Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council Recommends Thrive Life Discontinue Salesforce Member Earnings Claims

McLean, VA – December 7, 2023 – The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) of BBB National Programs recommended that Thrive Life, LLC discontinue certain earnings claims made by salesforce members on Facebook and YouTube as well as the company website.  

The inquiry into Thrive Life, which manufactures and markets freeze-dried and rehydrated foods, was commenced by DSSRC through its ongoing independent monitoring of advertising and marketing claims in the direct selling industry. 

The earnings claims that formed the basis of this inquiry include, but are not limited to:

• “…our full-time income for quite awhile”
• “I was able to quit my truck driving job in January 2019…my income has grown considerably since then because I continue to add new customers and I continue to get residual income
• “Advantages of being a consultant are … ...Supplement or replace a full time income”
• “Thrive Life has an excellent opportunity, to make a decent income, sharing things you love!!”
• YouTube video titled “Debt Free Again” with copy stating “Would you like to earn a paycheck every time your neighbor goes grocery shopping? Every month!”
• YouTube video titled “Thrive Life 2018 Pre Launch to Set Up Your Seven Figure Income”
• [01:38] This is the honest truth that within eight months of doing the Thrive Life program…we not only replaced my entire salary but it almost doubled it 
• “Are you looking for financial independence & future Residual income that you can pass to your children?...whether it’s going to be a full-time gig or just a side hussle”
• “And if you want a high level of income, there’s a plan for you”
• “please give our contact info to anyone who is interested in eating healthy or saving time, earning extra income, free trips, needs a part time job or a full time job, or isn't happy with their current job!”
• YouTube video titled “Webinar Earn $100000 with Thrive Life with New compensation plan” with copy stating “Your Thrive business can earn you over $10000 a month”

As stated in DSSRC’s Guidance on Earnings Claims for the Direct Selling Industry, some words and phrases commonly used in earnings claims can carry a particularly high risk of being misleading to consumers. Such words and phrases include claims such as “financial freedom,” “full-time income,” “replacement income,” “residual income,” and “career-level income.” Furthermore, earnings claims must be substantiated and representative of a level of earnings that can be generally expected by the audience. 

When DSSRC opened its inquiry and informed Thrive Life of its concern that these types of earnings claims can lead a reasonable consumer to conclude that salesforce members can earn significant, career level, or replacement income from the Thrive Life business opportunity, Thrive Life did not contest DSSRC’s concerns. Instead, Thrive Life promptly responded to the DSSRC inquiry and took steps to have six of the 12 salesforce member posts discontinued.  

Thrive Life demonstrated to DSSRC that one of the posts identified in the inquiry included a claim (i.e., “…our full-time income for quite awhile”) that could not be attributed to Thrive Life and after reviewing the post, DSSRC agreed with that assessment. 

DSSRC appreciated Thrive Life’s good faith efforts to address DSSRC’s concerns and provided DSSRC with copies of the correspondence sent to the salesforce members responsible for the social media posts that remain publicly accessible. 

With respect to the remaining YouTube posts, DSSRC appreciated receiving the correspondence demonstrating its communication with the individuals responsible for the social media posts but remains concerned by the non-responsiveness of the individuals and the ongoing accessibility to claims implying that the typical Thrive Life salesforce member can earn significant income from the business opportunity. 

DSSRC recommended that Thrive Life take additional steps to have the videos removed, including using any tools available on YouTube for trademark or copyright violations. 

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of DSSRC decisions, visit the DSSRC Cases and Closures webpage.