Who wants to live limitlessly, financially free and healthy? Oh everyone, I thought so!

If you've heard a Zija presentation or have a friend or family member trying to sign you up, I can pretty much guarantee they've said Zija as THE way to achieve this.

In this full and complete Zija review, we're going to look at the pros and cons of the products and the business opportunity to help you decide whether to become a Zija distributor or not.

I'm not associated with Zija International in any way so I write this review as an outsider looking in and based purely on my personal opinion.

Can you make money with Zija International?

In theory, yes but whether you can make enough to say goodbye to the day job is a different matter. Personally, I hate the idea of having to hard-sell to my family and friends. It's the old 20th century way of doing things.

That's why I love affiliate marketing: you build a website that attracts traffic and let it do all the selling for you.

Whether I'm conscious or unconscious, in the UK or in Thailand, it makes no difference – my websites generate income around the clock.

It's free to get started. Check out my full Wealthy Affiliate review for the details.

Zija International Review At A Glance

Name: Zija International
Website: ZijaInternational.com
Founder: Ken Brailsford
Current CEO: Rodney Larsen
Founded: 2005
Starter Pack: $199
Overall Rank: 65/100

Quick Summary:

This is a really long review! Here's what it boils down to:

Zija products are good, but a little expensive and not FDA approved.

You need a mathematics degree to understand the complex compensation plan.

Zija isn't a scammy pyramid scheme though, they are a legit MLM and you can make money as a rep. Just be aware 99% of people joining multi-level marketing companies like this end up losing money.

Wanna Make Money Online But Sick Of MLMs?

What Is Zija International About?

Zija was launched by Ken Brailsford, the “father of herbal encapsulation” in 2005 with a focus on helping people enjoy the medicinal properties of the Moringa tree.

Zija's best-selling product is a daily drink supplement called SuperMix – made from the leaves, seeds and fruit of the “Moringa Oleifera”.

Fair warning though: at $115 for a month's supply it's certainly not cheap!

Based in Lehi, Utah, Zija boast around 4 million square feet of offices, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. They employ 200+ people internationally and have grown to more than 30 countries and 100,000+ distributors.

They were named the fastest-growing company in Utah by Utah Business Magazine in 2014. In May 2017 Zija International merged with XANGO.

XANGO is a more established network marketing company founded in 2002 by Joe Morton, Gordon Morton and Aaron Garrity.

XANGO has 2 million distributors in 40 different countries with the same emphasis on health and well-being so it should be a strong and strategic partnership between these 2 natural supplement direct marketing companies.

According to Zija, they're all about “Living Life Unlimited” and the Zija app gives distributors information on training on 4 core principles:

1. Nutrition
2. An active lifestyle
3. Financial freedom
4. Personal development

Watch Zija's promo video and you'll see these 4 themes throughout:

I'm all for financial freedom, heck it's what TheMakeMoneyOnlineBlog.com is all about!

I love helping people improve their lives better by starting an online business.

The old industrial age has long-gone and we're now living in the digital age where more and more are making their dream businesses a reality.

I even have a free 10-day email course where I teach people how to use the internet to create an online income stream.

But the question is:

Can you use Zija as the vehicle to get you to where you want to be?

Stick with me here and I'll show you why I don't think you can. Let's talk about the products first and then we'll get into the actual business opportunity.

Zija Products

Zija independent distributors love to talk about the Moringa tree, AKA the ‘miracle tree'.

According to Zija, the Moringa tree is the most nutrient-dense plant on earth containing over 92 different vitamins and nutrients.

The vast majority of their weight loss pills, healthy energy drinks, supplements and skin care ranges are made with Moringa extracts.

A network marketing company claiming to have found ‘miracle healing qualities' in plants is nothing new. Total Life Changes do the same with Chaga mushrooms.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of scientific data backing up their claims and the reality is a vast majority of Zija reps have no medical training and are not qualified to give medical advice. I think this is important to keep in mind.

That being said, Zija's product range is a big hit for many looking to eat healthier and lose weight, even though I think they are way overpriced.

Amazon reviews are mainly positive:

This matters because become a distributor and the price will play a big role in how many sales you'll be able to generate.

As is common in all MLMs, Zija's prices have to be high to allow for reps commissions.

Let's take a look at Zija's best-selling products. They fall into 3 main categories:

• Weight Management
• Energy And Performance
• Skincare

This following isn't an exhaustive list but it'll at least give you an idea of the main product lines.

Weight Management

Zija’s Weight Management System has pills, protein drinks and teas that supposedly help with losing weight and detoxing the body of toxins including:

XMBurn

Fat Burner Supplement

XMam pills

Claims to give you a boost of energy and act as an appetite suppression. Contains moringa.

