Tavala Review: Great retail focus, autoship & recruitment let downs
Tavala operate in the health and nutrition MLM niche and operate out of Utah in the US.
Heading up Tavala is founder Boyd Wathen and CEO Allen Davis.
According to Wathen’s Tavala corporate bio he
made his fortunes holding multiple patents for his inventions in various industries.
He married his love for science and health by formulating products for very large Network Marketing companies.
Wathen along with partner David Brown is credited as the creator of Plexus Worldwide’s Slim wight loss supplement.
Also known as the “pink drink”, Slim is one of the most widely recognized products in the MLM industry.
After a falling out with Plexus, Wathen and Brown went on to launch TruVision Health.
TruVision Health are still in business and David Brown listed as a “founding partner” on the company website. There’s no mention of Boyd Wathen.
On his LinkedIn profile, Wathen also cites himself as co-founder of N4U International. I wasn’t able to find anything further on this company.
More recently, Wathen was named as the “primary investor” in Divvee.
Tavala CEO Allen Davis (right) was also the CEO of Divvee. Davis also served as general counsel for TruVision Health.
Divvee initially launched in 2015 with a monthly membership model providing access to discounts. The company revamped itself a few months later as promotional platform. which has since devolved into some questionable business decisions.
Mid last year Divvee rebranded as Nui and has since made some questionable business decisions.
I’m not 100% sure but I believe Davis and Wathen left during the Nui merger with Hodo Global, whose management leads the company today.
Read on for a full review of the Tavala MLM opportunity.
Tavala Products
Tavala’s flagship product is Trim, a “thermogenic fat burner” that ‘helps with healthy weight management, appetite suppression, metabolism, and energy’.
Trim is available in both capsule and drink form, retailing for $69.99 for a box of 28 single-serve drink powder sachets or a bottle of 56 capsules (4 week supply).
Other products in the Tavala range include:
- Tavala Control – “the perfect companion to Tavala Trim” … “an all natural, gluten free and stimulant free capsule that helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels in the body”, retails at $54.99 a bottle (4 week supply)
- Weight Loss Shake – “packed with a powerful 15 g of protein while also being low in carbs and calories”, retails at $54.99 a pouch (28 servings)
- Alert Micromist – “the fastest, smartest, and easiest way to get an energy boost using the natural power of Guarana”, retails at $29.99 a spray (90 pumps)
- Snooze Micromist – “a faster, smarter, and easier alternative to fall asleep naturally with the power of Melatonin”, retails at $29.99 a spray (90 pumps)
- Quantum Relief Strips – “assist your body’s naturally ability to heal through the power of Quantum Energy”, retails at $69.99 for a 4 week supply (14 packets)
- Bru – “one cup of Tavala bru contains more antioxidants than a cup of blueberries or pomegranate juice”, retails at $29.99 a pouch (28 servings)
- Tamanu Organics – a “Daily Skin Care System with Gentle Cleanser, Soothing Toner, Comforting Creme and Night Time Serum”, retails at $194.99 or $119.99 for a travel kit
Tavala products are also available in various bundle packs.
The Tavala Compensation Plan
The Tavala compensation plan sees affiliate advance through personal retail sales and building a downline of affiliates focused on the same.
Residual commissions are paid through a unilevel team, with additional performance based bonuses also on offer.
Tavala Affiliate Ranks
There are thirteen ranks within the Tavala compensation plan.
Along with their respective rank qualification criteria, they are as follows:
- Member – sign up as a Tavala affiliate
- Titanium – recruit and maintain three affiliates who together generate at least 75 BV a month and have at least two customers who buy at least 50 BV worth of product each month
- Silver – recruit and maintain five affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month and have at least three customers who buy at least 75 BV worth of product each month
- Palladium – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one must be Titanium), have at least four customers who buy at least 100 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 3000 GV
- Platinum – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one Titanium and one Silver), have at least five customers who buy at least 125 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 10,000 GV
- Rose Gold – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one Titanium, one Silver and one Palladium), have at least five customers who buy at least 150 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 25,000 GV
- White Gold – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one Silver, one Palladium and one Platinum), have at least five customers who buy at least 150 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 50,000 GV
- 14 Karat Gold – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one Palladium, one Platinum and one Rose Gold), have at least five customers who buy at least 150 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 100,000 GV
- 18 Karat Gold – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one Platinum, one Rose Gold and one White Gold), have at least five customers who buy at least 150 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 250,000 GV
- 24 Karat Gold – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one Rose Gold, one White Gold and one 14 Karat Gold), have at least five customers who buy at least 200 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 500,000 GV
- Founders Circle – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one White Gold, one 14 Karat Gold and one 18 Karat Gold), have at least five customers who buy at least 200 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 1,000,000 GV
- Legacy Circle – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one 14 Karat Gold, one 18 Karat Gold and one 24 Karat Gold), have at least five customers who buy at least 200 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 2,500,000 GV
- Elite Circle – maintain five personally recruited affiliates who together generate at least 150 BV a month (one 18 Karat Gold, one 24 Karat Gold and one Founders Circle), have at least five customers who buy at least 200 BV worth of product each month and have a total monthly downline sales volume of 5,000,000 GV
BV stands for “Business Volume” and is sales volume generated by retail customer orders.
