Moringa is a superfood, one that we here at Operation Wellness are big fans of. Moringa improves many different aspects of health and has found to be an effective treatment for many different illnesses.
But if all this is true then why are there rumors floating about that Zija moringa is a scam? After all, Zija International, which is the company behind Zija moringa, is just the place producing these products. So is the moringa just bad quality or what is the deal here?
In this short review of Zija International I will be going over why people are calling this place a scam and what you need to know before purchasing any products or possibly getting involved in the business as an independent distributor. There’s a good chance that the reason you are looking into this in the first place is because you were approached by another distributor trying to get you to join the opportunity.
Zija Moringa Review
Overview
As I said, Zija International is the company behind it all. They are a network marketing company that was created by Ken Brailsford who has been involved in direct sales for quite some time having cofounded Nature’s Sunshine and Natures Labs Inc., which was later renamed Enrich International.
Legend has it that Ken was retired from the direct sales industry when his interest in pharmaceuticals led him to become fascinated with the miracle plan moringa. To make a long story short, he saw the incredible benefits of the plant and decided to launch his own network marketing/direct sales company behind it… Zija International.
The Business Model
The business model behind it all is what is causing most of the attention and scam accusations. If you are unfamiliar with direct sales/network marketing companies then here’s a brief a review for you: direct sales businesses like Zija do not sell their products in stores, instead they have independent distributors running around selling the products for them. Anyone can join in on the opportunity to make money selling the company’s products.
In addition to this, the network marketing part of it all is when independent distributors build “teams” of other distributors beneath them via recruitment and earn commissions off of the effort of their downline.
It is this recruitment focused business model that often leads to being called a scam, and even a pyramid scheme. I can assure you that it is neither of the two, and does operate completely legitimately, but this definitely does not mean that you should go out and buy their products or join the business opportunity…. And I’ll explain why.
Moringa Products
Zija actually sells a range of products going from moringa, to essential oils, to fitness supplements and even personal care products, but since the focus of this review is on the moringa I will be going over these products.
The different products that Zija sells that contain moringa they call their “Core Moringa” line. I’m not going to cover every single one because there are many, but some of the more popular moringa products include the following…
Essentials
The Core Moringa Essentials are what they call the optimal aging formula. This product contains natural anti-inflammatories, helps slow aging, and promotes natural relaxation. It is mainly promoted as a way to stay young and healthy.
Obviously it contains moringa, which would contribute to much of the anti-inflammatory properties that the product possesses, but in addition it contains ginseng, Baikal Skullcap Root, and Immortality Herb Root.
With 60 servings of powder that you can drink, mix into smoothies, etc. this will cost you $105.
Plant Protein
Their Core Moringa Plant Protein products are completely plant-based and or a mix of moringa protein, pea protein, and rice protein.
This product is pretty darn expensive, at $125 for 28 servings, but it is very good quality. Moringa is a great source of protein because it is considered “complete”, meaning that it contains all the essential amino acids.
Premium Tea
The Premium Tea it is promoted as being a natural laxative, detoxifier, and is relaxing. Moringa teas are becoming more popular in common stores but this is going to be much more pricey than most. At $49 you will get 30 packets of tea.
However, I can say that Zija does go above and beyond as they do much of the time. Besides just moringa this tea includes a nice lineup of ingredients including Senna Leaf, Buckthorn Frang Bark, Peppermint Leaf, Uva Ursi Leaf, Orange Peel, Rose Hips Fruit, Althea(Marshmallow)Root, and Chamomile Flower.
There is no doubt that the tea is good, but holy cow is it expensive just for some tea.
Daily Tea
The Daily Tea is just as expensive as the Premium Tea. It is very similar but this tea is mainly marketed as an appetite suppressant that you are supposed to consume in the morning.
Combo Tea
Not much to say here. It’s the same price as the other two teas. All it is is a combination of the two.
Prime
Core Moringa Prime as a supplement for naturally boosting your nitric oxide levels. So I imagine it has ingredients that contain a lot of nitrates.
Keeping high and healthy nitric oxide levels is a good way to keep healthy and active, with good energy. Nitric oxide helps deliver oxygen to organs in your body and we all know how important oxygen is.
This supplement is going to cost you $93 for 30 servings. If you compare this to many of the mainstream nitric oxide boosting supplements that you see at stores like GNC and vitamin world, it is definitely on the more expensive side. That said, it does seem to be a quality product.
SmartMix
The SmartMix it is designed to increase vitality and mood. Included in the mix are moringa along with chicory root extract and FoTi root extract. This product, like most, comes in little serving sized powder packets that you can mix with a drink, a smoothie, or take however you want.
32 packets are going to cost you $125.
SuperMix
This powder mix contains a blend of moringa seeds, leaves, and fruit. It is yet another powder that can easily be mixed in with smoothies, drinks, etc. There are other ingredients contained other than moringa but they are more for flavor or just fillers. This product is all about the health benefits of moringa and moringa only.
32 servings sell for $125, so yes… it is another very costly product.
