Forever Living Products International, Inc., also known as Forever Living.com LLC, is a multi-level marketing company that deals with growing, manufacturing, and distributing aloe vera. Among the company’s products are aloe vera drinks, nutritional supplements, and beauty and skin care items. Forever Living Products operates in more than 145 countries and has over 9.5 million distributors. It was founded in 1972 by Rex Maughan and is currently based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
After earning a degree in business administration in 1962 and working as an accountant and then as an executive with real estate company Del E. Webb Corporation for ten years, Rex Maughan realized he couldn’t climb the corporate ladder any further and decided to start his own business. First, he decided to draw up a marketing plan and after some research he directed himself towards multi-level marketing, a system where each of the company’s salesmen brings new ones, and earns commissions on their sales. Then Maughan started thinking about what product to sell and he settled on aloe vera, because he thought a disposable item would induce repeat sales. Aloe Vera is a plant which has been used for centuries for medical and cosmetic treatments. The aloe leaf contains nutritional components, as well as minerals, vitamins and amino acids.
Rex Maughan invested $10,000 in his newly founded business in 1978 and after a very accelerated growth in 1980 annual sales reached $30 million. This allowed Maughan to quit his job at Del Webb and work full time on Forever Living Products.
Today Forever Living owns over 5,000 acres of aloe plantations as well as several resorts and marinas in the Western United States, including the South Fork Ranch and has its own manufacturing plants and storage facilities, thus being able to control the quality and cost of its products every step of the way. In 2009 the Forever Giving Foundation was founded to help the struggle with poverty, hunger and lack of medical services available for children around the world by providing funds, facilities and education.