ViOS Review: “Overall health” drink and a meal replacement shake
ViOS are based out of North Carolina in the US and operate in the health and nutrition MLM niche.
The company launched in the first quarter of 2016 and is headed up by co-founders Brock Agee and Joseph Land.
Prior to co-founding ViOS, Brock Agee was President of Nature’s Pearl.
In 2012 Agee was caught up in an FDA warning to Nature’s Pearl regarding cancer claims.
In a news video featured on the home page which includes the President of Nature’s Pearl, Brock Agee:
• “It [muscadine grapes] has been called the new way to prevent cancer …. ”
• “[H]ow doctors hope to stop cancer, one muscadine at a time.”
• “According to some doctors, the secret to beating cancer.”
• “[N]atural chemicals found in muscadines can help prevent cancers before they start.”
• “[I]t [muscadine grapes] can help people with a disease as terrible as cancer.”
Through his company Le Bleu Central Distributors, Inc., Agee also holds a license to deliver Le Bleu bottled water across North Carolina.
Better known as Joe Land, Joseph Land began his MLM career as an Amway affiliate. Land was also the Master Distributor of Nature’s Pearl.
Nature’s Pearl was sold off to Youngevity late last year.
Read on for a full review of the ViOS MLM opportunity.
ViOS Products
ViOS market two flagship products in the health and nutrition niche; Phyte and Matrix.
PHYTE is a whole-food greens product, containing powerful cereal grasses and their essentials vitamins, minerals and proteins that promotes overall good health.
Matrix is a complete, plant-based nutrition shake with a balance of protein, complex carbohydrates, omega-3 fatty acids, branched-chain amino acids, adaptogens, digestive enzymes, pre & probiotics and high quality ber.
A box of Phyte (30 servings) costs $49. A box of Matrix (15 servings) costs $59
The ViOS website does have an online store component, however when I clicked products to browse the ViOS website threw up a “404 not found” error.
The ViOS Compensation Plan
The ViOS compensation plan pays affiliates to sell ViOS products to retail customers and recruit new affiliates.
Residual commissions are paid out via a unilevel compensation structure. When combined with the Infinity Bonus, affiliates are able to earn on the entire depth of their unilevel team.
ViOS Affiliate Ranks
There are fifteen affiliate ranks within the ViOS compensation plan.
Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:
- Promoter – generate 60 PV a month, recruit and maintain at least one affiliate and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 150 GV
- Manager – generate 90 PV a month, recruit and maintain at least two affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 300 GV
- Regional Manager – generate 100 PV a month, maintain at least two affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 900 GV
- Director – maintain 100 PV a month, recruit and maintain at least three affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 2000 GV
- Regional Director – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least three affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 5000 GV
- National Director – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least three affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 10,000 GV
- 1 Star National Director – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least three affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 15,000 GV
- 2 Star National Director – maintain 100 PV a month, recruit and maintain at least four affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 20,000 GV
- 3 Star National Director – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least four affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 35,000 GV
- National Ambassador – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least four affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 50,000 GV
- 1 Star National Ambassador – maintain 100 PV a month, recruit and maintain at least five affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 75,000 GV
- 2 Star National Ambassador – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least five affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 150,000 GV
- 3 Star National Ambassador – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least five affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 300,000 GV
- 4 Star National Ambassador – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least five affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 600,000 GV
- 5 Star National Ambassador – maintain 100 PV a month, maintain at least five affiliates and have a monthly total downline volume of at least 1,000,000 GV
Recruited affiliates must be commission qualified (see below).
PV stands for “Personal Volume” and is sales volume generated by sales to retail customers and a ViOS affiliate’s own product purchases.
GV stands for “Group Volume” and is PV generated by a ViOS affiliate’s downline.
Commission Qualification
To qualify for commissions a ViOS affiliate must purchase product at least once every six months.
Any brand partner that has not ordered within 6 months will automatically be reclassified as a customer.
Retail Commissions
ViOS affiliates are paid a retail commission when they sell ViOS products to retail customers.
Retail commissions paid out are the difference between the wholesale and retail price of products ordered.