XMpm pills

Same thing but taken before bed, contains moringa as well.

SmartMix

This comes in sachets you mix as a smoothie which contains vitamins, minerals and… moringa.

SuperMix

Same as SmartMix but better (?) and $115 for 32 sachets.

Core Maringa Premium Tea

A great way to rid your body of toxins as a natural laxative and weight loss aid. You're looking at around $50 for 30 teabags.

Energy And Performance

Pr1me90 Protein Powder

Comes in dutch chocolate and vanilla bean flavours and contains moringa extract.

XM+Energy Mix

Apparantely helps boost your mood and give you energy throughout the day. It contains vitamins and omega oils, antioxidents and appetite suppression.

Skincare

Zija’s skincare range includes a variety of face cleansers, moisturisers and eye serums. All of the products contain moringa…

• Creamy Face Cleanser
• Rehydrating Mist
• Daily Moisturiser
• Anti-Aging Night Repair
• Eye Serum
• Spa Mask

Here's a video giving a quick runthrough of Zija's nutritional range:

Common Zija Complaints

I recognise all companies have some complaints, but sites like Better Business Bureau and Zija's Facebook page have a lot of people experiencing similar issues:

1. Struggling To Cancel Auto-Ship

There's a pattern of first-time buyers being pressured to go for the auto-ship option; where the company automatically bills you and ships out your order every month.

It's not uncommon for people to receive their first overpriced order and decide they want to switch auto-ship off, but it might not be as easy as you think…

2. Wrong And Late Deliveries + Hours On The Phone Trying To Get A Refund

Most people get what they ordered on time, but if your order gets mixed up or you don't find out it's on backorder until you've paid for it, you could be waiting a while.

It seems there's still plenty of room for improvement in Zija's customer service department, with many experiencing long call waiting times (up to an hour) and difficulties trying to get a refund.

Why am I pointing this out?

Because, as a Zija distributor, it's your name and reputation on the line when you're recommending products to close family and friends and these are the kinds of issues you'll probably find yourself dealing with.

3. Products Don't Taste All That Great

People paying a premium price expect a premium product and to know exactly what they're putting into their body…

Zija's Business Opportunity

Now we've gone over the products and common customer service issues in detail, let's take a closer look at the business opportunity.

Can you really make money with Zija? This is what I'm more interested in!

Zija say they're the answer to your money worries; become a distributor and you'll be able to spend more time with family, travel the world and put your kids through college.

But can you really make enough money to quit your full-time job? Is this a real and viable career opportunity or just a way to make extra cash on the side?

According to the official website their “Turnkey business model, easy-to-use tools, unmatched support, and lucrative compensation plan make starting and building your own successful Zija business a reality.“

The biggest issue I have with network marketing companies is they often oversell the opportunity with hype without giving realistic expectations of the work involved.

I've been involved with MLMs myself so I understand how hard it is to step back and evaluate how your business is doing once you're inside the bubble. There's the unwritten rule you can't say anything bad about the company or even raise questions about why they do things a certain way.

The truth is Zija products don't just “sell themselves” and to really make money with this you're going to need to recruit A LOT of people.

The Zija Compensation Plan

You can download the full Zija compensation plan here (PDF).

I wish I could explain it here but it's way too complicated when it doesn't need to be.

There add so many restrictions and qualifying criteria to reduce the amount they payout. If this was a company truly looking to empower people then why not just make your commissions as simple and clear as possible?

Have a set % commission for direct sales and another for downline sales. It really doesn't need to be more complex than that – unless you're trying to avoid paying out.

Rant over!

Here are 6 ways you can earn commissions as an independent distributor:

1. Retail Sales

Unlike most network marketing companies that process your customer's order and send your your commission of 30-50%, a major downside with Zija is you have to purchase the product first at the wholesale rate, store it somewhere and try to sell it.

Not only is this an upfront cost you're going to have to shell out for, Zija estimate you'll only make abround 20% is you manage to sell at the recommended retail price.

2. Team Commissions (10-15%)

According to the offical compensation plan, team Commissions are the backbone of the business. This is where we start to see the huge amount of emphasis they place on recruiting others.

Multi-level marketing companies more often than not have either a unilevel compensation strcutre or a binary one. Zija runs on the binary model. I'll talk more about this in a second but this is not ideal.

The binary level works by you building two seperate teams or ‘legs' and every new person you recruit goes into your left or right leg.

With Zija, team commissions are only paid on your weakest leg and they put a cap on it too.