GV stands for “Group Volume” and is BV generated by an affiliate’s downline.
Note that for monthly GV requirements only 50% can come from any one recruitment leg.
Retail Commissions
Tavala affiliates are paid a 10% retail commission on retail customer orders.
Recruitment Commissions
If a newly recruited Tavala affiliate signs up with an Alpha Box ($219.99) or Builder Box ($439.99), the affiliate who recruited them is paid a 20% commission on generated sales volume (BV).
Residual Commissions
Tavala pay residual commissions via a unilevel compensation structure.
A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):
If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.
If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.
Tavala cap payable unilevel levels at ten, with commissions paid out as a percentage of sales volume generated across these ten levels:
- Member – 20% on level 1 (personally recruited affiliates)
- Titanium – 20% on level 1 and 25% on level 2
- Silver – 20% on level 1 and 25% on levels 2 and 3
- Palladium – 20% on level 1, 25% on levels 2 and 3 and 6% on level 4
- Platinum – 20% on level 1, 25% on levels 2 and 3, 6% on level 4 and 5% on level 5
- Rose – 20% on level 1, 25% on levels 2 and 3, 6% on level 4 and 5% on levels 5 and 6
- White – 20% on level 1, 25% on levels 2 and 3, 6% on level 4, 5% on levels 5 and 6 and 4% on level 7
- 14 Karat Gold – 20% on level 1, 25% on levels 2 and 3, 6% on level 4, 5% on levels 5 and 6 and 4% on levels 7 and 8
- 18 Karat Gold – 20% on level 1, 25% on levels 2 and 3, 6% on level 4, 5% on levels 5 and 6, 4% on levels 7 and 8 and 3% on level 9
- 24 Karat Gold and higher – 20% on level 1, 25% on levels 2 and 3, 6% on level 4, 5% on levels 5 and 6, 4% on levels 7 and 8 and 3% on levels 9 and 10
Lifestyle Bonus
The Lifestyle Bonus is a monthly bonus paid to Palladium and higher ranked Tavala affiliates:
- Palladium affiliates receive $350 (must purchase 30 BV of product each month)
- Platinum affiliates receive $750 (must purchase 60 BV of product each month)
- Rose Gold affiliates receive $1500 (must purchase 90 BV of product each month)
- White Gold affiliates receive $2000 (must purchase 120 BV of product each month)
Note a qualifying rank must be held for two months before Lifestyle Bonus are paid out.
The Tavala compensation plan states to qualify for the Lifestyle Bonus that an affiliate ‘must have (an) active subscription‘.
“Active subscription” is what Tavala calls autoship.
Rank Achievement Bonus
Tavala reward affiliates who qualify at the 14 Karat Gold and higher ranks with a one-time Rank Achievement Bonus:
- 14 Karat Gold = $10,000
- 18 Karat Gold = $25,000
- 24 Karat Gold = $50,000
- Founders Circle = $100,000
- Legacy Circle = $500,000
- Elite Circle = $1,000,000
The ranks above must be held for five months before the corresponding Rank Achievement Bonus is paid out.
Global Pool
Tavala take company-wide compensation “breakage” and place it into a Global Pool.
24 Karat Gold and higher affiliates earn shares in the pool based on rank as follows:
- 24 Karat Gold affiliates receive 1 share
- Founders Circle affiliates receive 2 shares
- Legacy Circle affiliates receive 3 shares
- Elite Circle affiliates receive 4 shares
The Global Pool is paid out every 4 weeks.
Joining Tavala
Tavala affiliate membership is free.
Note that some bonuses however require a Tavala affiliate to have a standing monthly autoship order.
Conclusion
It’s not hard to recognize the inspiration behind Tavala.
