17 things you need to consider before joining Zinzino

Fish oil has been a trendy subject in the health space in recent years. That’s what Zinzino is all about.

Curing the world of all its ailments, lengthening the human lifespan, and hitting a million customers in the next few years are just a few of their ambitions. Does this mean I’m involved?

This video explains everything:

Make sense? Either way, here’s 17 things you need to consider before joining Zinzino.

This company has some big dreams for their fish oil. But right now, the future’s looking a little bleak.

And they’ve been issued multiple warnings about the health claims they make.

In other words, there’s something fishy going on here. (Thank me later for the hilarious puns).

#17. Founded in 2005, expanded globally

They got off to a pretty sad start to be honest. But when they introduced health products, they took off running and were named the growth business of 2011.

They just came to the U.S. in the fall of 2013, and at this point the good old red white and blue still only accounts for 4% of their sales. [1]

But they’re still just getting started.

This year, they are making plans to explode geographically, with aggressive expansion into multiple new markets, including Germany, Europe’s largest market for direct sales. [2]

#16. Sellers engage in lying

MLM distributors are not shy when it comes to fabricating their products, but Zinzino’s take it to a new level.

In Iceland in 2015 the company had to send a warning to its sellers for making false health claims, such as that the oil fights ADHD, Asperger’s and dyslexia. [3]

#15. Warnings issued against the company

The false claims have gotten so bad that the Danish Consumer Council lawyers warn people to stay away from both Zinzino products and their recruitment.

They describe Zinzino’s practices as “on the edge of the law”. [4]

#14. Basically reselling marked-up products

Eventually they made enough in revenue to buy Biolife, the manufacturer of the fish oil and test that they sell, but before that customers could easily buy their oils directly from BioLife at a cheaper price. [5]

And still, customers can buy their coffee products much cheaper directly from the manufacturer.

You buy their coffee in a subscription for 12 months, so you get new pods every month. It costs about $349 for the machine and initial order, then another $33/month after. [6]

Purchasing through the manufacturer, the machine alone is $234. You can then order a month’s supply of pods for $26 rather than $33. [7]

 

Basically, new customers are paying a huge markup on product just to get the rights to resell Zinzino products in hopes of a future payoff.

#13. Health and wellness niche selling nutritional supplements

Zinzino sells both nutritional and coffee products. Their popular nutritional products include…

• LeanShake with various weightloss challenges (lose 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 20 pounds, etc)
• BalanceOIL various packages, wild fish oil + quality olive oil

Their coffee products are coffee machines and coffee pods. They still don’t offer coffee products in many of their countries, including the U.S. [8]

Overall, health products are about 75% of their sales while coffee is about 25%. [9]

#12. Their oil supposedly cures a dangerous imbalance all humans have

This is their major selling point.

Basically, we all have these omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, but we don’t have enough, and we don’t have the proper balance between the two. This is the root, they claim, of many of our health problems. [10]

To prove that you have an imbalance of fatty acids, they even sell a (pricey) BalanceTest that, after sent back, will give you results of your omega-3 and omega-6 levels.

When you inevitably have an imbalance, they claim their oils and shakes can help adjust and solve it. For many customers, this balance is improved after a few months, but…

#11. Not the best way to get fish oil

Studies have shown that we do need more fish oil, but getting it from actual fish is highly preferable. [11]

Basically, the EPA content in your blood increases a lot faster and more sustainably when you eat fish versus when you take supplements. [12]

#10. Premiere customer program

Commit to a 6-month subscription and you become a premiere customer and get discounted product.

For example, the LeanShake lose 5 pounds challenge costs $249 for one month initial order but then it’s $108 a month if you subscribe

#9. Headquartered in Sweden

Most of their market is still in Europe, as you can see from this map. But they have offices and factories in both Norway and the US as well as plans for expansion.

#8. Decent revenue

While they’re no Coca-Cola, their revenue has increased to an impressive $350 Million annually.

So, they’re making some money. But are their distributors?

#7. FREE to join

This is a big plus. Basically no risk for you, so why no?

There’s no fee to become an independent distributor and no purchase requirements, which almost never happens in MLM.

#6. Compensation plan

Distributors pocket the difference between wholesale and retail price.

They can earn anywhere from 10-50% profit depending on the product. That’s a huge difference, and it’s important to remember that most if not nearly all their distributors probably fall on the lower end when it comes to profit. [13]

If you build a premiere customer base (customers with monthly subscriptions), you can get 1-30% on their monthly orders. Again, huge range. 30% is great, while 1% is literal pennies on the dollar.

If you build a team of partners, you can get another 1-15% off their premiere customer base. AGAIN, 1%? What?

You must be active to receive commission, which means ordering a minimum amount of product every month. So while it’s free to join, you really do have to spend money to get anything out of it.

#5. Revenue sharing program

They do a revenue sharing program too. In the range of 20-40 euros monthly (4-8 shares) in shares if you hit certain levels. [14]

#4. Founded and run by controversial Norwegian businessman Finn Ørjan Sæle

This man built up Nature’s Own to be the largest networking company in Scandinavia.

Impressive, right?

Yeah, until it completely tanked in the mid-2000s due to “questions about the legality of their sales model”. [15] Sounds like something we’ve heard before (think Yevo).

#3. Return policy is kind of useless

They have a 90-day return policy, but you have to return the products unopened and unused, and there’s a 10% restocking fee.

Kinda defeats the purpose of a return policy. Usually you’d try the product, figure out you don’t like it, and THEN ask for your money back.

But it is helpful for new distributors, as they can order a bunch of product and if they decide to quit, in theory they send a written notice and return product they couldn’t sell.

#2. Publicly traded on NASDAQ through First North

They are a public company technically, but First North is an unregulated unofficial branch for smaller companies and “growth” companies. Trading started for Zinzino 2014. [16]

#1. Their valuation has decreased recently

They peaked at the end of 2014 and have steadily declined since then. They’ve got a 1-year return of -45.36% and a YTD return of -26.49%. [17]

Things aren’t looking good.

Recap

Zinzino isn’t a bad company at all. If you like the products and have a market, go for it. But as far as a money making opportunity goes, your time could probably be better spent.

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

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

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