3. Fast Cash Commission (15%-25%)

When you sign up a new recruit, for the first 28 days you a commission on their sales volume, depending on your qualifying level within the company.

4. Team Benz Bonus

No they don't actually buy you a Mercedes Benz!

If you qualify for Gold status or higher every cycle in a period (not sure how long this is) then you can earn between $100 and $300 per cycle towards buying or leasing a Benz.

At first glance this sounds a lot better than it actually is!

5. Zija Rewards Program

Basically you can accumulate points for the products you buy, similiar to collecting Tesco points in the UK or earning WalMart points in the US. We're not talking about life changing amounts of money here.

6. Special Initiatives

As far as I can see, these are ad hoc promotions or programs aimed at giving a short-term incentive to distributors which the company can start or stop at any time.

Here's a step-by-step walkthrough of the compensation plan:

Is Zija A Pyramid Scheme?

As we've just seen, the only 2 ways to make money with Zija is through direct sales and building a downline. So is Zija a pyramid scheme?

If the only way someone can explain the business opportunity is by drawing a pyramid then it's probably a pyramid scheme!

But because I don't want to get bombarded with angry comments from fiercely loyal Zija reps, let's just say it's a triangular-shaped, upside-down tree structure type thing where all the commissions flow to the top!

In truth, Zija is a product-based pyramid scheme where they use the MLM model to market moringa-based products.

They're not an illegal pyramid scheme because they have a range of products and they offer representatives the opportunity to buy them at wholesale price, but as Zija themselves say in their official document:

“The Team Commission is the backbone of the Zija compensation plan.“

So know you're going to be strongly encouraged to recruit other independent business owners under you and build your right and left legs.

Why I Don't Like Zija's Binary Leg Model

Every MLM has either a unilevel structure or a binary structure:

While there are advantages and disadvantages to both, binary is the worst model to get involved with because it effectively cuts your team commissions in half.

Instead of getting paid from both legs you just get paid from your weaker leg, which means there's always going to be a struggle to keep them both as balanced as possible so you don't lose out.

Think about this practically:

You're always going to have one leg bigger than the other, so say you generate $1,000 on your left leg and only $50 on your right – at 10% you'll get just $5.

Most people don't realise this until a few months down the line, but it can cause major headaches. I'm not saying you can't be successful working with Zija, because some people are, but this structure certainly makes it more difficult.

Is Zija International A Scam?

No, Zija is not a scam. They are a multi-level marketing company who have been making and selling Moringa-based products through Zija representatives since 2005.

But do I think this is a good business opportunity?

No.

Unfortunately, Zija won't release any earnings figures so we have no idea what the average distributor earns per year.

I think the products are expensive and no different to what you can buy for a lot less on the high street and because of how the compensation plan is structured, you're going to find it very difficult to sell product and recruit others into the business.

Here's a shocking stat:

99% of MLM participants lose money.

Sad but true.

There are 1,000s of people out there, once drawn in by the idea of becoming financially free, who bought product every month just so they could meet the minimum requirements for commission and today have boxes of ridiculously overpriced tea rotting in their garage because they can't get rid of it.

MLMs like Zija are extremely difficult to succeed in and you have to be really good at face-to-face selling and recruiting to make this work.

Should You Become A Zija Distributor?

Ultimately the decision is yours. Hopefully, this full review of Zija (which turned out a lot longer than I thought!) has helped you make up your mind.

Maybe your personality is perfect for a business like this; if you're outgoing, love face to face selling then you could quickly rise up the ranks and earn big commissions.

The first thing you'll be asked to do if you sign up is write out the names of 100 people you know starting with your family and friends and working outwards to your work colleagues, church members, acquaintances and so on.

Once you've nuisance-called your way through the list and convinced your mum to buy a box of tea for $50, where do you go from there?

Honestly I think in the digital age, networking marketing is an outdated model.

Think about it this way: 4 billion people are online every day buying products and Zija distributors are still driving around delivering products door to door!

I believe the digital age we're living in opens up huge opportunities with limitless potential if we just know how to tap into it.

This is why I started an online business. I took Wealthy Affiliate up on their free training and with the awesome community support, I now earn $7,000 a month.

I quit the old call centre job and booked a one-way ticket to Thailand with no cold-calling, no harassing family and friends and no need to buy products that won't sell.

Read my SUPER in-depth Wealthy Affiliate Review to find out more and get started.

Share Your Thoughts!

If you've got any questions at all about this or any other opportunity, scroll down and leave a comment and I'll get right back to you.

If you've had any experience with Zija (good or bad) then we'd love to hear from you!