Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. develops and distributes a comprehensive line of premium-quality beauty and wellness solutions in nearly 50 markets worldwide.
In 2024, the company’s revenue was primarily generated by its three primary brands: its beauty brand, Nu Skin; the company’s wellness brand, Pharmanex; and the company’s anti-aging brand, ageLOC. The company operates in the direct selling channel, primarily utilizing person-to-person marketing to promote and sell its products, including through...
Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. develops and distributes a comprehensive line of premium-quality beauty and wellness solutions in nearly 50 markets worldwide.
In 2024, the company’s revenue was primarily generated by its three primary brands: its beauty brand, Nu Skin; the company’s wellness brand, Pharmanex; and the company’s anti-aging brand, ageLOC. The company operates in the direct selling channel, primarily utilizing person-to-person marketing to promote and sell its products, including through the use of social and digital platforms.
In addition to its core Nu Skin business, the company also explores new areas of synergistic and adjacent growth through its business arm known as Rhyz Inc. The company’s Rhyz businesses primarily consist of consumer, technology, and manufacturing companies.
In 2024, the company generated approximately 30% of its revenue from the United States (consisting of its Nu Skin United States and Rhyz businesses) and the remainder from its international markets.
The company’s operations are subject to various laws and regulations globally, particularly with respect to its product categories and its distribution channel.
Products
The company offers a branded and differentiated product portfolio. The company’s acquired and licensed technologies, manufacturing and innovation facilities, research collaborations and in-house research expertise enable it to introduce innovative, proprietary products. The company seeks to offer products that are demonstrable and well suited for social sharing.
The company launched its first connected beauty device, ageLOC LumiSpa iO, in the second half of 2022 and continuing into 2023. In the second half of 2023 and continuing into 2024, the company launched ageLOC WellSpa iO (not sold in the United States), a connected device focused on holistic wellness and beauty, as well as a similar, FDA-cleared device, Nu Skin RenuSpa iO, in the United States. When connected to the company’s mobile application, these connected devices gather data to provide varying levels of insights into consumer behavior, with the goal of enabling it to provide more personalized experiences for its consumers.
During 2023, the company launched its ageLOC TRMe personalized weight wellness line of products in several markets, which became its top-selling brand in 2024. In 2024, the company began launching its proprietary ageLOC Tru Face Peptide Retinol Complex, as well as MYND360, a holistic approach to cognitive health and performance.
Product Categories
The company has two primary product categories: beauty products and wellness products. The company develops and distributes premium-quality products in these two categories primarily under its Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands, respectively. The company also develops and distributes products under its ageLOC brand, which features premium-quality anti-aging products in both the beauty and wellness categories and in many cases is co-branded with its Nu Skin and Pharmanex products. Most of the company’s devices are ageLOC beauty products; however, ageLOC WellSpa iO and Nu Skin RenuSpa iO span both the beauty and wellness categories.
Beauty Products: The company’s strategy for its beauty products category is to leverage its distribution channel to strengthen Nu Skin’s position as an innovative leader in the masstige and premium beauty markets. The company’s products in this category include its innovative skin care devices, cosmetics and other personal care products. The company is committed to continuously improving and evolving its product formulations to develop and incorporate innovative and proven ingredients. The company formulates many of the products in its beauty category with ingredients that are scientifically proven to provide visible results. In 2024, the company’s top-selling product lines by revenue in this category were its ageLOC LumiSpa cleansers and devices and ageLOC TruFace. The company’s ageLOC beauty products accounted for 43% of its beauty product category revenue and 17% of its total revenue in 2024.
Wellness Products: The company’s strategy for its wellness category is to continue to introduce substantiated nutritional supplements based on research and development and quality manufacturing. Direct selling has proven to be an effective method of marketing the company’s high-quality wellness products because its sales force can personally educate consumers on the quality and benefits of its products, differentiating them from its competitors’ offerings. In 2024, the company’s top-selling product lines by revenue in this category were ageLOC TRME, LifePak and Beauty Focus. The company’s ageLOC wellness products accounted for 46% of its wellness product category revenue and 20% of its total revenue in 2024.
Product Development
The company is committed to developing and marketing innovative products. The company has several products in development, including next-generation skin care products, nutritional supplements and devices. In its research and product development, the company leverages the three disciplines of science, technology and sourcing to create innovative products that address consumer needs.
The company’s research and product development activities include:
Global consumer research to identify needs and insights and refine product concepts;
Internal research, product development, clinical validation, regulatory due diligence and quality testing;
Joint research projects, collaborations and clinical studies; and
Identification and assessment of technologies for potential licensing arrangements.
