BehindMLM first reviewed IDLife back in 2014. Back then IDLife was fronted by founder and CEO Logan Stout.
Of note was IDLife wading into dangerous regulatory territory, by representing itself to be a pharmacy equivalent.
The clear implication was IDLife’s supplements were comparable to prescribed medication.
Back in April IDLife issued a press-release announcing Josh Paine had signed on CEO of the company.
To support his vision for the company, Josh Paine has solidified the IDLife executive team and has begun to outline key initiatives.
Logan Stout had been looking for four years for someone “with the same core values IDLife stands for and someone with excellent operational and financial expertise and a proven background. Josh Paine is exactly what I prayed for.”
Before joining IDLife, Josh Paine has been credited with scaling six notable companies, building profitable organizations on a global scale while following the principles of Conscious Capitalism.
Not being familiar with Conscious Capitalism, I looked it up.
Conscious Capitalism is the integration of beliefs in pro-capitalism & systems improvement, personal & business advancement, and social & environmental impact.
Doesn’t seem harmful, so sure.
Noticeably absent from IDLife’s press-release is the MLM company Paine made a name for himself in the industry with, WorldVentures.
Paine was appointed CEO of WorldVentures back in 2017. Prior to that he was involved in the business through Rovia.
Under Paine’s leadership WorldVentures was run into the ground, collapsed and eventually filed for bankruptcy in late 2020.
WorldVentures had of course been operating as a pyramid scheme for over a decade before Paine signed on. Given his prior involvement through Rovia and then signing on as CEO however, Paine’s role in WorldVentures’ collapse shouldn’t be ignored.
Oh and turns out Conscious Capitalism and Paine go way back.
Why this DFW company is steering toward conscious capitalism (Oct 2018)
After a year at the helm of WorldVentures Holdings, a Plano-based direct seller in the travel industry, Josh Paine is looking to stay.
That’s significant because Paine is known as a turnaround specialist. Typically, after months of eliminating inefficient processes and people, along with implementing new strategies, Paine’s work is done.
A private equity firm then will come in for a major investment, and Paine is off to the next adventure with a troubled company.
“Companies only call me when stuff hits the fan,” Paine said.
I’m trying not to read too much into that with respect to Paine’s appointment at IDLife.
Logan Stout is still around as IDLife’s Chairman.
Half of of IDLife’s top executives however appear to have been replaced by WorldVentures refugees.
Given how WorldVentures ended, I’m not sure if that was the smartest of moves on Stout’s part.
In any event, eight years later, today BehindMLM is revisiting IDLife for an updated review.
IDLife’s Products
IDLife still primarily operates in the nutritional supplement niche, with an emphasis on “personalized vitamins”. The company also stocks Garmin wearable products.
Currently if you click the “shop” or “personalized vitamins” links at the top of IDLife’s website, you’re hit with a referral code barrier.
If you scroll down and use the “shop” links in IDLife’s website footer however, you can gain access.
IDLife’s nutritional supplement range spans weight loss, fitness, energy and skin care. Note however there’s considerable overlap between the categories.
- Slim+ (weight loss, fitness and energy) – “a delicious formula designed to help you manage weight, control your hunger, and curb those unwanted sugar cravings while providing focus and energy to power through your day”, retails at $44.99 for a pouch of 15 single-serve sachets or $79.99 for a jar of 30 servings
- Collagen+ (weight loss, fitness and skin care) – “a foundational protein featuring 4 Premium Sources of collagen … combined with Fulvic Acid and ACTIValoe”, retails at $54.99 for a jar of 20 servings
- Lean (weight loss and energy) – “designed to help boost your metabolism and increase thermogenesis … also provides the nutrient support you need to fuel through an intense workout and support your weight management goals”, retails at $44.99 for a bottle of 120 capsules or a pouch of 30 single-serve sachets
- Shake (weight loss and fitness) – “packed with 24 grams of grass-fed, cold-filtered 100% whey protein and micro-milled chia seed to help boost metabolism, feed lean muscle and curb your appetite”, retails at $54.99 for a pouch of 15 servings (vegan option is $55.99)
- Hydrate (weight loss, fitness and skin care) – “delivers a carefully researched blend of vital electrolytes, antioxidants, MCT’s, vitamins and minerals to protect the body from the harmful effects of dehydration”, retails at $31.99 for a pouch of 15 single-serve sachets or $65.99 for a tub of 60 servings
- Energy (weight loss, fitness and energy) – “a unique and proprietary blend of natural energy boosters … (that) provides up to 6 hours of sustained energy without the jitters, over-stimulation, or crash”, retails at $36.99 for a pouch of 15 single-serve sachets
