Cili By Design operates in the CBD supplement MLM niche.
Cili By Design was founded in 2019 and provides a corporate address in Las Vegas, Nevada on its website.
Heading up Cili By Design are co-founders by Brad and Marcia Hager.
According to Brad Hager’s Cili By Design corporate bio, he’s been involved in MLM for 28 years.
Marcia Hager is credited with joining MLM in her “early twenties”, going on to “co-owned her own mlm company” at 28.
I’m not sure when they got married by Brad and Marcia have been together for a number of years. For the most part, the Hagers’ MLM ventures take place under the Hager Marketing Group.
I was able to backdate the Hager’s MLM history as far back as 2009, when they left Cyberwize for Zrii.
The Hagers are credited as Zrii’s top earners for a number of years. That lasted until 2013, when they left Zrii to join FGXpress.
FGXpress was a spinoff of ForeverGreen International, both founded by CEO Ron Williams.
FGXpress collapsed in 2016. After FGXpress the Hagers got into MLM crypto Ponzi scamming through Ormeus Global.
Hager appears to have scrubbed the internet of his involvement in Ormeus Global. Back in March 2018 however, a BehindMLM reader noted Brad Hager was set to promote Ormeus Global in Thailand “next month”.
Sure enough…
Ormeus Global founder John Barksdale was indicted on criminal fraud charges earlier this year. He remains at large in south-east Asia.
The SEC filed parallel civil fraud charges against Barksdale. The regulator alleges Ormeus Global was a $124 million dollar Ponzi scheme.
How much Brad Hager personally scammed people out of through Ormeus Global is unclear.
Unfortunately Ormeus Global doesn’t appear to be Hager’s first MLM Ponzi scheme.
Back in 2012, someone going by Brad Hager claimed to have “a fairly large downline” in Zeek Rewards.
Although he now lives in Las Vegas, I couldn’t help but notice Brad Hager’s FaceBook page citing he’s originally from North Carolina.
Zeek Rewards was run by Paul Burks out of North Carolina. Although I can’t 100% confirm Hager scammed “a large downline” through Zeek Rewards, between North Carolina and Hager’s confirmed involvement in Ormeus Global, I believe it’s the same guy.
By 2019 Ormeus Global had all but collapsed, culminating in the arrest of John Barksdale by Thai authorities.
That brings us to Cili By Design’s launch that same year.
Read on for a full review of Cili By Design’s MLM opportunity.
Cili By Design’s Products
Cili By Design markets a range of CBD supplements.
- Cili Swish – “the purest, fastest, and most bio-available hemp oil on the market when delivered through our breakthrough technology”, retails at $72.50 for a bottle containing 36 servings
- Cili Boost – “a mild, refreshing mouth spray made with high-quality, CBD-rich Aquaceutical concentrate oil, natural Orange zest flavor, and elite herbs to convert food energy into cellular energy and into cellular metabolism”, retails at $25 for a bottle of 90 spray servings
- CILI Sleep – “for better sleep”, retails at $25 for a bottle of 30 spray servings
- CILI Serenity – “a consistently superior experience for a sense of calm”, retails at $25 for a bottle of 30 spray servings
- CILI Relief – “rid yourself of that workout sore muscle pain or the everyday nagging joint pain”, retails at $25 for a bottle of 30 spray servings
- CILI Trim – “help(s) you lose weight faster and more effectively”, retails at $25 for a bottle of 30 spray servings
Cili By Design state their supplements contain a combination of CBD and CBG.
Cili By Design’s Compensation Plan
Cili By Design’s compensation plan is a mix of retail and recruitment, with an emphasis on autoship.
In addition to unilevel retail commissions and residual binary commissions, various rank based bonuses are also available.
Cili By Design Affiliate Ranks
There are thirteen affiliate ranks within Cili By Design’s compensation plan.
Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:
- Qualified Member – sign as a Cili By Design affiliate and generate and maintain 65 PV in regular orders or 50 PV in autoship orders each month
- C1 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and refer and maintain one retail customer, recruit and maintain one Qualified Member or higher and generate 200 GV a month
- C2 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and refer and maintain two retail customers, recruit and maintain two Qualified Members or higher and generate 600 GV a month
- C3 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and refer and maintain three retail customers, recruit and maintain three Qualified Members or higher and generate 2000 GV a month
- C4 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and refer and maintain four retail customers, recruit and maintain four Qualified Members or higher and generate 5000 GV a month (no more than 70% from any one unilevel leg)
- C5 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and maintain four personally referred retail customers, recruit and maintain five Qualified Members or higher and generate 15,000 GV a month (no more than 65% from any one unilevel leg)
- C6 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and maintain four personally referred retail customers, recruit and maintain six Qualified Members or higher and generate 30,000 GV a month (no more than 60% from any one unilevel leg)
- C7 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and maintain four personally referred retail customers, recruit and maintain seven Qualified Members or higher and generate 60,000 GV a month (no more than 55% from any one unilevel leg)
- C8 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and maintain four personally referred retail customers, recruit and maintain eight Qualified Members or higher and generate 120,000 GV a month (no more than 50% from any one unilevel leg)
- C9 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and maintain four personally referred retail customers, recruit and maintain nine Qualified Members or higher and generate 250,000 GV a month (no more than 45% from any one unilevel leg)
- C10 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and maintain four personally referred retail customers, recruit and maintain ten Qualified Members or higher and generate 500,000 GV a month (no more than 40% from any one unilevel leg)
- C11 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and maintain four personally referred retail customers, recruit and maintain eleven Qualified Members or higher and generate 1,000,000 GV a month (no more than 35% from any one unilevel leg)
- C12 – maintain Qualified Member criteria and maintain four personally referred retail customers, recruit and maintain twelve Qualified Members or higher and generate 2,500,000 GV a month (no more than 30% from any one unilevel leg)
PV stands for “Personal Volume”. PV is sales volume generated by retail customer sales and an affiliate’s own orders.
GV stands for “Group Volume”. GV is PV generated by a Cili By Design affiliate and their downline.
Note that to count towards retail customer requirements, a retail customer must have placed an order in the past four weeks.
Retail Commissions
Cili By Design pays retail commissions via a unilevel compensation structure.
A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):
If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.
If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.
Cili By Design caps retail commissions at four unilevel team levels.
Retail commissions are paid on retail customer orders across these four levels based on rank:
- Affiliate – 25% on level 1 (personally referred retail customers)
- C1 – 25% on level 1 and 10% on level 2
- C2 – 25% on level 1, 10% on level 2 and 5% on level 3
- C3 and higher – 25% on level 1, 10% on level 2 and 5% on levels 3 and 4
Retail Fast Start Bonus
The Retail Fast Start Bonus rewards affiliates for generating Cili By Design retail customers on autoship.
If a Cili By Design affiliate generates 10 autoship customers within their first four weeks, they receive a $150 bonus and $150 product credit.
Business Builder Fast Start
The Business Builder Fast Start is a recruitment bonus tied to autoship.
To qualify for the Business Builder Fast Start, a new Cili By Design affiliate must
- generate 200 PV or purchase a Builder’s Pack;
- refer four retail customers on autoship; and
- recruit four affiliates who each signed up with a Builder’s Pack.
If the above criteria is satisfied within four weeks of signing up as a Cili By Design affiliate, a $200 bonus and $200 product credit is awarded.
Residual Commissions
Cili By Design pays residual commissions via a binary compensation structure.
A binary compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a binary team, split into two sides (left and right):
The first level of the binary team houses two positions. The second level of the binary team is generated by splitting these first two positions into another two positions each (4 positions).
Subsequent levels of the binary team are generated as required, with each new level housing twice as many positions as the previous level.
Positions in the binary team are filled via direct and indirect recruitment of affiliates. Note there is no limit to how deep a binary team can grow.
At the end of each week Cili By Design tallies up new sales volume on both sides of the binary team.
Sales volume includes retail customer orders and affiliate purchases.
Affiliates are paid residual commissions as a percentage of sales volume generated on their weaker binary team side:
- C2 ranked affiliates earn a 10% residual commission rate, capped at $500 a month
- C3 ranked affiliates earn an 11% residual commission rate, capped at $1000 a month
- C4 ranked affiliates earn a 12% residual commission rate, capped at $2500 a month
- C5 ranked affiliates earn a 13% residual commission rate, capped at $7500 a month
- C6 ranked affiliates earn a 14% residual commission rate, capped at $12,500 a month
- C7 ranked affiliates earn a 15% residual commission rate, capped at $25,000 a month
- C8 ranked affiliates earn a 16% residual commission rate, capped at $50,000 a month
- C9 ranked affiliates earn a 17% residual commission rate, capped at $100,000 a month
- C10 ranked affiliates earn an 18% residual commission rate, capped at $250,000 a month
- C11 ranked affiliates earn a 19% residual commission rate, capped at $500,000 a month
- C12 ranked affiliates earn a 20% residual commission rate, capped at $1,000,000 a month
Once paid out on, volume is matched against the stronger binary team side and flushed.
