Beneve is based out of Florida and operates in the nutritional supplement MLM niche.

The company is headed up by Mark and Judy Willodson.

Beneve’s website cites Judy as Beneve’s founder and CEO. Mark Willodson is Beneve’s “Chief Fun Officer”.

Willodson’s Beneve corporate bio credits him with “an illustrious career spanning three decades in the Direct Sales Industry.”

The earliest MLM company I was able to tie the Willodsons to was Send Out Cards (2008 to 2013 as per Judy’s LinkedIn profile).

That came to an end and in 2014 Mark Willodson resurfaced on the corporate team of MMO Cashout.

MMO Cashout was a pyramid scheme coated in a paper-thin gaming platform veneer.

After MMO Cashout collapsed the Willodsons next popped up in Eleprenuers circa 2017.

Elepreneurs was a reboot of Elevacity. Both nutritional supplement MLM companies were run by Robert Oblon.

Oblon was removed from Elepreneurs’ Board of Directors in 2020 for “gross financial misconduct”.

In 2021 Elepreneuers rebranded as The Happy Co. Climbing to the rank of Triple Crown Ambassador, the Willodsons continued to promote The Happy Co. until at least late 2021.

In March 2022 The Happy Co filed suit against Mark and Judy Willodson in Collin County Texas. Valentus was also a named defendant.

Unfortunately I don’t have access to The Happy Co’s Complaint so things get a bit murky.

Nonetheless, here’s what I was able to piece together;

In January 2022 Chad & Tabby Carlsen claimed they’d left The Happy Co for a “brand new opportunity“.

We have a HUGE announcement! Chad and I resigned from The Happy Co. last week…Then we JUMPED feet first in a NEW & EXCITING business >>> and you were the first person we wanted to reach out to!

Let me introduce you to the new owners of Valentus, Mark & Judy Willodson! They bought an already established company and are going to reshape the company by adding groundbreaking products.

And this is from a March 2023 10-K Annual Report, filed by The Happy Co’s parent company Sharing Services Global Corporation;

On March 31, 2022, the Company filed suit against a competitor and former distributors.

An Agreed Temporary Injunction was entered by the Court against the Willodsons in April 2022. On April 4, 2023, this legal proceeding was settled between the parties.

Valentus was owned by Dave Jordan, who went on to sell the company to Paul Pearson in February 2023.

Reading between the lines, it appears the injunction granted to The Happy Co either stopped or reversed the sale of Valentus ot the Willodsons.

In any event, the Willodsons went on to launch Beneve in May 2023.

Read on for a full review of Beneve’s MLM opportunity.

Beneve’s Products

Beneve markets a range of nutritional supplements.

  • Xcelerate Coffee – “this custom-blended coffee has been successfully infused with an almost magical blend of nootropics and energy enhancers that will forever improve your favorite cup of joe”, retails at $62 for a tub of 30 servings or a pouch of 24 single-serve sachets
  • Xcelerate Watermelon Berry – “this tropical fruit-flavored, custom-blended beverage was created for our non-coffee drinkers, and for those of you who prefer coffee in the morning and a cold energy beverage in the afternoon”, retails at $62 for a tub of 30 servings or a pouch of 24 single-serve sachets
  • Xcelerate Lite Coffee – “this [is a] custom blend “Liter” version of our original Xcelerate coffee (50% reduced level of energy / nootropic enhancers)”, retails at $62 for a tub of 30 servings or pouch of 24 single-serve sachets
  • Power of 3 – “designed to supercharge the body’s defense system”, retails at $62 for a bottle of 30 capsules
  • Pancake and Waffle Mix – “imagine a fluffy, flavorful, and healthy breakfast, that tastes like a treat, but has loads of fiber and protein to help you manage your weight and start your day off right”, retails at $18.95 for a pouch of 32 servings (approx)

Beneve’s beverage products are also available at $19.95 for a 4-day sampler.

Beneve’s Compensation Plan

Beneve’s compensation plan is a healthy mix of retail and recruitment incentives.

Residual commissions are paid out via a unilevel compensation structure, with additional rank-based bonuses on offer.

Beneve Distributor Ranks

There are twelve distributor ranks within Beneve’s compensation plan.

Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:

  1. Influencer – sign up as a Beneve distributor and generate and maintain 80 PV a month
  2. Star – maintain 80 PV a month, refer and maintain one retail customer and generate 1000 GV a month
  3. Rising Star – maintain 80 PV a month, refer and maintain two retail customers and generate 2500 GV a month
  4. 1 Star – maintain 80 PV a month, refer and maintain three retail customers and generate 5000 GV a month (no more than 90% from any one recruitment leg)
  5. 2 Star – maintain 80 PV a month, refer and maintain four retail customers and generate 10,000 GV a month (no more than 80% from any one recruitment leg)
  6. 3 Star – generate and maintain 100 PV a month, refer and maintain five retail customers and generate 15,000 GV a month (no more than 70% from any one recruitment leg)
  7. 4 Star – maintain 100 PV a month and five personally referred retail customers, and generate 35,000 GV a month (no more than 60% from any one recruitment leg)
  8. 5 Star – maintain 100 PV a month, refer and maintain six retail customers and generate 80,000 GV a month (no more than 50% from any one recruitment leg)
  9. 6 Star – maintain 100 PV a month and six personally referred retail customers, and generate 180,000 GV a month (no more than 40% from any one recruitment leg)
  10. 7 Star – maintain 100 PV a month, refer and maintain seven retail customers and generate 350,000 GV a month (no more than 35% from any one recruitment leg)
  11. Ambassador – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain seven personally referred retail customers and generate 600,000 GV a month (no more than 35% from any one recruitment leg)
  12. Crown Ambassador – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain seven personally referred retail customers and generate 900,000 GV a month (no more than 35% from any one recruitment leg)

PV stands for “Personal Volume”. PV is sales volume generated by a personally referred retail customers and a distributor’s own orders.

Note that for rank qualification, Beneve only counts retail customer order volume towards PV.

GV stands for “Group Volume”. GV is the sum total of a Beneve distributor’s PV and that of their downline.

Note that in order to count towards rank qualification, retail customers must have placed a minimum 42 PV order in the qualifying month.

Sampler Commissions

Beneve pays commissions on the sale of $19.95 4-day samplers.

Sampler commissions are paid via a unilevel compensation structure.

A unilevel compensation structure places an distributor at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited distributor placed directly under them (level 1):

If any level 1 distributors recruit new distributors, they are placed on level 2 of the original distributor’s unilevel team.

If any level 2 distributors recruit new distributors, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.

Beneve caps sampler commissions at five unilevel team levels. Sampler commissions are paid on the sale of $19.95 sampler packs across these five levels as follows:

  • level 1 (your sales) – $5 per sampler pack sold
  • levels 2 to 5 – $1 per sampler pack sold

New Customer Bonus

Beneve distributors earn a 50% bonus on orders placed by retail customers across their first thirty days.

The New Customer Bonus is paid as 50% of the retail price paid for products ordered over the new customer’s first thirty days.

Customer Retention Bonus

Beneve distributors are rewarded for retaining retail customers.

The Customer Retention Bonus kicks in from the second month of a retained retail customer:

  • retain one to ten active retail customers and earn a 15% Customer Retention Bonus on their orders
  • retain eleven to thirty active retail customers and earn a 20% Customer Retention Bonus on their orders
  • retain thirty-one or more active retail customers and earn a 30% Customer Retention Bonus on their orders

Note an “active retail customer” is a retail customer who has placed a Beneve product order in the past month.

Recruitment Commissions

Beneve distributors earn a commission on recruited distributors who sign up with an Enrollment Pack.

  • recruit a Do Good Pack distributor and receive $50
  • recruit a Do More Pack distributor and receive $100
  • recruit a Better Together Pack distributor and receive $225

Power of 3 Xcelerator

The Power of 3 Xcelerator is paid out across a Beneve distributor’s first ninety days. Note that a Beneve distributor must generate and maintain 80 PV a month to qualify.

If 80 PV a month is maintained, the Power of 3 Xcelerator is paid on recruitment of Beneve distributors as follows:

  • recruit three distributors who each place a 120 PV or higher order or sign up with an Enrollment Pack in a thirty-day period and receive a $100 Power of 3 Xcelerator bonus
  • recruit nine distributors who each place a 120 PV or higher order or sign up with an Enrollment Pack in a thirty-day period and receive a $500 Power of 3 Xcelerator bonus
  • recruit twenty-seven distributors who each place a 120 PV or higher order or sign up with an Enrollment Pack in a thirty-day period and receive a $1500 Power of 3 Xcelerator bonus

Residual Commissions

Beneve pays residual commissions through the same unilevel team Sampler Commissions are paid with (see “Sampler Commissions” above).

