12 hours Ago
The death of Modere — a Utah-based multilevel marketer that sold wellness and beauty products globally — seems to have come suddenly. Last year, a news release celebrated the “strategic” move of its headquarters from Springville to downtown Provo. In September, it announced two new supplements to compete with popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
On Friday, its Instagram account promoted a buy-one-get-one-50% off sale on a liquid collagen supplement, a deal set to run through the weekend. Yet later that day, Modere abruptly announced it had closed. Its website was deactivated and replaced with a short note that thanked its “cherished community” for its “support, trust, and loyalty over the years” — a message repeated in six languages.
An email sent to employees Friday afternoon and shared by multiple people with The Salt Lake Tribune was less positive. “After 23 years serving the direct selling space, we’ve been forced to close our doors,” the email read. “The decision was not made lightly, and it is with deep regret that we are forced to take this step.
” The email did not explain who or what had driven its decision. Modere was a direct selling company, which means it relied in large part on an independent salesforce to buy its product wholesale and sell it to their networks. It had 200 employees in Utah, additional employees overseas and operated in approximately 30 countries, according to the January news release — and to recent court filings.
Modere sued top-tier contractors last year for allegedly working to “poach” its distributors, but dropped the case after losing its bid for a temporary restraining order against them. Two weeks ago, a company owned by one of the women sued Modere alleging trademark infringement. That case is still pending, and Modere has not filed an answer in court.
A corporate phone number was not accepting calls Monday. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the direct sales industry saw an “unprecedented increase in sales,” but a “painful” correction began in late 2022, Modere said last year in a separate lawsuit. That “resulted in Modere needing to take actions to right-size and ensure profitability” at that time, the company acknowledged.
‘Closed forever’ Modere rose from the ashes of its predecessor, Neways International. San Francisco private equity firm Golden Gate Capital purchased and rebranded the business two months before Neways’ owners were sentenced to prison for tax evasion in 2006. Modere is currently majority owned by affiliates of Z Capital, according to a court filing last month.
Modere’s products included beauty and household goods, plus supplements, powders and drinks that promised “real results for real people,” according to its Instagram profile. Its newest supplement, CURB, targeted weight loss as part of its “Body Transformation System.” (Modere) Modere introduced a weight loss supplement, Curb, in September 2024.
The canceled weekend deal had offered customers half off their second bottle of the “award-winning Liquid BioCell (LBC)” liquid collagen supplement, plus a free pack of “LBC chocolate chews.” Online, customers and people who identified themselves as sales representatives said they were surprised and disappointed — especially since they had just tried to take advantage of the sale. “You gave your salespeople and customers TWO HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES NOTICE that you are closing the business and terminating their websites.
HOW CAN YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT?” one person asked on Instagram. The email to employees gave the Provo-based staff three hours — until 5 p.m.
— to return company property and get personal belongings out of the office. After 5 p.m.
, the doors would be “closed forever,” the email said. ‘Distributors have defected’ Last year, Modere sued top-tier distributors Amber DeLoof and Brynn Lang, along with Marina Simone and her distributor company Body Fuel Unlimited, Inc., arguing they had breached their contracts by working with a competitor.
“After resigning from Modere, Defendants immediately took to their social media accounts — the same social media accounts through which they had been promoting and marketing Modere products and opportunities,” the company wrote in court documents, “and began openly and systematically soliciting for, marketing, and promoting Frequense and its headlining product: mushroom juice.” The women were “engaged in a massive solicitation effort to poach Modere distributors,” the company argued, alleging that “many high-level Modere distributors have defected.” But Judge Jill N.
Parrish denied the company’s request for a temporary restraining order against the women last May. Modere had chosen to allow people to sign up as independent businesses — not as individuals — and it couldn’t hold the women to clauses in contracts that their companies had entered, Parish ruled. Modere voluntarily dismissed its suit against the women weeks later.
Body Fuel Unlimited then sued Modere on March 28 alleging trademark infringement. Body Fuel offered a trademarked “5-DAY-DROP” — a weight loss service that includes made-to-order meal plans and dietary consultations, according to court documents. Modere offered a competing weight loss service with a “nearly identical name — “5 Day Drop” — court documents allege, despite knowing the name was trademarked.
Modere also has a lawsuit pending against former contractor Justin Prince, a Utahn who it describes as “one of the most, if not the most, visible distributor at Modere and possibly the entire direct sales industry.” Prince and Modere have sued each other over claims related to his departure. Thousands affected On LinkedIn, former employees have been grieving the end of the company and the financial challenges they face now.
“Today has been a heartbreaking day. Modere has officially shut its doors, and with it, hundreds of corporate roles and thousands of Social Marketer livelihoods were affected,” former marketing executive Jeff Hildebrandt wrote. “After 20 years in the wellness and direct selling space, this moment weighs heavily on me — not just for myself, but for so many talented, passionate people I’ve had the honor to work with and lead,” he wrote.
“If your organization is hiring, I would be grateful to connect you with some truly exceptional professionals from every department — people I would rehire in a heartbeat.” Shannon Sollitt is a Report for America corps member covering business accountability and sustainability for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here .
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