Leftover volume on the stronger binary team side carries over.
Matching Bonus
Cili By Design affiliates earn a Matching Bonus on residual commission earned by personally recruited affiliates.
- C3 ranked affiliates earn a 5% Matching Bonus
- C4 ranked affiliates earn a 10% Matching Bonus
- C5 ranked affiliates earn a 15% Matching Bonus
- C6 ranked affiliates earn a 20% Matching Bonus
- C7 ranked affiliates earn a 25% Matching Bonus
- C8 ranked affiliates earn a 30% Matching Bonus
- C9 ranked affiliates earn a 35% Matching Bonus
- C10 ranked affiliates earn a 40% Matching Bonus
- C11 ranked affiliates earn a 45% Matching Bonus
- C12 ranked affiliates earn a 50% Matching Bonus
Car & Transportation Bonus
Despite the name, the Car & Transportation Bonus is a monthly bonus that affiliates can use “at their discretion”.
- C4 ranked affiliates receive $100 a month
- C5 ranked affiliates receive $250 a month
- C6 ranked affiliates receive $350 a month
- C7 ranked affiliates receive $450 a month
- C8 ranked affiliates receive $550 a month
- C9 ranked affiliates receive $700 a month
- C10 ranked affiliates receive $850 a month
- C11 ranked affiliates receive $1000 a month
- C12 ranked affiliates receive $1200 a month
Travel & Expense Account
The Travel & Expense Account is another monthly bonus that C5 and higher ranked Cili By Design affiliates can “use as you please”.
- C5 ranked affiliates receive $250 a month
- C6 ranked affiliates receive $500 a month
- C7 ranked affiliates receive $1000 a month
- C8 ranked affiliates receive $2000 a month
- C9 ranked affiliates receive $3500 a month
- C10 ranked affiliates receive $5000 a month
- C11 ranked affiliates receive $7500 a month
- C12 ranked affiliates receive $10,000 a month
Healthcare & Insurance Bonus
The Healthcare & Insurance Bonus is another monthly bonus that C6 and higher ranked Cili By Design affiliates can “spend any way you want”.
- C6 ranked affiliates receive $350 a month
- C7 ranked affiliates receive $450 a month
- C8 ranked affiliates receive $550 a month
- C9 ranked affiliates receive $650 a month
- C10 ranked affiliates receive $750 a month
- C11 ranked affiliates receive $850 a month
- C12 ranked affiliates receive $1200 a month
Rank Achievement Bonus
Cili By Design rewards affiliates for qualifying at C5 and higher with the following one-time Rank Achievement Bonuses:
- qualify at C5 and receive $1000
- qualify at C6 and receive $2500
- qualify at C7 and receive $5000
- qualify at C8 and receive $10,000
- qualify at C9 and receive $25,000
- qualify at C10 and receive $50,000
- qualify at C11 and receive $100,000
- qualify at C12 and receive 250,000
Note that once initially qualified for, rank must be maintained for three consecutive months before the Rank Achievement Bonus is triggered.
Incentive Trips
Cili By Design offers C5 and higher ranked affiliates incentive trips.
You will have multiple opportunities each year to earn world class trips, cruises, and getaways to some of the most beautiful locales in the world.
Specifics aren’t provided.
Joining Cili By Design
Basic Cili By Design affiliate membership is $39.95 annually.
There are also various optional Builder’s Packs (first year $39.95 is waived on all packs):
- Consumer Pack – $89
- Intro Pack – $299.95 (C3 rank for 30 days)
- Networker Pack – $599.95 (C4 rank for 60 days)
- Pro Pack – $899.95 (C5 rank for 90 days)
In addition to buying rank, the other difference between the Builder’s Packs is bundled products.