- Sleep (weight loss and skin care) – “help bring your body into balance so you can enjoy restful, restorative, deep sleep”, retails at $42.99 for a pouch of 30 single-serve sachets
- Pre Workout (fitness and energy) – “delivers a carefully researched and balanced complex of targeted amino acids, branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), enzymes, nutrients, vitamins and minerals to assist in maximizing your physical conditioning and mental focus”, retails at $49.99 for a pouch of 15 single-serve sachets or $70.99 for a tub of 30 servings
- Post Workout (fitness) – “provides a high quality complex of proteins, vital electrolytes and antioxidants to reduce recovery time, while providing proper nutritional support for your body’s muscular and nervous systems”, retails at $47.99 for a pouch of 15 single-serve sachets or $66.99 for a tub of 30 servings
- Day Cream (skin care) – “formulated with Broad Spectrum SPF 20, this daily anti-aging moisturizing cream is designed to restore, protect and hydrate your skin”, retails at $67.09 for a 1.5 fl. oz. bottle (44.5 ml)
- Serum (skin care) – “a daily anti-aging serum designed to lift away wrinkles and fine lines and leave your skin looking and feeling younger”, retails at $72.59 for a 1 fl. oz. bottle (30 ml)
- Cleanser (skin care) – “designed to detoxify and clean the face without stripping it of essential oils necessary to maintain a healthy glow (and) removes all makeup”, retails at $28.59 for a 6.7 fl. oz. bottle (198 ml)
- Sanitize+ (skin care) – “a hand sanitizer (99.9%) and a lotion”, retails at $27.49 for three 2 fl. oz. bottles (59.14 ml)
- Kids Nutrition – “great tasting chewable packed with 24 vitamins and minerals designed just for kids”, retails at
IDLife supplements and personal care ranges are also available in customizable “box” bundles.
IDLife’s vitamin range is available through IDNutrition, separated into a morning and evening pack.
The personalized aspect of IDNutrition takes place via an online assessment:
The IDAssessment is based on thousands of medical and scientific studies and uses over 5,470 algorithms to process the information that you provide to formulate an IDHealth Score and IDReport that is completely customized to you.
IDLife states taking their “health assessment” will take two to four minutes.
No information about the claimed scientific studies or algorithms is provided to consumers.
There is also IDLife DNA, which promises to “connect the dots from your DNA to your personalized vitamins.”
Medical conditions IDLife DNA is represented to “support” include diabetes, heart health, high cholesterol and thyroid issues.
No pricing for the individualized vitamin plans are provided. This is due to the customizable nature of the formulas.
“Vitamin Packs” are available, specifically targeting various medical conditions:
IDLife’s Compensation Plan
IDLife do not provide consumers with a copy of their compensation plan.
The following analysis is based on version 18.6 of IDLife’s website, obtained through a third-party.
IDLife Affiliate Ranks
There are thirteen affiliate ranks within IDLife’s compensation plan.
Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:
- Associate – sign up as an IDLife affiliate and generate and maintain 100 PV a month
- Director – generate and maintain 100 PV and GV a month, and generate and maintain at least one qualified leg
- Area Director – generate and maintain 150 PV and 500 GV a month, and generate and maintain at least two qualified legs
- Regional Director – generate and maintain 200 PV and 1000 GV a month, and maintain at least two qualified legs
- Managing Director – generate and maintain 250 PV and 2000 GV a month, and generate and maintain at least three qualified legs
- Senior Director – generate and maintain 300 PV and 4000 GV a month, and maintain at least three qualified legs
- Executive Director – generate and maintain 350 PV and 10,000 GV a month, and generate and maintain at least four qualified legs
- National Director – generate and maintain 400 PV and 20,000 GV a month, and generate and maintain at least five qualified legs (two must have a Senior Director or higher in them)
- Vice-Presidential Director – generate and maintain 500 PV and 40,000 GV a month, and generate and maintain at least six qualified legs (two must have an Executive Director or higher in them)
- Presidential Director – generate and maintain 600 PV and 80,000 GV a month, and generate and maintain at least seven qualified legs (two must have a National Director or higher in them)
- National Presidential Director – generate and maintain 700 PV and 160,000 GV a month, and generate and maintain at least eight qualified legs (two legs must have three National Directors or higher in them)
- International Presidential Director – generate and maintain 1000 PV and 400,000 GV a month, and maintain at least eight qualified legs (two legs must have three National Directors and one Presidential Director in them)
- Global Presidential Director – maintain 1000 PV a month, generate 800,000 GV a month and maintain at least eight qualified legs (three legs must have three National Directors and two Presidential Directors in them)
PV stands for “Personal Volume”. PV is sales volume generated by sales to retail customers and an affiliate’s own orders.