Beneve caps residual commissions down twelve unilevel team levels and further caps them again based on rank:

  • Influencers earn 10% on level 1, capped at $500 a month
  • Stars earn 10% on level 1 and 5% on level 2, capped at $1000 a month
  • Rising Stars earn 10% on level 1, 7% on level 2 and 5% on level 3, capped at $2000 a month
  • 1 Stars earn 10% on level 1, 7% on level 2, 9% on level 3 and 5% on level 4, capped at $3000 a month
  • 2 Stars earn 10% on level 1, 7% on level 2, 9% on level 3, 7% on level 4 and 5% on level 5, capped at $5000 a month
  • 3 Stars earn 10% on level 1, 7% on level 2, 9% on level 3, 7% on levels 4 and 5 and 3% on level 6, capped at $8000 a month
  • 4 Stars earn 10% on level 1, 7% on level 2, 9% on level 3, 7% on levels 4 and 5, 5% on level 6 and 3% on level 7
  • 5 Stars earn 10% on level 1, 7% on levels 2 to 6, 5% on level 7 and 3% on level 8
  • 6 Stars earn 5% on levels 1 and 2, 7% on levels 3 to 7, 5% on level 8 and 3% on level 9
  • 7 Stars earn 5% on levels 1 and 2, 7% on levels 3 to 7, 5% on level 8, and 3% on levels 9 and 10
  • Ambassadors earn 3% on levels 1 and 2, 7% on levels 3 to 8, 5% on level 9 and 3% on levels 10 and 11
  • Crown Ambassadors earn 1% on levels 1 and 2, 7% on levels 3 to 10, 5% on level 11 and 3% on level 12

Check Match Bonus

2 Star and higher Beneve distributors earn a Check Match Bonus on residual commissions earned by downline distributors:

  • 2 Stars earn a 15% Check Match Bonus on level 1
  • 3 Stars earn a 15% Check Match Bonus on level 1 and 10% on level 2
  • 4 Stars and higher earn a 15% Check Match Bonus on level 1, 10% on level 2 and 5% on level 3

Rank Achievement Bonus

Beneve rewards distributors for qualifying at Star and higher with one-time Rank Achievement Bonuses.

Note that as opposed to typical Rank Achievement Bonuses, Beneve implements timing restrictions across lower ranks.

  • qualify at Star within your first 3 months and receive $100
  • qualify at Rising Star within  your first 6 months and receive $200
  • qualify at 1 Star within your first 9 months and receive $300
  • qualify at 2 Star within your first 12 months and receive $400
  • qualify at 3 Star within your first 18 months and receive $2500 over 2 months
  • qualify at 4 Star within your first 24 months and receive $10,000 over 4 months
  • qualify at 5 Star and receive $25,000 over 8 months
  • qualify at 6 Star and receive $50,000 over 12 months
  • qualify at 7 Star and receive $75,000 over 15 months
  • qualify at Ambassador and receive $100,000 over 18 months
  • qualify at Crown Ambassador and receive $250,000 over 24 months

Note that for the Rank Achievement Bonuses paid out over time, rank qualification criteria must be maintained each month.

Lifestyle Bonuses

The Lifestyle Bonus is a monthly bonus, awarded to Beneve distributors who rank at 3 Star to 7 Star.

  • qualify at 3 Star and receive $300 a month
  • qualify at 4 Star and receive $600 a month
  • qualify at 5 Star and receive $900 a month
  • qualify at 6 Star and receive $1200 a month
  • qualify at 7 Star and receive $1500 a month

Health Benefits Bonuses

Beneve offers a “health benefits” program to its distributors.

Beneve’s Health Benefits program is designed to make healthcare affordable, flexible, and simple.

We’ve partnered with one of the premier providers within the health-sharing benefits community.

Access to Beneve’s Health Benefits Program requires payment of a monthly fee. This cost is not disclosed on Beneve’s website or in their compensation plan.

3 Star and higher ranked Beneve distributors who enrol in the company’s “crowd-funded health benefits program” qualify for a monthly Health Benefits Bonus.

  •  3 Stars receive $50 a month
  • 4 Stars receive $150 a month
  • 5 Stars receive $300 a month
  • 6 Stars receive $450 a month
  • 7 Stars and higher receive $600 a month

Bonus Pools

Beneve offers distributors two bonus pools; a Star Pool and Ambassador Pool.

Star Pool

Beneve takes 1% of company-wide sales volume and places it into a Star Pool.