The equivalent to Plexus Worldwide’s pink drink is Trim. Like Plexus Worldwide’s Slim, Trim has its own complimentary product in Tavala Control.
That’s not necessarily a negative against the company mind. Plexus Worldwide’s Slim is one of the most recognizable products in the industry, and likely for good reason.
If Tavala’s Trim is modeled on it (which it quite clearly is), competition is always good.
Other than the protein shake, the rest of Tavala’s product offering differentiates it from Plexus Worldwide.
They each compliment the overall health and nutrition niche Tavala occupies, however the Quantum Relief Strips in particular stood out to me as being slight kooky.
The body needs energy to heal. That’s why in our Quantum Relief Strips we use a mineral called tourmaline, one of the most energy-conductive crystals on earth.
We charge these crystals with Quantum Energy. They release that energy into your body when the strip is applied, which provides relief to areas of discomfort.
A Google search for “tourmaline crystals quantum energy” doesn’t bring up anything remotely scientific, so it might be best to give this particular product a miss.
Moving onto Tavala’s compensation plan, the first thing that struck me was the lack of monthly PV requirements.
This is great to see and suggests Tavala’s compensation plan has been designed with modern regulatory requirements in mind… until you get to “active orders” and “active subscriptions”.
Affiliate autoship is not mandatory for Tavala affiliates. Although the company does push it when you sign up, it is possible to just sign up as an affiliate with no autoship order.
There’s no getting around the fact though that full participation in the Tavala compensation plan requires a standing 30 to 120 BV autoship.
Tavala also offer affiliates a “Paradise Cruise”, which is qualified for based on rank.
No matter what rank you are though, you can forget about going unless you maintain monthly autoship until September 25th, 2018.
All qualifying Members must remain on an active order during qualification period (Nov 1, 2017 – September 25, 2018).
Free shipping on autoship is also used as a marketing incentive, with Tavala charging full shipping on non-autoship affiliate orders.
In fact if you don’t opt to create a monthly autoship order when signing up, Tavala force you to click on “No thanks, I LOVE paying for shipping!”.
Needless to say I found that part of the Tavala affiliate signup process pretty condescending.
The bottom line is requiring affiliates to purchase product for any compensation purposes is a regulatory red flag.
Which is a shame because otherwise Tavala have a terrific retail focus.
Tavala’s rank qualification criteria baking in required retail volume, which eventually surpasses downline GV requirements, is fantastic.
Why mar the effort by forcing affiliate’s onto autoship?
Although the impact of mandatory autoship is somewhat diminished by not being part of Tavala’s core commission structure, it’s still something to be wary of.
I also don’t understand the need to pay recruitment commissions on Alpha and Builder Box affiliates.
By all means pay the volume out residually but a direct commission sees Tavala affiliates getting paid to recruit, another regulatory red flag.
Those two issues aside, if you’re looking for a weight loss nutrition MLM opportunity, or perhaps an alternative to Plexus Worldwide (who coincidentally also suffer from affiliate autoship issues), Tavala might be worth further consideration.
Good luck!
Thanks for taking the time to do the review. I really enjoy the products, notably the Trim & Contol. The feedback from others has been exciting.
As far as the business side, not having to pay for a membership or purchase products to be a member is huge. Of course for those who want to really launch their business there are business packs that help do that.
Everyone has the same comp plan regardless of how they start. My ratios are approx 65% customers 30% members with ado 5% members no ado.
Being on an auto delivery is not required, but I’ve always felt if you’re not using the products you’re suggesting others to buy, you probably shouldn’t be with that company.
Thanks again for doing the research, especially so quickly.
Cheers PJ Douglas
Tavala’s product are finally the first to work for Kathy and I. We not only love Trim and Control, the new shake our family is going through a bag a week with is a 28 day supply.
We never bought protein shakes before because all the ones we’ve tried we didn’t like the taste or it was lumpy using a shaker bottle.
We love the Quantum Relief strips. At first they seemed kooky as described, but after learning how they work and using them we get the relief we hoped for.
The tourmaline is simply what holds the stored quantum energy. Read the back of the brochure for the full description of how it works.
I had lengthy discussion with Naturopaths and Chiropractors on the legitimacy and viability of the strips only to have them return and confirm they worked for themselves and their clients. We even have an orthopedic surgeon place them on his clients one day for pain relief because someone suggested he give them a try.
So one day he did without telling them what they were why he went to get a needle to relieve their pain. After seeing first hand the pain relief his patients experienced in his office did he do further research and reach out to us and asked to learn more about them.