The company maintains research and product development facilities in the United States and Mainland China. The company also contracts with third parties for clinical studies and collaborate on basic research projects with researchers from universities and other research institutions in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia, whose staffs include scientists with basic research expertise in, among others, natural product chemistry, biochemistry, dermatology, nutrition, pharmacology and clinical studies.
The company also works to identify and assess technologies developed by third parties for potential licensing, supply or acquisition arrangements. Because of the nature of its distribution channel, which allows the company to provide a high level of product information on a person-to-person basis, the company often has third parties who are interested in licensing innovative technologies to the company to incorporate into its products and commercialize through its distribution channel. The company has also invested in acquisitions to supplement its research capabilities and to acquire technologies.
Intellectual Property
The company’s trademarks are registered in the United States and in markets where it operates, and it considers trademark protection to be very important to its business. The company’s major trademarks include Nu Skin, its fountain logos, Pharmanex, ageLOC, its ageLOC logos, LifePak, Galvanic Spa (registered outside of the United States), TRME, Epoch, LumiSpa, Nutricentials, WellSpa iO (registered outside of the United States), ageLOC Boost (registered outside of the United States) and MYND360 (registration pending in the United States). In addition, a number of the company’s products, including its facial spas, ageLOC WellSpa iO, Nu Skin RenuSpa iO, ageLOC Body Spa, LumiSpa, ageLOC Boost, TRME and Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner, are based on proprietary technologies and designs, some of which utilize patented technologies and/or technologies licensed from third parties. The company also relies on patent and trade secret protection to protect its proprietary technology and other proprietary information for some of its ageLOC products and other products.
Distribution Channel
The company’s Nu Skin business operates in the direct selling channel, primarily utilizing person-to-person marketing to promote and sell its products. In addition, the company is developing more robust approaches to help its sales force attract and develop affiliate marketers. The company is working through a significant digital transformation in its business. This transformation involves the development of new and enhanced digital tools for the company’s Sales Leaders and consumers, including new digital apps and an improved website design and e-commerce functionality. The company’s products also have served an important role in its social commerce strategy as the company has developed products that are shareable and demonstrable on social media platforms.
In all of the company’s markets besides Mainland China, the company refers to members of its independent sales force as ‘Brand Affiliates’ because their primary role is to promote its brand and sell products through their personal and social networks.
Consumer Group and Sales Network
The company’s Nu Skin business’s distribution channel is composed of two primary groups: its consumer group—individuals who buy its products primarily for personal or family consumption and share products with friends and family; and its sales network—individuals who personally buy, use and resell products, and who also attract new consumers, and recruit, train and develop new sellers. The company strives to develop and grow both its consumer group and its sales network.
The company’s strategy for growing its consumer group is to offer high-quality, personalized, innovative products that provide demonstrable benefits. The company’s strategy for growing its sales network is to provide a business opportunity for those persons who demonstrate the desire and ability to develop both a consumer group and a team of sellers, including through sales compensation, incentives and recognition.
To monitor the growth trends in the company’s consumer group, it tracks the number of persons who purchased directly from the company during the previous three months (Customers). The company’s Customer numbers include members of its sales force who made such a purchase, including Paid Affiliates and those who qualify as Sales Leaders, but they do not include consumers who purchase directly from members of its sales force.
To monitor the growth in the company’s sales network, it tracks the number of Paid Affiliates and Sales Leaders, which are defined as follows:
‘Paid Affiliates’ are any Brand Affiliates, as well as members of the company’s sales force in Mainland China, who earned sales compensation during the previous three months. As the company continues to focus on customer acquisition, its Paid Affiliates, who primarily share products, are a bridge to attracting new customers and nurturing relationships and community. Paid Affiliates power the company’s social commerce model and are an important indicator of consumer purchasing activity in its business.
‘Sales Leaders’ are the three-month average of the company’s monthly Brand Affiliates, as well as sales employees and independent marketers in Mainland China, who achieved certain qualification requirements as of the end of each month of the quarter.
Global Direct Selling Channel
Outside of Mainland China, individuals can elect to participate in the company’s business as follows:
‘Brand Affiliate-Direct Consumers’—Individuals who purchase products directly from a Brand Affiliate at a price established by the Brand Affiliate.
‘Company-Direct Consumers’—Individuals who purchase products directly from the company. These consumers are typically referred by a Brand Affiliate and may purchase at retail price or at a discount. These individuals do not have the right to build a Nu Skin business by reselling products or by recruiting others.
