OpTree

Jim Cramer host of the CNBC show, Mad Money, once again welcomed Michael Johnson, Chairman and CEO of Herbalife (HLF) to the show Tuesday night, February 26th. This was Johnson’s second appearance in only six months. With Herbalife’s solid growth over the last year Cramer was interested in discussing with him how the economy has or has not affected the company. Sales in North America alone are up almost 20 percent while sales throughout the rest of the world, are even stronger with a 50% rise in sales in South America and a staggering 145% in China. This story coincides with our recent review of publicly traded network marketing stocks where Herbalife was one of the few positive standouts in the sector.

Johnson attributes the company’s success to the high standard of quality and care that go into the making of each product, as well as a motivated distribution sales force. Johnson wanted to stress the fact that Herbalife has done well in most economic situations, and he feels that the big guns on Wall Street might want to re-evaluate their opinion on the direct sales industry. Cramer ended the segment with a big compliment, praising Herbalife, and saying, “Johnson Is Money”.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Mannatech (Coppell. TX) (Nasdq: MTEX) announced today it will begin selling products in South Africa during the second quarter of this year.Among these products will be the company’s Optimal Health System, which is comprised of Ambrotose — a patented blend of mixed plant saccharides; AO — a proprietary antioxidant; PLUS — an herbal-amino acid; and PhytoMatrix — the industry’s first all-natural multivitamin with concentrated, plant-sourced minerals and standardized phytochemicals.

“We are excited to enter the market in South Africa, which was the first country to grant a patent for the technology related to the formulation of Mannatech’s flagship product, Ambrotose,” said Mannatech President and CEO Terry Persinger. “South Africa has a rich tradition of using nature’s biodiversity to help address quality of life and optimal health. This tradition aligns well with Mannatech products and our emphasis on natural ingredients.”

This is a pretty interesting move by Mannatech given the underserved South African market.  The strategy is a very good one so long as the pricing targets the middle to lower socio-economic population.  If they go after that, this could be a very lucrative opportunity.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Tupperware Brands’ (NYSE: TUP) Chairman and CEO, Rick Goings, will be presenting at the Bear Stearns Retail, Restaurants & Consumer Conference in New York City on March 4, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. ET.

This presentation is being webcast and can be accessed at www.tupperwarebrands.com.

Tupperware Brands Corporation is a portfolio of global direct selling companies, selling premium innovative products across multiple brands and categories through an independent sales force of 2.1 million. Product brands and categories include design-centric preparation, storage and serving solutions for the kitchen and home through the Tupperware brand and beauty and personal care products for consumers through the Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo and Swissgarde brands.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Healthy Coffee USA, Inc. (Newport Beach, CA) the marketing arm of Healthy Coffee International, Inc. (Pink Sheets: HCFE), announced that Jeff Schlegel has joined the company as its Vice President. Mr. Schlegel will be in charge of Sales for North America. He is a highly successful executive in the network marketing business who has taught and mentored thousands of entrepreneurs to the point of helping over 1000 people earn their first million and approximately 10,000 people learn the basic skills to reach their first $10,000 per month income story.

Asked why he joined Healthy Coffee USA, Jeff said, “I believe that Healthy Coffee will be the next Starbucks coffee story in five years or so because Healthy Coffee has a compelling story to tell; a unique product, coffee that can give you energy and health benefits, a professional management team, a strong marketing team and compensation system are all in place. Healthy Coffee USA is not reinventing the wheel, as millions of people are already drinking coffee; instead, the company is increasing the value of its coffee by providing anti-oxidant and health benefits by combining the ginseng and reishi products into the coffee drink.” Mr. Schlegel said that he would not have joined Healthy Coffee USA if he could not help make the company a billion dollar company in the next 5 to 10 years, to make it a brand name in the trillion dollar coffee and wellness industry.

Mr. Schlegel is an icon in the network marketing business, having helped companies like Herbalife, N.S.A., make hundreds of millions of sales under his sales team. He has been a consultant of many network marketing companies whose collective sales produced over $100 billion in sales worldwide. He has been featured in many publications, including “Success Magazine”, “Working at Home”, “Results Journal”, “Network Marketing Business Journal” and the book, “The Professionals.” “I’m very excited to have Jeff in our leadership team. He has a proven track record of building a large sales organization and taking companies to millions of dollars in sales in a short period of time,” said Mr. Rick Aguiluz, Founder and CEO of Healthy Coffee International, Inc.

Popularity: 9% [?]