16 details about Yofoto you probably don’t know

In communist China…MLMs actually fare pretty well.

The Chinese people may be banned from half the internet, but government regulations on recruitment practices are actually helping companies like Yofoto succeed.

Despite some strange and humorous translations on the website, Yofoto actually has a pretty big global presence. Does this mean I’m involved?

This video explains everything:

Make sense? Either way, here’s 16 details about Yofoto you probably don’t know.

#16. They’re from China

Yofoto launched in China in 2004, and they already have 32 provincial branches in the country.

That’s right, China, the country with all the rules and regulations where you might think network marketing would be illegal. Well, not quit, but MLMs do have to operate a little differently there.

One particular MLM from Canada, Organo Gold, was founded upon the Chinese herb “ganoderma” and there are many other MLMs with Chinese connections. 

#15. Big growth in just over 10 years

Aside from opening up 32 provincial branches in China, they began international development in 2009 and expanded to Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cameroon. [1]

#14. Not available in the United States

Well, the distributor opportunity isn’t available in the U.S., yet.

They have expanded their industry chain into America, France, and Canada, so perhaps they have plans on making the business opportunity available here too. According to their website,

“In the future, through the development strategy of point, line and area, we will expand our global markets at different periods and areas.” [2]

#13. Partnered with APEC

Yofoto has worked closely with APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation of 21 member economies promoting free trade throughout the region, for 6 years now. [3]

Their chairman, Mr. Huang Jin Bao, has even been elected as the member of the first APEC Chinese Industry and Commerce Council.

Pretty impressive, and APEC is a great forum through which to spread their brand and influence.

#12. All about respect and responsibility

Their mission is to build the most respectable global brand by embodying the values are self-respect and respecting others. They are building a “Socially responsible ecosystem to achieve sustainable development between corporations, societies, and nature.” [4]

The Yofoto charity has donated about 46 million Yuan (almost $700,000 USD) in money and supplies to people in need.

They are also very family-oriented in both their sales and recruiting.

#11. They’re “vegetarian”

It’s unclear to me what this means in terms of products like furniture, but their food-based products are vegetarian, so basically they don’t sell meat.

They’re not vegan, so this doesn’t mean they don’t use animal byproducts. For example, they sell fur seal oil. [5]

#10. Lots of products, trademarks, and patents

We’ve got a regular Doc from Back to the Future on our hands here.

They’ve got a whopping 709 registered trademarks and 64 patents, in addition to having declared 31 kinds of health care foods to the FDA. They’ve also launched 3 series of products: nutritional vegetarian food, vegetarian personal care products, and vegetarian furniture (for people who don’t want their couches to eat their cat). [6]

Their food includes everything from “life vigor” milk powder to red wine to soy sauce to oils and nutritional supplements.

#9. More exotic vacations and conference destinations

Well, to us Americans who like to conference in Dayton, Ohio, Yofoto’s training trips to places like Dubai and Bali sound pretty damn exciting. [7]

The YOFOTO elites recently stayed at Atlantis in Dubai, a six-star luxury hotel.

#8. Guided by a Nobel Prize winner

The head of Yofoto’s Global Products Advisory Committee, Richard Roberts, has won a Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine. [8]

Mic drop.

#7. Three-in-one network marketing plan

Their network marketing plan is three-fold, although honestly, from the rough translations on their website, it’s hard to tell exactly what they mean by that.

One graph describes it as “global coverage, always online, full set of service”, while another trio promotes “healthy china, internet, public start-ups and innovation”.

They also state that by matching a network of members and a network of service providers (customers and distributors?) through a platform that uses data analytics and optimizes user experience, they offer several 100 thousand jobs “or start-ups”.

Basically, they’re super into the internet, China, and entrepreneurship? Something like that.

#6. Big focus on utilizing the internet

Like I said, they’re really into the internet. It’s a big part of the company’s network marketing plan, and a main component of their mission is to combine China’s health industry with the digital age.

This makes sense, considering the internet has been responsible for a lot of China’s growth. Also, the majority of internet users are from, you guessed it, China.

With a whopping 52% of people on the internet residing in China, this means that Chinese companies who have a huge potential for online business if they play their cards right. [9]

#5. Building a research center

About that Nobel Prize…

They’re also building a state-of-the-art research center with an “intelligent workshop” and automated stereoscopic warehouse. The plan is to further improve the quality of their products while also preparing for future market development. [10]

#4. Industrial “core”

Although they’re prepared for the rise of digital, their core focus is still industry.

Their goal is to build a global industry chain that produces everything from organic food to natural cosmetics and facilities that include a conference center, a tourism center, and a yacht club. [11]

Not sure what yachts have to do with the Chinese health industry, but I’m sold.

#3. They’re ranked 45 in Direct Selling News’s top 100 Global MLMs of 2016

They’re in good company. This year they were ranked just below MLM giants like Arbonne and popular newbies like Scentsy. [12]

They’ve got a big vision, but they’ve got the power to back it up.

#2. Impressive numbers

Aside from global expansion, they’ve got some good sales numbers too.

In 2013, after less than a decade in business, they hit $428 million in annual sales.

#1. Compensation plan is more regulated

As you could probably guess, rules for business are a little different in China. While it’s no Cuba, they are still considered a communist nation.

The details of their commission rates are unclear, but because of harsher regulations in China, their compensation model is less focused on recruiting than any American MLM. Their main goal is sales and business training. [13] [14]

Being that a lot of MLMs that focus mainly on recruiting end up failing or rebranding, this could mean good things for the company, but especially for their distributors.

Recap

They got a lot of great things going for them, yes. Does this mean you will make money with Yofoto? It’s a stretch.

If you are on board with the products and you have a sustainable method of selling, you could do well with it, for a while at least. But if you are simply seeking a side income opportunity, your time could be better spent elsewhere.

If you like automated ways to build passive income, there are better ways.

(and you can trash those old MLM habits, too)

via http://mlmcompanies.org/yofoto/