A bonus 25% on the commissionable sales volume is paid out when a retail customer makes their first order.
Residual retail commissions are paid out 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.
ViOS cap payable unilevel levels at six, with a residual commission paid out on retail sales volume generated by the unilevel team.
- Managers earn 5% on level 1 (personally recruited affiliates)
- Regional Managers earn 5% on level 1 and 2
- Directors earn 5% on levels 1 to 3
- Regional Directors earn 5% on levels 1 to 3 and 3% on level 4
- National Directors earn 5% on levels 1 to 3, 3% on level 4 and 2% on level 5
- 1 Star National Directors and above earn 5% on levels 1 to 3, 3% on level 4 and 2% on levels 5 and 6
Recruitment Commissions
When a ViOS affiliate recruits a new affiliate they earn a 40% commission on the affiliate pack purchased by the newly recruited affiliate.
A residual 5% commission is paid when personally recruited affiliates recruit new affiliates.
A $100 Brand Manager Bonus is paid out if a ViOS affiliate recruits two affiliates who each recruit two affiliates within 60 days of joining the company.
Residual Commissions
Residual commissions are paid out on products ordered by recruited affiliates.
ViOS pay residual commissions using the same unilevel compensation structure as retail commissions (see residual retail commissions).
- Promoters earn 10% on level 1 (volume generated by personally recruited affiliates)
- Managers earn 10% on level 1 and 5% on level 2
- Regional Managers earn 10% on level 1 and 5% on levels 2 and 3
- Directors earn 10% on level 1 and 5% on levels 2 to 4
- Regional Directors earn 10% on level 1 and 5% on levels 2 to 5
- National Directors earn 10% on level 1 and 5% on levels 2 to 6
- 1 Star National Directors and higher earn 10% on level 1 , 5% on levels 2 to 6 and 2% on level 7
Infinity Bonus
The Infinity Bonus pays National Ambassador and higher ranked affiliates a 2% bonus commission on unilevel sales volume from level eight onwards in each unilevel leg.
Rank Achievement Bonus
ViOS pay affiliates a Rank Achievement Bonus when they first qualify at Regional Manager and higher ranks.
- Regional Manager – $50
- Director – $100
- Regional Director – $250 (bonus $250 if qualified within 60 days)
- National Director – $1000
- 1 Star National Director – $1500
- 2 Star National Director – $2000
- 3 Star National Director – $3500
- National Ambassador – $5000
- 1 Star National Ambassador – $7500
- 2 Star National Ambassador – $15,000
- 3 Star National Ambassador – $30,000
- 4 Star National Ambassador – $50,000
- 5 Star National Ambassador – $100,000
Note from 2 Star National Ambassador an affiliate must maintain 90% of the GV requirement for three consecutive months to qualify for the Rank Achievement Bonus at each rank.
When personally recruited affiliates qualify at the Director or higher ranks, the affiliate who recruited them receives a Rank Manager Bonus:
- recruited affiliate qualifies as Director, you receive $50
- recruited affiliate qualifies as Regional Director, you receive $100
- recruited affiliate qualifies as National Director, you receive $200
- recruited affiliate qualifies as 1 Star National Director, you receive $300
- recruited affiliate qualifies as 2 Star National Director, you receive $500
- recruited affiliate qualifies as 3 Star National Director, you receive $750
- recruited affiliate qualifies as National Ambassador, you receive $1000
- recruited affiliate qualifies as 1 Star National Ambassador, you receive $1500
- recruited affiliate qualifies as 2 Star National Ambassador, you receive $3000
- recruited affiliate qualifies as 3 Star National Ambassador, you receive $5000
- recruited affiliate qualifies as 4 Star National Ambassador, you receive $7500
- recruited affiliate qualifies as 5 Star National Ambassador, you receive $10,000
Note the recruiting affiliate must be at the same or higher rank to qualify when their recruited affiliates are promoted.