GV stands for “Group Volume”. GV is PV generated by an affiliate and their downline.
Each time an IDLife affiliate recruits an affiliate they generate a unilevel team leg.
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.
For a leg to be “qualified”, at least one affiliate in a unilevel team leg must be Associate or higher. This does not have to be the recruited affiliate at the top of the leg.
Retail Commissions
New IDLife affiliates earn a 30% commission on products sold to retail customers.
After 30 days, retail commissions are paid out on a sliding scale:
- generate $0 to $499 in monthly retail sales volume and receive a 20% retail commission rate
- generate $500 to $999 in monthly retail sales volume and receive a 25% retail commission rate
- generate $1000 or more in monthly retail sales volume and receive a 30% retail commission rate
There is also a retail commission match, paying
- 20% if the recruiting affiliate signed up less than 30 days ago
- 10% if the recruiting affiliate has been with the company for more than 30 days.
- 5% to the first upline Executive Director or higher; and
- 5% to the first upline Vice Presidential Director or higher.
PV Monthly Bonuses
IDLife rewards affiliates for generating 1000 PV or more a month:
- generate 1000 PV in a month and your $27.49 Premium Website Bundle subscription fee is waived for the following month
- generate 2000 PV in a month and if you’re an Executive Director or higher, receive a $300 Bonus on your rank-applicable Car Bonus the following month
PV Annual Bonus
IDLife rewards affiliates for generating 10,000 or more in annual PV:
- generate 10,000 annual PV and receive $500
- generate 15,000 annual PV and receive $500
- generate 20,000 annual PV and receive $1000
- generate 30,000 annual PV and receive $1000
- generate 40,000 annual PV and receive $1000
- generate 50,000 annual PV and receive $2500
- generate 60,000 annual PV and receive $1000
- generate 70,000 annual PV and receive $1000
- generate 80,000 annual PV and receive $1000
- generate 90,000 annual PV and receive $1000
- generate 100,000 annual PV and receive $5000
It is unclear whether these bonuses stack or are paid out at the highest amount qualified for.
Given the bonus increases to $2500 and then drops back to $1000, if I had to guess the bonus tiers stack.
Fast Start Bonus
IDLife affiliates who sell $100 or more to retail customers within their first 30 days earn a $100 Fast Start Bonus.
Recruitment Commissions
IDLife affiliates earn recruitment commissions down three levels of recruitment (unilevel):
Recruitment commission rates vary depending on how much a newly recruited affiliate spends on their Associate Kit.
Examples provided in version 18.6 of IDLife’s compensation plan are as follows:
- level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 20% to 33%
- level 2 – 6% to 1.6%
- level 3 – 5% to 1.2%
Although there are still three Associate Kit tiers, the more expensive Associate Kits in the 18.6 compensation plan differ in price to what’s currently available ($299.99 to $1199.99).
Because of this I’ve provided percentages as opposed to dollar amounts provided in the 18.6 compensation plan. Note that those percentages may have been adjusted for current Associate Kit costs ($299.99 to $799.99).
Recruitment Bonus
If an IDLife affiliate recruits three affiliates within their first thirty days, they receive a $300 recruitment bonus.
Residual Commissions
IDLife pays residual commissions via the same unilevel compensation structure recruitment commissions are paid out with (see “Recruitment Commissions” above).
As opposed to three levels however, residual commissions are paid on up to ten unilevel team levels.
How many levels an IDLife affiliate earns residual commissions on is determined by rank:
- Directors earn 5% on level 1 (personally recruited affiliates)
- Area Directors earn 5% on levels 1 and 2
- Regional Directors earn 5% on levels 1 and 2 and 4% on level 3
- Managing Directors earn 5% on levels 1 and 2, 4% on level 3 and 3% on level 4
- Senior Directors earn 5% on levels 1 to 3, 3% on levl 4 and 2% on level 5
- Executive Directors earn 5% on levels 1 to 3, 4% on level 4, 3% on level 5 and 2% on level 6
- National Directors earn 5% on levels 1 to 3, 4% on levels 4 and 5, 3% on level 6 and 2% on level 7
- Vice Presidential Directors earn 5% on levels 1 to 3, 4% on levels 4 to 6 and 2% on levels 7 and 8
- Presidential Directors earn 5% on levels 1 to 3, 4% on levels 4 to 6, 3% on level 7, 2% on level 8 and 1% on level 9
- National Presidential Directors and higher earn 5% on levels 1 to 3, 4% on levels 4 to 6, 3% on levels 7 and 8, 2% on level 9 and 1% on level 10
Matching Bonus
Senior Director and higher IDLife affiliates earn a Matching Bonus on residual commissions.
