mazu-global-logoWhen I think of Mazu the first thing that pops into my mind is Mazu, the Chinese goddess of the sea. Believed to protect any who venture out into the sea and those who live near coastal areas, Mazu (also spelt Matsu), is worshipped by a large number of devotees around the world.

Although Mazu Global don’t explicitly make reference to Mazu herself, with sea-based ingredients in their aloe juice it’s obvious they’re looking to make an association between themselvess and Mazu, goddess of the sea.

Read on for a full review of the Mazu Global MLM opportunity.

The Company

Mazu Global is the network marketing division of the Aloe production company Nuvonyx. The company is headed up by co-founders Pete Mountanos (also owner of Nuvonyx, photo right) and Mike Kaz with Walker Sullivan serving as their US-based President.

Mountanos has a bit of a history with MLM and aloe based products. Prior to Mazu Global Mountanos headed up USAloe, which was launched in 2009.

USAloe originally incorporated the production facilities that now come under the company Nuvonyx but for some reason in 2010 Mountanos decided to split the manufacturing and MLM side of the business.

I do note that Nuvonyx offer aloe based products at a wholesale level so perhaps there wasn’t enough profit in a standalone MLM offering and Mountanos felt that manufacturing at a wholesale level, whilst separating the MLM side of the business into Mazu Gold, would bring in a greater return.

The Mazu Global Product Line

Mazu Global’s flagship product is Mazu Gold. Mazu Gold is aloe vera based juice with ‘Ecklonia Cava Sea Kelp’ (brown algae from the ocean).

Mazu Global claim that consumption of Mazu Gold provides

  • increased energy, stamina and performance
  • overall cardiovascular health through increased blood flow and support
  • improved alertness, memory and relaxation
  • healthy blood glucose levels
  • an all natural solution for promoting improved cholesterol health
  • support for joint discomfort and inflammation

Note that none of the company’s claims have been verified by the FDA.

Mazu Gold retails for $39.99 for two 443ml (15 oz) bottles, a pack of four bottles for $79.98 or a case of 8 for $159.99.

Shipping is free within the US.

The Mazu Gold Membership Ranks

Within the Mazu Gold compensation plan are 14 membership ranks. These ranks affect the ‘Global Profit Pool’ and ‘Team Commissions’ components of the compensation plan (explained below).

The 14 Mazu Gold membership ranks and their qualifications are as follows:

  • Associate – 100 PV and 1 personally recruited member (PSM)
  • Senior Associate – 100 PV and 2 PSMs
  • Executive – 100 PV and 3 PSMs
  • Partner – 100 PV and 2,500 QV
  • Bronze – 100 PV and 5,000 QV
  • Silver – 200 PV and 10,000 QV
  • Gold – 200 PV and 20,000 QV
  • Pearl – 200 PV and 35,000 QV
  • Ruby – 200 PV and 50,000 QV
  • Emerald – 200 PV and 70,000 QV
  • Diamond Executive – 200 PV and 100,000 QV
  • Blue Diamond Executive – 200 PV and 250,000 QV
  • Black Diamond Executive – 200 PV and 500,000 QV
  • Global Ambassador – 200 PV and 1,000,000 QV

The Mazu Gold Compensation Plan

The Mazu compensation plans offers members a chance to earn commissions via retail sales, as well as residual commissions via bonus pools and a unilevel team commission structure that pays out on three levels.

Retail Commissions

Mazu Global offers members retail commissions on all non-member sales of Mazu Gold. Retail commissions are paid out at 25% of all retail product orders made.

Fast Start Bonus

The Fast Start Bonus is paid out if an existing member recruits a new distributor and they purchase one of the new member packages (which are not required).

  • Basic Associate Pack ($159) = $50 bonus
  • Senior Associate Fast Track ($499) = $150 bonus
  • Executive Fast Track ($979) = $300 bonus

Team Commissions

Mazu Global pay out monthly team commissions based on the sales volume of you and your team. This sales volume is calculated using a unilevel organisation structure.

A unilevel organisation structure has one member at the top with each personally recruited new member (or customer) branching out into a new leg underneath them (forming level one of the organisation).

Any members that personally recruited members bring into the company from level 2 and so on and so forth. Obviously customers cannot recruit new members and only ever contribute to level 1 commissions within the unilevel  framework.