The Star Pool is split between 4-Star and 7-Star ranked distributors each month.

  • 4 Stars receive a share in 10% of the Star Pool
  • 5 Stars receive a share in 20% of the Star Pool
  • 6 Stars receive a share in 30% of the Star Pool
  • 7 Stars receive a share in 40% of the Star Pool

Ambassador Pool

Beneve takes 1% of company-wide sales volume and places it into an Ambassador Pool

The Ambassador Pool is split between Ambassadors and Crown Ambassador ranked distributors each month.

  • Ambassadors receive a share in 35% of the Ambassador Pool
  • Crown Ambassadors receive a share in 65% of the Ambassador Pool

Incentive Trips

Beneve’s compensation plan documentation references “Incentive Trips”.

In addition to Beneve’s incredible generous Compensation Plan, our Founder and CEO strongly believes in continuously rewarding high-performing influencers with luxury incentive trips.

Get ready for incredible trips around the world where you’ll build memories to last a lifetime!

No specific qualification criteria is provided.

Joining Beneve

Basic Beneve distributor membership is $39.95 annually.

Recruited Beneve distributors can opt to sign up with an Enrollment Pack:

  • Do Good Pack – $199 and then $39.95 annually
  • Do More Pack – $309 and then $39.95 annually
  • Better Together Pack – $779 and then $39.95 annually

The primary difference between Beneve’s Enrollment Packs is bundled products.

Beneve Conclusion

Given Valentus and Elepreneurs were both coffee MLM companies, it follows that Mark and Judy Willodson’s own MLM company would follow suit.

I’m a bit miffed over what happened with the Valentus sale and Services Global Corporation filing suit. That said, the timeline fits with it being a typical “top distributors go off to launch their own company and raid their previous company” affair.

Fast forward to 2024 and Beneve is a pretty standard coffee MLM offering. Given BehindMLM’s autoship recruitment concerns raised with Valentus but Elepreneurs being well-rounded, I was curious how Beneve was set up.

Between the two MLM companies, Beneve more closely represents Elepreneurs.

As to Beneve’s product offerings, nothing really stood out. Xcelerate Coffee appears to be your standard “coffee plus” MLM offering.

Having lite and non-coffee versions was a nice touch though as you don’t see that often. Having the same pricing though makes me question the quality of the regular Xcelerate Coffee.

As to pricing you’re looking at ~$2 a servings in tub form or ~$2.60 per sachet. I’m not a coffee expert so can’t really comment on how that compares, especially within the context of “coffee plus”.

Power of 3 just seems to be a generic immune system supplement. Protein pancake mix seems a bit random.

Beneve’s compensation plan started off with me being concerned that, while there was certainly an effort to encourage retail sales, the company’s marketing focused on turning your best retail customers into distributors.

I figured I was looking at autoship recruitment with a token retail effort but I was pleasantly surprised by Beneve’s rank qualification.

Starting off with one active retail customer from Star (rank 2), more retail customers are required as a Beneve distributor moves up the ranks.

The New Customer Bonus in particular (50% on new retail customer orders), is a great retail incentive.

Not only that but Beneve completely disregards a distributor’s own orders when calculating rank.

Your personal Volume (PV) does not count toward QRV requirements.

This pretty much kills off inventory loading and autoship recruitment. Without retail customers you’re stuck at Influencer, which limits you to level 1 residual commissions.

Another interesting aspect of Benve’s compensation plan is the reduced residual commission rates as distributors rank up.

Across level 1 you’re looking at 10% from Influencer, dropping to 1% at Crown Ambassador.

The idea is you’re theoretically going to be earning that 1% on much larger volume but I can’t help but wonder how that plays out in reality.

It kind of feels like the intention is an overall reduction per level is offset by earning on more levels as you rank up.

It’s an interesting way to approach residual commissions but being hit with reduced commission rates each rank might be disheartening (even if you’re earning more overall).

Beyond that Beneve’s distributor membership costs didn’t seem too prohibitive, and there’s always the $39.95 annual option if you’re on a budget or want to keep things simple.

One final word is that, even though I don’t drink it, I know coffee tastes can be highly subjective. Given Beneve only has one coffee offering, definitely give it a try first before committing to distributorship if you’re interested.

Even if it’s not for you you’re still going to want to be able to describe the taste to potential retail customers.

Also if Xcelerate Coffe doesn’t live up to what you’re expecting, that could be a problem given it’s the flagship of an otherwise smallish range.

Good luck!