So it was not physcosamatic since his patients didn’t know what they were beforehand.
The structure makes the business simple enabling members to rank advance something they had not been able to do in other companies.
I have similar ratios that PJ Douglas has with 60% customer and 40% customers. I also have an 85% success rate for those who hit the first rank who go on and hit the second rank.
I personally feel for those in other companies that are struggling and determined to succeed. I was that person too.
At Tavala, in the first 12 months I was finally able build a team over 2600 and hit 5 new ranks and be in the top 8 within the company and maintain it. As with all companies each person has the level of success from what they put into it.
This was a fair review of Tavala, Thanks for doing the research!!
Oz, or is it Len. Love your site baby and enjoy promoting it as often as I can.
I notice that Richard Shafer is being very cagey about the supposed health benefits of the Quantum Relief strips. Apparently they gave him the relief that he hoped for whatever that’s supposed to mean.
I’m currently chugging into a cheap bottle of Cotes du Rhone which I’m hoping will give me the relief that I hope for but I have an uneasy suspicion will give me a hangover in the morning probably because it doesn’t store quantum energy.
FFS who believes this load of old bollix apart from charlatans and MLM affiliates?
Certainly everyone is free to express their opinion. I’d be very happy to send anyone a free sample pack of the Quantum Relief Strips to try before they buy and let them form their own opinion.
If it doesn’t work than you have lost nothing and are welcomed to call me a charlatan or anything you want as milliem suggests.
Have a blessed day,
Richard
Good review! To clarify a couple of points, Boyd and Allen sold Divvee to new owners in August 2016, long before the bad business decisions and the change to Nui. Tavala then launched in November 2016.
The strips can be seen as kooky (lol) but for people who are into energy, they really love them. Even for people who aren’t into energy, they put it where it hurts and it helps a lot of people.
It seems there is confusion about the compensation plan and thus, claimed regulatory issues. When you say to participate fully in the compensation plan you must have an autoship, that is not completely true.
Commissions and bonuses are two very different things, especially for regulators.
To earn commission on the products sold at Tavala, no autoship is ever required. Period. That is a beautiful thing.
However, to receive lifestyle bonuses at different levels, an active autoship order is required. The FTC has no problem with this, because lifestyle bonuses like these are treated differently than commissions.
Ask a regulator for yourself.
So when you say “The bottom line is requiring affiliates to purchase product for any compensation purposes is a regulatory red flag.” you are correct, when referring to commissions. And at Tavala, no one is ever required to purchase product to receive commissions.
However, bonuses are looked at very differently by regulators, and there isn’t a problem with having autoship requirements to receive lifestyle bonuses.
Just wanted to clear that up. That’s the benefit of having a lawyer as a CEO – the comp plan was built to account for all the new regulations, and to be as fair and easy as possible.
Also when you say “I also don’t understand the need to pay recruitment commissions on Alpha and Builder Box affiliates.
By all means pay the volume out residually but a direct commission sees Tavala affiliates getting paid to recruit, another regulatory red flag.” product is being purchased, and that is paying the bonus (using commissions) for getting them to get samples in their hand to share with others in the first month of joining.
No one is ever paid to recruit at Tavala. Ever. Commissions are only earned through product purchases. Getting an enrollment (which is free) isn’t rewarded through any type of commission or bonus.
In addition, with the purpose of being as transparent as possible with Brand Partners, the other unique thing that has changed since this article was published is Tavala uses the term “DC”, which stands for “dollars of commission”, instead of CV, so that everyone knows exactly how much money they will get paid on every product they sell.
Thanks for your time!
Hi Jake, thanks for stopping by.
I just want to point out that
is pseudo-compliance nonsense.
Mandatory autoship in MLM = pay to play and lends itself to pyramid recruitment. What, you think Vemma and Herbalife didn’t have bonuses?
Regulators don’t care, compensation of any kind attached to mandatory autoship is a regulatory red flag.
Feel free to cite one example of the FTC not pursuing a lawsuit because autoship was found only to be attached to bonuses. Otherwise concede you’re just making this up.
You might want to read up on the FTC’s Vemma and Herbalife lawsuits.
The concept that pyramid recruitment is fine is products are bundled with recruitment is dated pseudo-compliance.
It doesn’t matter what you bundle with recruitment commissions, if it’s happening at the expense of retail sales then you’re in a pyramid scheme.
There’s no reason for a legitimate MLM company to force affiliates onto autoship for compensation qualification and/or pay recruitment commissions.