Melaleuca, Inc., one of eastern Idaho's largest employers, announced today it has expanded into Mexico, its 17th market worldwide.
The company makes and distributes close to 350 health and wellness products through a network of "marketing executives" who earn commissions based on product purchases by customers they refer. The move into Mexico, which happened earlier in the month, has already yielded thousands of new customers, said Antonio Lima, spokesman for the company.
CEO Frank VanderSloot said Melaleuca held off on Mexico because the company wanted to first develop its Hispanic market in the United States. Developing a deep leadership team of Hispanic marketing executives has allowed them to enter Mexico with a high degree of confidence, since many of those people have strong personal connections in Mexico.
Israel Palafox, Melaleuca’s vice president of sales for Hispanic markets, believes the company’s success in Mexico will continue for years to come. “Thousands of Mexican families will benefit by taking advantage of the steady residual income that Melaleuca offers to those who refer our products,” he said.
Although the majority of Melaleuca’s business growth has been in the United States and Canada, sales from elsewhere accounted for 45 percent of the company's 2013 revenues. Melaleuca does business in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