Cili By Design Conclusion
Had Cili By Design of launched in 2022 I’d have rolled my eyes at the belated jumping on the CBD bandwagon.
Back in 2019 however, the CBD bandwagon was very much in full swing. Today CBD is everywhere and has been for some time.
This, with respect to CBD MLM companies, brings with it intense competition.
To that end Cili By Design seeks to differentiate itself through “proprietary technology”, specifically “Aquaceutical Cellular Nutrition Technology”.
This proprietary technology was perfected through years of development by a team of four scientists with nine PhDs.
Our unique Aqauceutical Nano technology allows the CBD and other nutrients to penetrate the cellular membrane and deliver a bigger nutritional payload.
Scientific studies show the smaller the particles, the more bio-available they are, the faster they can penetrate and be utilized by your cells.
In an attempt to verify these claims I went looking for more information on “Aquaceutical Cellular Nutrition Technology”.
There isn’t any. It’s a marketing term that doesn’t exist outside of Cili By Design.
This puts a question mark on whether Cili By Design’s CBD/CBG products are much different to alternative offerings.
Certainly if we go by price, Cili By Design’s flagship Swish product is $72.50 for 36 servings.
A serving contains 3326 mg of THC-free hemp oil and 1232 mg of a “proprietary aqauceutical adaptogen nootropic wellness blend”.
Like I said, today CBD/CBG products are everywhere. Personally I don’t think Cili By Design’s products are price-competitive in 2022.
Not having retail viable products lends itself to affiliate autoship recruitment, which Cili By Design is most certainly engaged in.
As stated in an official Cili By Design marketing video;
One bottle of Swish on your monthly order is all it takes to satisfy your volume requirements to earn all bonuses.
Cili By Design also rewards affiliates who qualify through a monthly autoship order by reducing the monthly PV requirement.
While autoship recruitment could very well be a thing for Qualified Members though, Cili By Design does have retail customer requirements baked into rank qualification.
Paying residual retail commissions down four unilevel team levels is also particularly generous.
This is great to see and, up until C5, maintains a 1:1 parity between recruitment and retail customer requirements – at least as far as minimum requirements go.
At C12 you’re looking at a 3:1 disparity of four retail customers to twelve recruited affiliates.
What that says to overall company-wide sales volume is difficult to state with certainty. In any MLM company the majority of affiliates don’t make it past the opening ranks. So I’m inclined to believe that, company-wide, there’s a roughly even balance between retail and affiliate order volume.
When evaluating Cili By Design as an MLM opportunity though, we’re brought back to retail viability. If you’re marketing a product that is difficult to sell to retail customers, a balanced compensation plan isn’t going to help.
Getting back to ranks, Cili By Design gimps its earlier ranks pretty hard when it comes to commissions and bonuses. It’s not until C3 that MLM really kicks in, and for that you’re looking at 2000 GV a month.
This feels very lopsided against the majority of affiliates who aren’t going to reach C3. I’m almost tempted to say the majority of Cili By Design affiliates are probably being taken advantage of – with respect to the work they’re putting in versus the payoff.
One last thing, what’s the point of having three monthly bonuses that can be spent on anything? This is pointless marketing.
Consolidate the Car & Transportation Bonus, Travel & Expense Bonus and Healthcare/Insurance Bonus into one monthly bonus (what they are anyway).
I suspect the only reason monthly bonuses have been split up into arbitrary groups is so Cili By Design can state “there are 10 different ways to earn money in Cili”.
Overall any MLM company selling CBD in 2022 finds itself in an extremely competitive market. You need to have an edge if you want to compete and I’m not seeing that with Cili By Design.
This might have flown back in 2019 but I have my reservations about the long-term viability of the business.
The good news is joining costs are pretty affordable if you ignore the Builder’s Packs. These packs are a regulatory red flag, owing to affiliates purchasing higher income potential – even if temporary.
I’d recommend setting yourself a hard limit of a few hundred dollars and working Cili By Design for a few months. If you do manage to build a retail customer base, great – but don’t get caught in the trap of paying an ongoing autoship fee if your business isn’t going anywhere.
Finally I hope Ormeus Global was a wake up call Brad Hager. An MLM co-founder with a history of Ponzi schemes is bad enough. If he’s still doing anything crypto (in private or otherwise), probably best to avoid Cili By Design altogether.
Good luck!