‘Basic Brand Affiliates’—Brand Affiliates who purchase products for personal or family use or for resale to other consumers. These individuals are eligible to receive certain compensation under the company’s global sales compensation plan by selling product, and/or when an affiliate they recruited sells product to a consumer, but they are not eligible for other compensation unless they elect to qualify as a Sales Leader. The company consider these individuals to be part of the company’s consumer group, as the company believe a significant majority of these Brand Affiliates are purchasing products for personal use and not actively building a sales network or consumer base.
‘Sales Leaders and Qualifiers’—Brand Affiliates who have qualified or are trying to qualify as a Sales Leader. These Brand Affiliates have elected to pursue the business opportunity as a Sales Leader and are actively attracting consumers and building a sales network under the company’s global sales compensation plan. These Sales Leaders and Qualifiers constitute the company’s sales network.
To become a Brand Affiliate, an individual signs a Brand Affiliate agreement and receives access to a business portfolio, which is free in most markets. In some markets, the company charge a small fee for the business portfolio. The business portfolio generally consists of documentation concerning the business, including copies of the sales compensation plan, Brand Affiliate policies and procedures, product catalog and other documentation, but it does not include products. There are no requirements to purchase products to become a Brand Affiliate, and no commissions are paid on any purchase of a business portfolio.
The company offer a generous product return policy, which also includes returns of business support materials. In most markets, the company offer a return policy that allows the company’s Brand Affiliates to return unopened and unused items for up to 30 days for a full refund, or 12 months subject to a 10% restocking fee. Brand Affiliates are not required to terminate their accounts to return product. Actual returns have historically been less than 5% of annual revenue. The company believe the company’s generous return policy minimizes the financial risks associated with being a Brand Affiliate.
In addition to the company’s product return policy, the company strive to be as protective of the company’s customers as possible. The company seek to ensure that those who use the company’s products or participate in the company’s business opportunity are treated fairly and are not misled by inappropriate product or earnings claims.
There are two fundamental ways in which the company’s Brand Affiliates can earn money: through retail markups on resales of products purchased from the company; and through sales compensation earned on the sale of products under the company’s global sales compensation plan.
The company believe that the company’s global sales compensation plan is among the most generous in the direct selling industry and is one of the company’s competitive advantages. The company’s Brand Affiliates can receive sales compensation for product sales from the company to their own consumer groups. Likewise, the company’s Sales Leaders can receive sales compensation under the company’s global sales compensation plan for product sales from the company to their own consumer groups, as well as for product sales from the company to other Sales Leaders and their consumer groups. This type of sales compensation is often referred to as ‘multi-level’ compensation. The company’s sales force is not required to recruit or sponsor other Brand Affiliates, and the company do not pay any sales compensation for recruiting or sponsoring. While all of the company’s Brand Affiliates can sponsor other Brand Affiliates at any time, the company’s Sales Leaders and those in qualification to become Sales Leaders are those who generally are the most active in sponsoring other Brand Affiliates. Pursuant to the company’s global sales compensation plan, the company pay consolidated sales compensation in a Sales Leader’s home market, in local currency, for product sales in the Sales Leader’s own consumer group and for product sales made in the Sales Leader’s team of Sales Leaders across all geographic markets.
Mainland China Business Model
Because of restrictions on direct selling and multi-level commissions in Mainland China, the company have implemented a business model for that market that is different from the business model the company use in the company’s other markets. The company have structured the company’s business model in Mainland China based on several factors: the guidance the company have received from government officials, the company’s interpretation of applicable regulations, the company’s understanding of the practices of other international direct selling companies operating in Mainland China, and the company’s understanding as to how regulators are interpreting and enforcing the regulations. The regulatory environment in Mainland China continues to be challenging and restrictive. The company will evaluate potential changes to the structure of the company’s sales compensation in Mainland China to address the evolving commercial environment, and as the need arises, the evolving regulatory environment. Any such changes could have a negative impact on the company’s sales in that market.
In Mainland China, the company utilize sales employees to sell products through the company’s retail stores, website and digital platforms; independent direct sellers, who can sell away from the company’s stores where the company have a direct selling license and a service center and can also sell through the company’s website and digital platforms; and independent marketers, who are licensed business owners authorized to sell the company’s products at their own approved premises or through the company’s stores, website and digital platforms. (As used in the foregoing sentence, the company’s digital platforms include not only those owned or run by the company’s company but also a platform operated by a third party on which the company have registered a flagship store.) The company rely on the company’s sales employees, independent direct sellers and independent marketers to attract new consumers, promote repeat purchases, and educate the company’s sales force about the company’s products, culture and policies through training meetings.