Lifestyle Bonus
The Lifestyle Bonus is a monthly payment that starts at the Regional Director rank:
- Regional Directors earn $100 a month
- National Directors earn $250 a month
- 1 Star National Directors earn $500 a month
- 2 Star National Directors earn $600 a month
- 3 Star National Directors earn $700 a month
- National Ambassadors earn $800 a month
- 1 Star National Ambassadors earn $1000 a month
- 2 Star National Ambassadors earn $1250 a month
- 3 Star National Ambassadors earn $1500 a month
- 4 Star National Ambassadors earn $2000 a month
- 5 Star National Ambassadors earn $3000 a month
Check Match
1 Star National Ambassador and higher ranked ViOS affiliates earn a matching check bonus on monthly earnings by personally recruited affiliates.
- 1 Star National Ambassador affiliates earn a 2% check match bonus, capped at $1500
- 2 Star National Ambassador affiliates earn a 3% check match bonus, capped at $2000
- 3 Star National Ambassador affiliates earn a 4% check match bonus, capped at $2250
- 4 Star National Ambassador affiliates earn a 5% check match bonus, capped at $2500
- 5 Star National Ambassador affiliates earn a 6% check match bonus, capped at $3000
Global Pool
The Global Pool is made up of 3% of ViOS’ company-wide sales volume.
The Global Pool is split into three smaller pools and paid out to 3 Star National Ambassador and higher ranked affiliates.
- 3 Star National Ambassador affiliates receive a share in a 1% Global Pool
- 4 Star National Ambassador affiliates receive a share in a 1% Global Pool
- 5 Star National Ambassador affiliates receive a share in a 2% Global Pool
Joining ViOS
ViOS affiliate membership is $15 a month plus the purchase of one of two offered affiliate packages:
- Introduction Pack – $99
- Brand Builder VIP Pack – $399
Both packs come with ViOS products and include the first $15 monthly fee.
Conclusion
As a result of it not being explicitly clarified in the ViOS compensation plan, I’m trying to figure out if affiliate autoship is required or not.
In the compensation plan, ViOS define a “Brand Partner” as
One who has joined ViOS by purchasing an enrollment package, personally enjoys the products and receives financial benefit for sharing the products with others.
The ViOS affiliate membership form has two options for autoship ($100 and $155), but doesn’t state whether it’s optional.
Commission qualification also requires a ViOS affiliate to make at least one product order every six months.
Countering this are ViOS affiliate ranks, which only require PV (there’s nothing about having to sign up for autoship in the ViOS compensation plan).
Seeing as much of the legitimacy of ViOS hinges on this point, I find it strange the company doesn’t clarify whether autoship is required either way.
It has been my experience when something is left vague in an MLM opportunity, it usually isn’t for the better.
With respect to ViOS’s two products, neither Phyte or Matrix struck me as any different to what you might find in a health food store. You’ve basically got “overall health” tablets and a meal replacement shake.
Retail pricing might differentiate Phyte and Matrix from comparable products, but that depends on what’s available locally.
The recruitment commissions are a bit of a concern too, directly and residually compensating ViOS affiliates on the recruitment of new affiliates.
On that note, recruitment commissions are paid out at 45%.
- the $99 Introduction Pack comes with one box of Phyte and one box of Matrix
- the $399 Brand Builder VIP Pack comes with three boxes of Phyte and four boxes of Matrix
For a 45% commission to be even remotely viable, ViOS must be marking up Phyte and Matrix pretty significantly.
With respect to retail compliance, there are no retail sales volume qualifiers in the ViOS compensation plan. I will say the 25% bonus on a first retail order though is a nice incentive (although not if it’s only payable because ViOS’ products are grossly marked up).
Unfortunately there’s nothing stopping an ViOS affiliate from signing up, going on autoship and working the compensation plan by recruiting others who do the same.
The good news is you can easily verify whether retail sales are being made by asking your potential upline for their monthly retail volume.
Weigh that against their autoship volume (or non-autoship monthly order) and you’ll see exactly how you too will be expected to work the business.
Personally I wasn’t all that impressed. ViOS’ MLM opportunity as a whole left me feeling very ho-hum.
Update 4th December 2017 – On November 30th, 2017, ViOS was acquired by Total Life Changes.