Tastefully Simple Review – Scam Or Legitimate MLM Business?
Welcome to my Tastefully Simple Review!
Tastefully Simple is a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company with very humble beginnings, and is based upon a culture that is focused on teamwork, passion, and helping people to reach their full potential.
In this Tastefully Simple Review, I will be providing the facts regarding this company and their products. However, I will be putting a special emphasis on the MLM Business Opportunity that they offer as an Independent Tastefully Simple Consultant?
This Tastefully Simple Review will be answering one question: Does Tastefully Simple offer a legitimate and promising MLM Business opportunity, or should this be considered as a scam or pyramid scheme? This is my unbiased Tastefully Simple Review!
Company Details & History
Founded in 1995 by Jill Blashack Strahan and Joani Nielson, Tastefully Simple offers a tremendous selection of delicious, easy-to-prepare gourmet foods for busy households with an on-the-go lifestyle. The Tastefully Simple Catalog features more than 60 simple foods that can be enjoyed right out of the package, or ready to eat with one or two added ingredients.
Product Line
Their product line includes everything from tasty appetizers to delicious desserts, including:
- Beverages
- Breads
- Soups
- Side Dishes
- Desserts
- Dips
- Spices
- Salsas
- Oils & Dressings
- Condiments
- Spreads
…and many more!
Tastefully Simple products are offered exclusively through more than 26,000 Consultants around the United States and Puerto Rico, primarily through Home Taste-Testing Parties.
MLM Business – Getting started and how it all works
The cost to begin your business as a Tastefully Simple Consultant is the purchase of a Starter Kit. There are two to choose from:
Just A Taste Business Kit for $89- Business Blast Off Kit for $170
*Can be purchased with three payments of $56.66
The $89 kit will provide you with enough products to conduct your first two Parties.
The $170 kit will provide you with enough products to conduct your first four Parties.
Both Kits will also provide you with the necessary business supplies and marketing materials to assist you in getting started in your new venture.
Requirements
To maintain your active status and qualification to participate in the Tastefully Simple Compensation Plan, you will be required to purchase $400 in retail products each business quarter.
Auto-Delivery Program
To meet this requirement, and to ensure that your qualification for earnings never lapses, you will be highly encouraged to enroll into their Simply Stocked Auto-Delivery Program (Autoship). Through this program, you will choose the selection of products that you wish to have on hand, and this program will automatically ship these products to your home, and your credit card on file will be billed accordingly.
Compensation – How to earn
As a Tastefully Simple Consultant, you will earn 30% commissions on all retail sales.
You will profit from the time and efforts of others as you begin your recruiting efforts, and enroll new Consultants into your organization.
The details of the Tastefully Simple Compensation Plan are limited to this, as this information is reserved only for Consultants to share with their potential new team members.
Consultant Training & Support
Like I have already mentioned, the majority of company-wide sales are achieved through Home Taste-Testing Parties. You will be trained and encouraged to schedule these Parties in the homes of your friends, family members, acquaintances, co-workers, neighbors, etc. Your loved ones will invite many of their friends and relatives to attend.
When you have scheduled a Tastefully Simple Party, you will provide your host with a packet filled with invitations, and a Party Food Kit, which includes food samples for the host to prepare on the day of the party. You will then conduct the party, pass around samples, and accept orders from those in attendance.
Host Rewards Program
Tastefully Simple offers a Host Rewards Program, which will provide your Hostess with substantial product discounts and free products based upon the sales that are achieved by you in their home. Your Hostess can even use their free product credit towards the price of their Business Blast Off Kit if they desire to become a Consultant on your team.
When you are contacting your friends and loved ones to Schedule a Party in their home, you will offer this Host Rewards Program as an incentive.
Your training as a new Consultant will be based upon these tactics.
Tastefully Simple Review Conclusion
In my opinion after conducting this Tastefully Simple Review, I believe that Tastefully Simple is a legitimate MLM Business, and is not a scam. This company has been growing and expanding at extraordinary rates for more than 15 years, and has even been inducted into the Inc. 500 Hall of Fame. No small accomplishment for any company!
If you possess the desire to ‘party for a living,’ and are willing to put in the time and effort that this business will surely require, I believe that Tastefully Simple offers a solid business opportunity.
I will warn you though, it will take work and a strong commitment to see this through. Maintaining a full schedule of Home Parties in the homes of your loved ones can prove to be extremely difficult. However, if accomplished, you can build a rewarding home business within Tastefully Simple.
I hope that you have found my Tastefully Simple Review to be informative and educational! I wish you the best of luck in your home business search!
Category: MLM Company Reviews
About the Author (Author Profile)
Dave Fennell is the founder and editor of Marketing Methods Online and BloggerGo. Learn more about him here. You can also connect with him on Facebook and Twitter.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Dave Fennell wrote this Tastefully Simple Review for those who are researching their Business Opportunity. I would love your feedback. If you have any experiences with this company, whether good or bad, please share them here to assist others in their research efforts.
I greatly appreciate your feedback and expertise, and others will too!
To Your Success,
Dave Fennell
Perfect posting, I am checking back again often to watch out for improvements.
Really great article with very interesting information. You might want to follow up to this topic!?! 2012
Thanks for this interesting information! I found it very useful =)
Really should update your information. Most of your info has not changed, however the auto ship is no longer available. While it was encouraged for customers as a consultant. I was never encouraged to buy it for me. As long as you have one party a month you would be good on sales for the quarter. I love the company and recommend it to anyone looking for extra money.
If you see this charge appear on your credit card statement (PP*TASTEFULLY SIMPLE XXXX), you have been the victim of FRAUD. You should report this immediately to your credit card company. The SCAM works this way. Your credit card has been compromised. A criminal becomes a NEW “CONSULTANT” with TASTEFULLY SIMPLE, they don’t use any due diligence in screening new “consultants” and the criminal uses a different PayPal account to make bogus charges on your credit card. After your credit card companies fraud department tells you this isn’t uncommon you call Tastefully Simple. They look at the NEW “CONSULTANT” and immediately know that it is a fake account. The problem is your credit card has already been charged with fraudulent charges. The PP stands for PayPal but the criminal consultant has opened another Tastefully Simple PayPal account with a star. Even though Tastefully Simple in their over zealousness DID NOT even check this person out, they tell you SORRY that NEW CONSULTANT didn’t use OUR PayPal account so we aren’t responsible. That is untrue, they are 100% responsible. They were the one who let someone, without doing any background check open an account and use their PayPal account. This is usually for some amount around $40. Then by not doing any background check on this person who will usually have an Email address that is clearly a scam will open another PayPal account with a star between PP and TASTEFULLY SIMPLE. They then use this fake PayPal account to run thousands of dollars in FRAUDULENT charges. They then close the account with PayPal before people get their statements. According to banks and PayPal fraud departments this is becoming a pretty popular scam. My advice is to keep your credit card secure, avoid TASTEFULLY SIMPLE because they wont own up to the fact that their way of doing business (Multilevel marketing) is ripe with fraud and not only rips off their “consultants” since most fail (why would you buy a bottle of seasoned salt for $10 when you can one for $3 at the grocery store? – These companies are walking a fine line when it comes to being a pyramid scheme) but have also become a popular way to commit credit card fraud. The fact that know this goes on and they think they can just blow you off tells you that this company has no ethics. The fact that they make false promises to their “consultants” tells you this company has no ethics. It’s one thing to play people for fools in becoming “consultants” (unattainable goals) BUT it is a FEDERAL CRIME to take part in CREDIT CARD FRAUD. They know they are and are going to find that out the hard way.