The company’s sales employees, independent direct sellers and independent marketers in Mainland China do not participate in the company’s global sales compensation plan but are instead compensated according to a separate compensation model established for Mainland China, which is separate and different from the company’s global compensation plan. Independent direct sellers and sales employees who have not achieved certain qualification requirements receive monthly bonuses based on their monthly product sales. Sales employees who achieve qualification requirements and independent marketers earn (1) monthly bonuses based on their monthly product sales and other bonuses based on various performance metrics; and (2) a salary (for sales employees, consisting of position pay and performance pay) or a service fee (for independent marketers). The salary or service fee and position/title are reviewed and adjusted quarterly based on their performance relative to other sales leaders, taking into account such factors as the sales productivity of the Sales Leader him/herself and of the sales force that such Sales Leader trains, collaborates with, supports and services. The company utilize the company’s global system to track and assess the sales productivity of each Sales Leader him/herself and the sales force that such Sales Leader trains, collaborates with, supports and services in setting his/her salary or service fee and in connection with the evaluation of their position/title. The company generally compensate the company’s Mainland China Sales Leaders at a level that is competitive with other direct selling companies in the market and comparable to the compensation of the company’s Sales Leaders globally.
Operating in Mainland China entails certain risks and uncertainties to the company’s business, as discussed further in Item 1. Business—’Regulation’ and Item 1A. Risk Factors. The company endeavor to mitigate these risks and uncertainties through various measures, including by seeking to understand and obey laws and regulations, training the company’s employees and sales force, engaging in dialogue with government officials to better understand their goals and explain the company’s plans, and cooperating in inquiries and other matters of interest to regulators. However, these efforts do not eliminate the significant risks associated with operating in Mainland China.
The company’s global sales compensation plan and the company’s Mainland China business model, including the company’s related know-how, processes and systems, play a significant role in helping the company to attract and incentivize the company’s sales force. The company have strategically developed and refined the company’s global sales compensation plan and the company’s Mainland China business model to distinguish the business opportunity that the company offer from those of other companies and to seek to provide the company with a competitive advantage.
Sales Incentives, Meetings, Recognition and Training
An important part of the company’s distribution channel is motivating its Sales Leaders and recognizing their achievements. The company holds regular meetings and events globally to recognizes Sales Leaders who have achieved various levels of success in its business. These meetings, which may be held either virtually or in-person, also allow the company and key Sales Leaders to provide training to other Sales Leaders. The company utilizes a variety of sales incentives, such as incentive trips to motivate Sales Leaders. In addition to rewarding performance, incentive trips provide Sales Leaders and the company opportunities to share best practices, set goals, generate alignment of Sales Leaders around key initiatives, and provide a high level of motivation and team building.
Geographic Regions
The company sells and distributes its Nu Skin business’s products in nearly 50 markets. The company’s divided these markets into seven segments: Mainland China; South Korea; Southeast Asia/Pacific, which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and other markets; Americas, which includes Canada, Latin America and the United States; Japan; Hong Kong/Taiwan, which also includes Macau; and Europe & Africa, which includes markets in Europe, as well as South Africa. The company’s Rhyz business arm also includes two additional segments: Manufacturing and Rhyz Other.
Regulation
To expand the company’s direct selling model into additional provinces in Mainland China, the company must obtain a series of approvals from the local Department of Commerce in such provinces, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce (its supervisory authority), as well as the Ministry of Commerce, PRC (‘MOFCOM’), which is the national governmental authority overseeing direct selling. In the course of obtaining these approvals, the respective authorities under MOFCOM must also consult and seek opinions on the company’s business operations from the Ministry of Public Security and the Administration for Market Regulation at both provincial and state levels. Government authorities have not been issuing new licenses for direct selling since 2019.
The company’s beauty and wellness products and related promotional and marketing activities are subject to extensive government regulation by numerous federal, state, and local government agencies and authorities, including the United States Food and Drug Administration (the ‘FDA’), the Federal Trade Commission (the ‘FTC’), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Department of Agriculture, United States and State Attorneys General, and state regulatory agencies in the United States, as well as the State Administration for Market Regulation in Mainland China, the Food and Drug Administration in Taiwan, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in South Korea, the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare in Japan, and similar government agencies in all other markets in which the company operates. In the United States, the FDA, in particular, regulates the formulation, manufacture and labeling of over-the-counter (‘OTC’) drugs, cosmetics, dietary supplements, foods and medical devices such as those that the company distributes.