The Matching Bonus is paid on up to four Senior Director or higher ranked affiliates per unilevel team leg:
- Senior Directors earn a 20% match on level 1, then 10% on the second and 5% on the third Senior Directors or higher found in a leg
- Executive Directors earn a 25% match on level 1, then 15% on the second and 5% on the third and fourth Senior Directors or higher found in a leg
- National Directors earn a 40% match on level 1, then 20% on the second and third and 15% on the fourth Senior Directors or higher found in a leg
- Vice Presidential Directors and higher earn a 40% match on level 1, then 30% on the second and 25% on the third and fourth Senior Directors or higher found in a leg
Note that level 1 pertains to personally recruited affiliates. I believe having a personally recruited Senior Director or higher in a leg is required to earn on additional Senior Director or higher generations.
Global Pool
IDLife takes 2% of company-wide sales volume and places it into the Global Pool.
The Global Pool is split into five smaller rank-specific pools as follows:
- National Directors receive a share in a 34% Global Pool
- Vice-Presidential Directors receive a share in a 26% Global Pool
- Presidential Directors receive a share in an 18% Global Pool
- National Presidential Directors receive a share in a 12% Global Pool
- International Presidential Directors and higher receive a share in a 10% Global Pool
Rank Achievement Bonus
IDLife rewards affiliates for qualifying at Managing Director and higher with the following one-time Rank Achievement Bonuses:
- qualify at Managing Director and receive $100
- qualify at Senior Director and receive $250
- qualify at Executive Director and receive $500
- qualify at National Director and receive $1000
- qualify at Vice-Presidential Director and receive $2000
- qualify at Presidential Director and receive $4000
Presidential Team Building Bonus
Presidential Directors earn an annual bonus based on accumulated annual GV:
- generate 100,000 annual GV and receive $1000
- generate 150,000 annual GV and receive $1500
- generate 200,000 annual GV and receive $2000
- generate 250,000 annual GV and receive $2500
- generate 300,000 annual GV and receive $3000
- generate 400,000 annual GV and receive $4000
- generate 500,000 annual GV and receive $5000
- generate 600,000 annual GV and receive $6000
- generate 750,000 annual GV and receive $7500
- generate 1,000,000 annual GV and receive $10,000
As opposed to the ambiguity with the PV Annual Bonus, IDLife clarifies the Presidential Team Building Bonus does “not stack”.
Car Bonus
Executive Director and higher ranked IDLife affiliates qualify for a monthly Car Bonus:
- Executive Directors receive $300 a month
- National Directors receive $500 a month
- Vice-Presidential Directors receive $600 a month
- Presidential Directors receive $750 a month
- National Presidential Directors receive $1000 a month
- International Presidential Directors receive $1500 a month
- Global Presidential Directors receive $2000 a month
Note the PV Monthly Bonuses can increase the Car Bonus by $300 each month (see “PV Monthly Bonuses” above).
Incentive Trips
IDLife’s compensation plan mentions incentive trips:
You can qualify for trips during the year based upon earned points for specific activity and being ranked as one of the top earners.
Points are awarded to the Enroller for downline’s activity.
Each announced IDLife incentive trip appears to have different qualification requirements.
Joining IDLife
IDLife affiliate membership is available at three price points:
- Associate Product Kit – $299.99
- Associate Product Kit with DNA – $399.99
- Associate Product Kit Large Variety Pack – $799.99
- Associate Product Kit with Detox Box and Burn Box – $799.99
IDLife also offers a “Free Membership” option, however this is initially separate to the MLM opportunity.
To join the MLM opportunity, Free Membership IDLife affiliates have to recruit two affiliates or generate 500 PV.
IDLife’s compensation plan details at $27.49 “premium website bundle subscription”.
This sounds like an ongoing monthly fee for a basic replicated website to sell IDLife products through. No information about the subscription is provided on IDLife’s website.
IDLife Conclusion
The main thing I was looking out for in updating my research into IDLife was the whole “pharmacy but not a pharmacy” marketing angle.
While the overt doctor imagery is gone, IDLife’s “health assessment” still represents a survey you might fill out when consulting a doctor about your diet and/or nutritional needs.
This was a problem in 2014 and remains so. Neither IDLife or its products have FDA approval for any medical condition or disease.
The FDA are very clear on this:
Under the FD&C Act, products intended to diagnose, cure, treat, mitigate, or prevent disease are drugs and are subject to the requirements that apply to drugs, even if they are labeled as dietary supplements.
