should make you wonder about the quality of their products and how much benefit you are getting from their products.
When an oil is less than 100% or altered in any way the benefits are compromised and can be ineffective. You have essentially wasted your money in addition to done nothing to improve your health.
We all live with budgets. We all have monthly bills that must be paid and families to feed. We all want the best we can give to our children in the process. Essential oils are supposed to replace and be in lieu of products you were using previously. I’ve written for the past 9 months about how oils don’t have to bust your family budget and have given you solid examples showing you month-over-month how to have the best oils there are without over-extending your budget.
The bottom line is doTERRA is not expensive and I’ve proven that in the blog posts I’ve provided to you consistently.
Why then would you replace things in your life with the intention of better with something that is less than superior or even questionable?
The Direct Marketing “Scandal”
For those that think direct marketing products are in general expensive or overpriced so everyone can get their piece of the profit this lawsuit did nothing to make you reconsider that opinion.
I however ask you to consider this, which I too have said in prior posts:
Where you buy your food, shoes, clothes and anything you use in your life it is most likely from a store that didn’t make those items. They bought them from somewhere else and are “direct selling” them to you. They are also direct marketing companies. They have marked up their prices to get a cut of that profit.The difference from buying from me, who offers natural products, and a store offering natural products is that you are paying a person not a corporation. You are helping a person with a family not a corporation of shareholders.
doTERRA does that same thing on a global level by contracting with rural villages and family farms to produce the plants used to make the oils, process them into oils and then me and my family sell them to you.
It is a family-to-family structure not a corporation-to-corporation business.
doTERRA direct sources their oils where the plants grow in their natural habitat. They do not use corporate farms where plants are subjected to hot houses, chemicals, pesticides, fertizlizers and other harmful conditions. doTERRA purposely uses rural village, local family farms for their plants. They also don’t use oils that are less than 100% healthy and naturally grown and produced. Some may see that as overkill but I say awesome that finally a company is demonstrating they care about quality and details!
It also means the oils I purchase from doTERRA are helping families like mine with an income that is putting shoes on their children’s feet and food in their bellies. They are not just giving money to a corporation for the sake of my family being able to get essential oils.
The oils I have in my home are pure, authentic and lovingly produced from one family to another. If that means I pay a couple bucks more for an oil then I’m ok with that supposed “added expense.”
Stop fooling yourself and get the right information about what really is a good essential oil and what they cost.
Why doTERRA is Different
I think the leaders at doTERRA felt the same about getting rid of the corporate games when they started doTERRA. They wanted to do things differently and as of their 10 year anniversary they truly have accomplished that.
doTERRA is the best paying direct marketing company in the industry
Retention of doTERRA consultants and customers is 80% – one of the highest in the direct marketing industry
Standards for quality testing and purity have been raised through doTERRA’s relentless demand for high pure quality of their oils; they make these results public for everyone
doTERRA sources globally for their oils to pay-it-forward to others and provide the best oils available
doTERRA’s education and support are superior to other oil companies
These are all great points that make doTERRA stand apart from the rest but there’s a couple things even more important than just being the best.
Concern for well-being
doTERRA is truly a company of loving people who want everyone to have their best life possible. They demonstrate this through several programs that lift others up and improve their lives. From their work in rural villages to dig wells and build schools, to actively working with groups to end human trafficking, doTERRA is in the front line of charitable humane works.
They also support their consultants with programs to help improve their lives. Programs such as financial education and support to get out of debt to supporting needs in their communities during disasters, doTERRA is there.
Transforming healthcare
doTERRA is building health care clinics. The first is being built at the campus of the doTERRA headquarters in Utah. These clinics will be natural centers for healing and health management with doctors and clinicians leveraging traditional and natural solutions to treat illnesses and manage diseases.
These clinics are planned to open across the country and if the success of doTERRA is any indicator they will become global.
I personally cannot wait to have my PCP be with a doTERRA health clinic.
Having worked in healthcare for the majority of my career this is truly welcome change and a challenge to the existing broken structure that we can do better.
Price Points
doTERRA’s oils and products are the best available. This can be seen by some as being overpriced but if you look beyond the surface you realize that simply is not true.
The profits from some of their products, such as the Rose hand lotion and Hope oil blend are 100% given to charitable organizations to stop human trafficking and improve lives of those impacted by these terrible crimes.
The price of the oils and products sold by doTERRA are actually less than others when you look at the discounts and points received from being a wholesale customer. For example:
Membership is reimbursed with a free bottle of Peppermint that exceeds the cost of the wholesale membership
Points earned including shipping points easily equate to several months of free products over the course of the year
Free products and sale items throughout the year further expand the savings
Customers can easily upgrade to share and sell the oils themselves to earn well paying income that exceeds any other direct marketing company currently in the industry
The price per drop on the majority of the doTERRA oils are comparable or even less than those of Young Living, NOW and other oil brands on the market. The difference in cost where there is one is due to the source, scarcity and purity of the oil from those provided by the other companies.
Interested in more?
Again, my intent in this post is not to offend others.
Please do not shortchange yourself by thinking good pure oils are out of your reach or not worth it. I’m happy to answer any questions you have and provide you with information about doTERRA’s commission structure, products and philosophy for improving the lives.
If you are ready to start your natural health journey then please look at doTERRA. I encourage you to do your own research. You can ask me any question you want about this company and if I don’t know the answer I will gladly find it for you.
If you are currently using YL I encourage you as well to look at the options available and consider what is best for you and those you are sharing oils with in your business. There is better and you deserve it.
amyk@dragonspitapothecary.com
Comments