Welcome to my The Body Shop Review!
Are you interested in selling skincare products? If yes, this company we’re about to review now would be something you might be interested in.
Before we go deeper into the discussion, I just like you to know the risks when you opt to join any multi-level marketing company. Why?
Based on the recent FTC report, it is proven that many members lose money or don’t make any profit at all.
Although you have various products to sell, the game is up for recruiting downlines and generate sales within the minimum threshold required to stay in the business.
Otherwise, you have to say goodbye to this opportunity. If you still like to know whether this MLM is good for your financial goals this year after my warning, stay towards the end of the post.
Are you ready? Let’s dive into it.
The Body Shop Review – Quick Summary
Name: The Body Shop
Founded: 1976
Founder: Dame Anita Roddick
Type: Multi-Level Marketing Company
Price: Approximatelz $63 and beyond depending on the kit
Best for: The Body Shop could be a great business opportunity; however, you have to accept the risks. You could receive profitable and lucrative payouts, but it’s not going to be an easy feat for you to stay in the MLM game.
Summary: Established in 1976, Dame Anita Roddick started The Body Shop after touring around the United States. She got the name from a local shop. Back in London, she built the company with 25 products made from natural ingredients.
Is The Body Shop Recommended? No, it’s not a recommendable business opportunity. Just as any network marketing company out there, you won’t make any profit not only because of the product that you sell. It’s the business model itself.
What Is The Body Shop?
Back in 1976, Dame Anita Roddick, the founder of The Body Shop toured around the United States before she passed by a local shop of the same name, selling perfumes. She got the name from the shop and used it as a company name.
It started with a simple business model in which they haven’t involved network marketing until 1994, known as “The Body Shop Direct.”
The products they sell include skincare, cosmetics, and fragrances that until today, remain at the top of their game.
While The Body Shop was at the peak of success as an MLM company, they faced a series of accusations and lawsuits. Among those concerned are the shop owners in which Roddick stole the name.
In the end, Roddick paid $3.5 million to Peggy Short and Jane Saunders, the shop owners. Not only did she face the copyright issue, but a series of allegations also challenged the company’s status.
Claims of having no proof of whether the founder donated shares of the company revenue to charities as well as the advocacy of animal cruelty-free products, especially after taking over L’Oreal in 2006.
You get these benefits when you sign-up for The Body Shop as a consultant.
As a multi-level marketing company, they faced not only complaints from the moms of teen victims because of doing peer-to-peer marketing with ages below 16. Some consultants, in their defense, stated that the mom agreed before signing the contract.
In addition to that, several big media sites featured Roddick and her company either with “too good to be a true product line” or being the epitome of “greenwashing” in business.
What is greenwashing?
It’s a concept referring to concerns with business ethics. The term was first introduced to refer to The Body Shop business tactics to lure people to join the company in hopes of making more money at home.
Greenwashing is a form of marketing spin in which the company promotes green values and green marketing to boost their sales and trust from the consumers.
The Body Shop adheres to its mission of providing an environmentally-friendly business, appealing to nature. In simpler terms, the company is accused of using this method as a mask to cover up unsustainable motives.
A few of their best-selling vegan products
Who Is The Body Shop For?
For skincare and cosmetic lines, MLM companies like Avon target women, both teenagers, and adults. Especially if fragrance products are included in the list.
Similarly, The Body Shop took advantage of having its eco-friendly products marketed to this particular group by introducing programs like “The Body Shop Direct” back in 1994 and “The Body Shop At Home” in which consultants do “free parties.”
As a network marketing company, they popularized The Body Shop Direct more than 20 years ago and established the program in the UK and Australia. In 2018, there are 15,000 consultants in the UK alone and 2,500 in Australia.
Since we’re talking about earning an income here, let me show you how The Body Shop pays out their consultants, whom they claim as self-employed individuals, working hand-in-hand in terms of promoting the products and the consultancy offers.
Now for the compensation. According to their website, you don’t need business experience to join. That’s because they’re going to provide free training to develop your selling and marketing skills.
You can join The Body Shop as a consultant for a few bucks, equivalent to $63.
You earn around 25% to 30% of your sales within the working hours that’s convenient for you. Like any MLM out there, The Body Shop also provides incentive trips and events for you to attend and meet new friends.
As I mentioned earlier, they attract most teenagers, especially in their peer-to-peer marketing, because of their cheap beauty kit worth around $63 (49 UK Pounds to be exact).
If you think this is a good company for you to start, you can try but you can’t guarantee a lucrative and profitable business. This is common among multi-level marketing companies.
The compensation plan may be enticing; however, you can’t deny the cons in this industry in the long run, given the “downfall” allegations.
Pros & Cons of The Body Shop
Although it’s been more than 40 years, The Body Shop seems to have imperfections in their business, given the turning points leading to the downfall of the company.
This is why this section of the post gives you the opportunity to weigh your decision whether to join or not to join this MLM company. With that being said, here are the top 3 pros and cons of The Body Shop.
1. 40+ Years In The Industry
You can’t deny that people trust The Body Shop after 40 years in the business. Even if they started the network marketing opportunity 20 years later, they still provide the quality products people like.
2. Cheap Startup Kit
For $63 (depending on the currency), you can immediately start your business with The Body Shop. This is probably the reason for attracting young members to join the company. Unfortunately, according to reports, by force.
If you have been reading our MLM reviews, Mary Kay, for instance, we always note that in this industry provokes more spending in the long run. The starting kit may cost less than you thought.
But then this will change, especially if you want to increase your stakes. If you want to make more profit on your account, you have to understand that the company may require you a minimum threshold to qualify.
With that being said, that will cost you more without knowing it. This is the trick most network marketing companies do to attract recruits and grow the network marketing business.