IDLife goes as far as to name one of their vitamin supplement bundles a “Diabetes Support Pack”. And when consumers sit down for a health assessment, a marketing video featuring Lindsey starts playing:
Hi I’m Lindsey and I’m here to help you cut out the guess work, toss out that cabinet full of pill bottles and unlock a new foundation to your body’s health and metabolism.
With your very own individually designed, personalized vitamin and nutrient platform that we call IDNutrition.
In violation of the FD&C Act, IDLife is still marketing itself and its supplements as a pharmacy replacement.
While the FDA hasn’t caught up with them yet, IDLife has received two warnings from the FTC over the past two years (COVID-19 income claims in 2020 and a general warning in 2021).
I don’t think there’s any way around this without changing IDLife’s entire marketing strategy. And let’s face it, this many years in that’s not going to happen.
It should be noted that while IDLife and their affiliates clearly target people with medical conditions, and claim their customized plans and products are backed by “scientific studies” and “algorithms”, the company acknowledges, with respect to actual evidence, this counts for nothing.
Are these Vitamin Packs FDA approved?
Dietary supplements like these Vitamin Packs do not require FDA approval. All of these Vitamin Packs are manufactured in strict compliance with FDA rules, regulations and guidelines.
Vitamin Packs targeting medical conditions most certainly need FDA approval. Pretending otherwise is a denial of the FD&C Act. But that’s between IDLife and the FDA.
As a prospective customer, if someone is pitching you on any of IDLIfe’s products being able to help with any specific medical conditions or diseases, know that it’s not based on any peer-reviewed studies.
You can verify this yourself by asking for proof. At best you might be given some anecdotal stories as product testimonials (IDLIfe maintains an official testimonials FaceBook group, but it’s marked private – go figure).
With respect to due-diligence concerning medical conditions and health, anecdotal stories are meaningless.
Moving on to IDLife’s compensation plan, in 2014 I noted;
The IDLife compensation plan primarily revolves around getting people to take the ID Nutrition survey, and then committing to a monthly spend based on the supplements that are prescribed.
That’s still a thing, but it’s taken a backseat to the supplements IDLife’s “Detox Box”. At least as far as marketing goes.
Looking back at our 2014 review, IDLife’s compensation plan features are mostly the same but dollar amounts have changed. You’d expect this over eight years so it’s not a concern (Rank Achievement Bonuses appear to have been slashed by 90% though).
Retail incentives and bonuses are well fleshed out in IDLIfe’s compensation plan but there are no retail specific volume requirements.
PV requirements do increase dramatically as IDLife affiliates rank up, so that kind of suggests retail sales will factor in. Buying that much product each month to rank qualify is obviously not otherwise sustainable.
One thing to watch out for is the 30% discount marketing attached to IDLife affiliate membership. If that’s how someone has pitched you on IDLife’s MLM opportunity, they’re more than likely building a product-based pyramid scheme.
For this to work they probably haven’t advanced too high in rank, as again monthly PV requirements become restrictive (but not unrealistic if potential commissions outweigh the monthly spend).
Personally I’d like to see IDLife tackle this potential compliance issue with either specific retail volume requirements or retail customer requirements alongside recruited affiliates.
Given the whole pharmacy compliance issue though, I’m not holding my breath.
Finally there’s Josh Paine coming over from WorldVentures.
Paine’s time at WorldVentures doesn’t mean IDLife is automatically destined to follow the same path. Paine bringing over a bunch of former WorldVentures execs though is pause for concern.
WorldVentures was a pyramid scheme. It was a pyramid scheme before Paine was appointed CEO and remained so till the day it collapsed.
The business model was simple: Buy a monthly membership, recruit others who did the same and pretend WorldVentures was generating significant revenue through travel.
While he was happy to ride WorldVentures’ wave of recruitment, Paine ultimately did a runner eight months before WorldVentures filed for bankruptcy.
WorldVentures’ collapse wasn’t sudden, even at the time Paine abandoned ship distributors hadn’t been getting paid for some time.
Paine, who acknowledges companies only bring him in to repair things, could turn IDLife around. At least from a business standpoint.
Taking a more complete picture of IDLife, we have:
- Josh Paine’s WorldVentures baggage, including former WorldVentures execs;
- alignment of IDLife’s products with specific medical conditions and diseases, without FDA approval;
- compensation details hidden from the public;
- official product testimonials given behind closed doors;
- no hard safeguards against affiliate autoship recruitment (PV requirements making this restrictive at higher ranks is noted);
- nothing done to address pseudo-pharmacy concerns BehindMLM raised in 2014
There are more than enough red flags to firmly rate IDLife’s MLM opportunity as “proceed with caution”.