XM+, XM3, XM AM, XM Burn, XM Protien, and XM PM
Zija sells a line-up of Moringa Core XM products including XM+, XM3, XM AM, XM Burn, and others. These products are all very similar but differ slightly. For example the AM product includes green tea extract and has natural caffeine in it which will give you a nice natural boost of energy while surpressing appetite while the PM does not contain any caffeine.
The main focus behind the developement of these was to create a natural product with moringa that boosts energy, mood and surpresses appetite.
All of the XM products are priced at $74 except for XM Protein and XM + which is priced at $125.
Water Purification Systems
This is kind-of a strange product to be included in the list, but yes…. Zija did jump on the bandwagon and they are selling very expensive water purification systems which many network marketing companies seem to be selling nowadays.
Zija calls this system the Morclēr water purification system. Now you may be wondering what this has to do with moringa and I’ll tell you… The filters that go with these purification systems have moringa in them of course. They feature a 6 stage filtration/purification system that couples reverse osmosis with moringa’s cleansing properties.
I fully understand the increasing need for water purification with all the pollution going around, but close to $700 for one of these systems…??? That seems like a heck of a lot.
The good thing about these high priced products is that you can earn some decent commissions when you get others to buy them, which brings me to the business opportunity that Zija and Zija distributors love to talk about so much…
The Business Opportunity
This is actually promoted as a “turnkey business model” with a lucrative compensation plan right on the official Zija website. This can be somewhat misleading because it seems to lead people to believe that it is easier to make money with than it really is. Sure… the business already is there for you and all you have to do is join, but its not quite as simple as it sounds as I’ll explain.
Anyone can join as an independent distributor and earn money in a variety of different ways. I’m not going to get into every single way that exists but I’ll go over the core components of the compensation plan.
Retail Sales
This is pretty simple…you buy Zija products at wholesale prices and sell them at retail prices, keeping the difference. As a distributor you will have access to these wholesale prices.
Fast Start Commissions
These are commissions you can earn when you enroll a new member, whether it be a distributor, retail cusotmer, etc… it doesn’t matter. You will earn either 15% or 20% depending on your personal sales volume.
Team Commissions
You could call this the pillar of the compensation plan. This is where recruitment takes over and is a big deal.
As you recruit in new distributors they will be placed beneath you in 2 legs, meaning that this is a binary compensation plan. After you recruit in 2 people and they, along with yourself, achieve what is called Active 75 then you are qualified to earn 10% team commissions.
“Active 75” means that you have a personal sales volume (PV) of 75. There is a point value attached with each product that is bought or sold so you will have to sell a certain volume of procuts in order to unlock this part of the compensation plan. The products that you personally buy will go towards your PV.
Team Benz Luxury Car Program
This is a bonus incentive they have where they literally give Mercedes Benz’s out to people that are Gold ranked or better.
Ranks
Ranks within this business model are very important. The higher up the totem pole you are, the more of the compensation plan you have access to.
So how do you move up the ranks? Well… the two main areas you have to focus on are your own PV (personal volume) and your team’s sales.
Ther are 16 ranks total which you can see here:
Leadership Check Match Pool (LCMP)
One of the parts of the compesation plan that is really dependent on rank is the LCMP. Here you get paid based on the team commissions of your “generations”.
So what is a generation?
Your 1st generation consists of the distributors that you personally recruit in, your 2nd generation consists of the distributors that they recruit in, your 3rd geneation consists of the distributors that your 2nd generation recruits in, and so on. You are able to earn down to 9 generations deep at most.
You first unlock the LCMP when you reach the rank of Emerald in which you will be able to earn 4 gen deep.
The Problem With This Business Opportunity
First let me say this… no this is not a pyramid scheme. This business has been around for a while and Key, the founder, knows what he is doing. He knows how to operate this thing legally. I know there is a great deal of emphasis place on recruitment but there is also emphasis placed on product sales, enough so that it is legitimate.
That said… this doesn’t mean you should go out and join.
The problem with mlm (multi-level marketing) businesses like this is that they actually make it more difficult for most people to make money. The pyramid-like structure at play here funnels commissions up to those at the top and takes away from those at the bottom. This is what they don’t tell you. And since there are many more people at the bottom with a structure like this, many more people find it more difficult.
So Is Zija Moringa a Scam or Not?
No it is not a scam. The products seem to be of very good quality. They source their moringa from quality areas and do so responsibly. Quality begins at the source and this is a big deal.
They also go the extra mile in the drying process, which can destroy the quality of moringa if not done right. What they do is what is called “shade drying” which is just when the moringa is dried in the shade. The reason for this is because drying in the sun has been found to destroy some of the nutritional value.
So no the moringa itself is not a scam by any means. It is the same good moringa that has numerous medicinal uses, the same moringa that has been shown to improve liver function and so on.
HOWEVER… there is no doubt that it is overpriced. This is common with mlm businesses like this. They usually lean towards more costly products that are way overhyped and the reason for this is to create a more lucrative business opportunity to get people to join… or at least that is how I see it.
Quality Moringa At a Much Better Price
For good qualiity moringa at a faction of the cost I would suggest taking a look at what I recommend below. You are getting all the good quality without the inflated prices.