The levels a Mazu Global member is paid out on depends on their membership rank within the company:

  • Associates earn 8% on level 1
  • Senior Associates earn 8% on levels 1 and 2
  • Executives and Partners earn 8% on levels 1 to 3

Global Profit Pool

Once a Mazu Global member has achieved Partner rank, they are eligible to participate in a Global Profit Pool. This Global Profit Pool is made up of 28% of global sales revenue by Mazu Global and is split into 11 profit pools with sales volume qualifiers for each pool.

The are as follows (note that QV is the total group volume of your unilevel organisation):

  • Partner (4% pool) – 2,500 QV
  • Bronze (3% pool) – 5,000 QV
  • Silver (3% pool) – 10,000 QV
  • Gold (3% pool) – 20,000 QV
  • Pearl (3% pool) – 35,000 QV
  • Ruby (2% pool) – 50,000 QV
  • Emerald (2% pool) – 70,000 QV
  • Diamond (2% pool) – 100,000 QV
  • Blue (2% pool) – 250,000 QV
  • Black (2% pool) – 500,000 QV
  • Ambassador (2% pool) – 1,000,000 QV

Note that these bonus pools are accumulative and that with the exception of the Partner pool, each is divided into 3 share components. The qualifiers for these shares are QV between the current pool you qualify for and the next.

For example the three share qualifiers for the Diamond Pool are 100,000 QV for one share, 150,000 QV for two shares and 200,000 QV for three shares. 250,000 QV unlocks 1 share in the next pool up, which is the Blue pool.

Joining Mazu Gold

Earning retail profits in Mazu Gold requires nothing more than a one time purchase of Mazu Gold and then a minimum order of 2 bottles of Mazu Gold for $30 a month (wholesale price).

This is all that’s required to get started with Mazu Gold. For those looking to participate beyond retail commissions, there are three options made available:

Associate Pack ($159) – The Associate Pack is essentially just the purchase of a crate of 8 Mazu Gold drinks. Buying this pack saves members 99 cents.

Senior Associate Fast Track ($499) – The purchase of the Senior Associate Fast Track automatically qualifies new members at the Senior Associate level. This means that they are paid out on two level of their unilevel ogranisation.

Executive Fast Track ($979) – The purchase of the Executive Fast Track automatically qualifies a new member at the Executive membership level. This means that they are paid out on three level of their unilevel organisation and earn double the first level percentage in commissions for 30 days.

Note that purchases of the above three packs are entirely optional. Mazu Gold members can qualify themselves as associates with nothing more than having a monthly personal sales volume of over 100 and one personally recruited member.

Conclusion

One thing I particularly like about the Mazu Global compensation plan is the combining of customers and those looking to earn via retail sales. At the customer level retail commissions are possible, and then if a customer wants to join the business and participate in the team commissions components of the compensation plan, all they have to do is bring a new distributor into the company.

Going forward only three members under you are required to build a Mazu Global business although realistically you’re going to need a lot more if you want to advance in membership rank within the company.

You could set up Mazu Global as an autoship game but retail sales of the product would be a far easier route overall.

Product wise Mazu Gold seems a bit on the expensive side. Mazu Global’s recommended consumption of Mazu Gold is 1-2 ounces, twice daily. This means that at the lower dosage Mazu Gold will cost $79.98 (2 ounces a day) and $159.99 at 4 ounces a day.

With 100 PV being the standard entry-level personal volume required per month till Silver membership, I’m assuming Mazu Gold are expecting members to go the 4 ounce a day dosage route.

You could of course just make up this PV in sales but you’d have a hard time convincing others to buy Mazu Gold if you yourself weren’t using it.

I myself don’t consume aloe-based juice but $159.99 a month does sound on the pricey side for what is essentially billed as a nutritional supplement.

Outside of the business opportunity Mazu Gold members might struggle to find genuine retail customers which will in turn hamper their efforts to advance within the compensation plan.

I believe this is hinted at in founder Pete Mountanos’ decision to split USAloe into two separate companies (production and marketing). Offering their own wholesale aloe product through Nuvonyx might have Mazu Gold covered, but members of the company are going to have to seriously evaluate the viability of the Mazu Gold product themselves.

With a true retail option available however there’s nothing stopping someone from purchasing a few bottles of Mazu Gold and trying it out for themselves before they commit to something.

I’d highly recommend this route for any potential new member investigating the viability of the Mazu Global MLM opportunity. Try it out yourself and if you like it, perhaps see what some other people you know think about it.

If you get enough of a positive response and believe you can market Mazu Gold to a greater demographic than just people you know, you might just be looking at the right MLM opportunity for you.