Cosmetic companies confront difficulty in determining whether a claim would be considered by the FDA to be an improper structure/function claim. Given this difficulty, and the company’s research and product development focus on the sources of aging and the influence of certain ingredients on gene expression, there is a risk that the company could receive a warning letter, be required to modify its product claims, or take other actions to satisfy the FDA if the FDA determines any of its marketing materials contain improper structure/function claims for its cosmetic products. In addition, plaintiffs’ lawyers have filed class action lawsuits against some of the company’s competitors after its competitors received these FDA warning letters.
Under these provisions, if the agency were to find that a product or ingredient of one of the company’s OTC drug products is not generally recognized as safe and effective or is not included in a final monograph that is applicable to one of its OTC drug products, it may be required to reformulate or cease marketing that product until it is the subject of an approved NDA or until the time, if ever, that the monograph is amended to include such product. The labeling of these products is subject to the requirements of the FDCA and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and other FDA regulations.
Because most of the company’s wellness products are regulated under DSHEA, it generally are not required to obtain regulatory approval prior to introducing a dietary supplement into the United States market. The company is, however, obligated to notify the FDA, prior to marketing a product, of any structure/function claims that it intends to make about the product in any product-related materials.
In the company’s foreign markets, nutritional supplements are generally regulated by similar government agencies, such as the Mainland China State Administration for Market Regulation; the South Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; and the Taiwan Department of Health.
In Japan, for example, if a specified ingredient is not listed as a ‘food’ by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the company must either modify the product to eliminate or substitute that ingredient or petition the government to treat such ingredient as a food. The company experiences similar issues in its other markets.
The company’s business is subject to additional FDA regulations, such as new dietary ingredient regulations and adverse event reporting regulations that require it to document and track adverse events and report serious adverse events that involve hospitalization, permanent impairment or death associated with consumers’ use of certain of its products.
Most of the other markets in which the company operates has not adopted legislation like DSHEA, and it may be subject to more restrictive limitations on the claims it can make about its products in these markets. If marketing materials produced or used by it or its sales force globally make claims that exceed the scope of allowed claims for nutritional supplements, the FDA or other regulatory authorities could deem its products to be unapproved drugs.
The FTC, which exercises primary jurisdiction over the advertising of all of the company’s products in the United States, has instituted enforcement actions against dietary supplement, food, and cosmetic companies for, among other things, deceptive advertising and lack of adequate scientific substantiation for claims.
In addition, during 2023, the FTC sent notices of penalty offense to nearly 700 companies, including the company’s, regarding the requirement of sufficient substantiation for product claims. The company entered into two consent decrees with the FTC and various agreements with state regulatory agencies. From time to time, there are unfavorable media reports regarding dietary supplements, which call for the repeal or amendment of DSHEA.
In 2014, the company’s Nu Skin Facial Spa device was cleared for marketing through the 510(k) process with the FDA as a medical device with cosmetic benefit. More recently, the company’s RenuSpa iO device was cleared for marketing through the FDA’s 510(k) process.
The company has been required to register its ageLOC Galvanic Facial Spa and ageLOC Body Spa systems as medical devices in a few markets, and it also have received clearance from the FDA to market its Nu Skin Facial Spa and its Nu Skin RenuSpa iO devices for over-the-counter use.
Competition
Direct Selling
The company competes with other direct selling companies, some of which have a longer operating history and greater visibility, name recognition and financial resources than it does. Leading global direct selling companies include Amway, Natura & Co and Herbalife.
Rhyz Companies
In addition to the company’s core Nu Skin business, it also explores new areas of synergistic and adjacent growth through its business arm known as Rhyz Inc. The company’s Rhyz businesses, which are reported in two segments, primarily consist of the following consumer, technology and manufacturing companies:
Rhyz Manufacturing segment
Elevate Nutraceuticals LLC, dba Elevate Health Sciences—a manufacturer of private-label dietary supplements.
Ingredient Innovations International Company, dba 3i Solutions—a manufacturing technology company, making ingredients more bioavailable and shelf stable across food, beverage, supplements and personal care products.
L&W Holdings, Inc., dba CasePak—a packaging company that consults with product developers to design and develop custom packaging.
Wasatch Product Development, LLC—a developer and manufacturer of personal care products, dietary supplements and functional foods.
Rhyz Other segment
Beauty Biosciences LLC—a beauty company that sells its products through digital and retail channels.
LifeDNA, Inc.—a DNA assessment and recommendation technology company that the company holds potential for its broader personalization strategy.
Until January 2025, the Rhyz Other segment additionally included MyFavoriteThings, Inc., dba Mavely, a social commerce platform. As previously announced, th company sold this business in January 2025.
Research and Development
The company’s research and development costs are expensed as incurred and totaled $13.0 million in 2024.
History
Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1984. The company was incorporated in 1996.
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