3. Diverse Eco-Friendly Products
Though we noted that The Body Shop, perhaps, greenwashed everybody about their eco-friendly products.
Regardless, many customers liked using the skincare, cosmetics, and fragrances they produce because of the formula they used.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t stand, tested through time. Its existence for more than 40 years is proof, even if they diverted to MLM more than 20 years ago.
Before 1994, they have been successfully selling and marketing natural skincare with a great emphasis on being green. One of their notable steps was to use refillable bottles for their products.
Thus, without having a multi-level marketing structure, The Body Shop will survive as a retail store, given its influence across countries around the world.
With over 15,000 consultants, that’s enough to say they stay top when it comes to this niche.
2 main options you have when you choose to join The Body Shop
1. Bad Ratings on BBB
Surprisingly, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) gave them a C- rating, which is pretty low for a company. Especially for a 40-year-old network marketing company.
Additionally, the same reputable review site stated that The Body Shop failed to acquire its accreditation status. As curious as I am, I scoured through the complaints in an overwhelming number.
The majority of the complaints involved with the products and/or services in which members failed to receive the packages they ordered.
“I paid for a package with my card and the package was sent by The Body Shop and I never received any email stating that my package was being shipped or delivered,” one of the dissatisfied members wrote.
The BBB failed to recognize The Body Shop as an accredited MLM company.
2. First Case of “Greenwashing”
Many reports alleged the term “greenwashing” started with The Body Shop case. Given Roddick’s history of stealing the name for her company, this isn’t a mystery at all.
According to the claims, she might be masking the “eco-friendly” status of the company to attract members and customers to buy their products.
Little did they know they aren’t produced in accordance with an environmentally-friendly scenario.
There may have been more allegations against the company, The Body Shop remains adamant with its brand and its relationship with sustainability.
3. Lots of Controversies
If The Body Shop will choose to run away from these allegations, people will soon be convinced these are true. If that happens, this could be a potential downfall of the 44-year-old multi-level marketing company.
As I mentioned earlier, Roddick could have stolen the name of a local shop in exchange for more than $3 million for compensation. When the Californian local shop used a different name, they failed.
That clearly brings us to the thought if The Body Shop founder could have used a different name, do you think the company succeeds?
Is there something with the 3-word company name that makes them involve the government for legal intervention?
You’ll never know.
One of the few negative responses The Body Shop got from its members
4. Lots of Negative Feedback from Members
Trustpilot, another reputable company review site, revealed that 46% of the surveyed members said that The Body Shop services are bad. Only 25% of them said otherwise.
As you can see below, a screenshot of one of the complaints mentioned about the terrible customer service. If you noticed, the products are proven to be a good thing for its customers.
However, what I observed from the complaints don’t involve the products and their effectiveness, though expensive.
Rather, they concentrate on the services this MLM provides to them. Regardless if you’re a member or not, they have awful experiences.
Is The Body Shop a Scam?
Given all the important points I gathered, my research could justify that The Body Shop is a legitimate company. It could be one of your options to have experience in the business.
But income-wise, no. You won’t make any lucrative business around the multi-level marketing industry.
You may spend a bit for the launching kit. But as time passes by, the more you desire to reach higher ranks, you have to make sure you reach the minimum PV threshold.
With that being said, you have to spend more to attract more members in your account or upgrade your membership fees to expand your compensation options.
The company may treat as a self-employed individual, just like the rest of the thousands of members. The question lies with who’s taking the responsibility when a crisis arises.
The Body Shop could assist in taking these concerns, especially the serious ones just like the ones involving the teenagers’ moms. Because of that, more people are becoming aware of using pressure to join.
Success The Body Shop consultant and member testimonials featured on their website
Speaking of which, the reports also included that most of the young members are forced to join simply because they fall under peer pressure, causing them to spend the money and sign for a contract before leaving the “free parties.”
Nonetheless, there’s no question about the legitimacy of The Body Shop as a multi-level marketing company. It lies with which the members, including you if you pursue this plan, to join or not.
It’s up to you.
The important information is all in this post. So, it’s your decision to join this company or not.
Otherwise, I suggest you take a look at the Ultimate Make Money Online Guide to learn the step-by-step process to make money this year.
Conclusion – Is The Body Shop Worth It?
The Body Shop has been in the business since 1976, though they only started the multi-level marketing model in 1994. With only 25 starting products, they thrived until today.
After more than 20 years, they managed to gather more or less 17,000 consultants within the UK and Australia alone. Imagine how many members they have across other countries around the world.
They have served a lot of people and benefited from what they have provided. The products built the foundation of The Body Shop and their green business made an impact in today’s businesses as well.
Given these positive notes, this network marketing company could be a good business experience. But when it comes to building a lucrative source of income, it’s not the best way.
The Body Shop could be a good business. But it’s not profitable enough in the long run vs making money in your own online business. You are YOUR OWN BOSS.
With that being said, I suggest you learn the step-by-step process of building your own business without compromising your work.
Similar to what The Body Shop promises, when you have this option right, you can have control when to work and not depending on your convenient time.
Here’s the catch.
The Ultimate Make Money Guide is a free guide in which Roope Kiuttu, the founder of Your Online Revenue Ltd, created for days to teach you everything about money-making online.
If you are interested, you can click the green button below to get started.
Now that I shared my thoughts on my “The Body Shop Reviews” post, it’s time to turn the table and ask about your experience, in general.
What kinds of experiences do you have with making money with The Body Shop? Is it worth your time, money, and effort?
Do you prefer to begin earning your first passive income through affiliate marketing or you instead invest your time, money, and effort into income-generating opportunities like this?
Let me know in the comments below! 🙂
If you need any help to get started making money online, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below and we’ll be happy to help you out!
