The company did not respond to questions from The Daily Beast about online claims it is taking advantage of sellers and eventual buyers. “If a parent or guardian wants to give the product to a person under the age of 18 or under medical supervision, as a company, we ask them to consult with their primary doctor,” a spokesperson for Elomir told The Daily Beast. However, in a private Facebook group for sellers, Elomir provided a stock image of a little girl holding up a yellow strip for brand partners to use in their own advertising. “So happy for this mama!” Nyguen added to the post.Ī warning affixed to the bottom of Elomir’s official website cautions: “This product is not for use by or sale to persons under the age of 18.” “Since taking the strips,” the mother writes, “he has been able to talk in sentence form” and has “benefited tremendously.” 23, Elomir CEO Van Nyguen shared a “testimonial” on Instagram from a mother who had given the strips to her autistic son. Manchester, and other critics of Elomir are particularly concerned about health claims being made by sellers, including advice to give the strips to children, particularly those on the autism spectrum or with behavioral problems. “They have these cure-alls,” Manchester says, “and then people don’t go to the doctor, or don’t take their medication, because they’re being sold this snake oil.” BOO, as the company was known, claimed the dirt could aid brain and heart functioning and detoxify the body.Īlthough Manchester is against all MLMs-calling them “cults”-she is particularly incensed by companies offering unregulated health and wellness products, which she sees as dangerously misleading. She first heard of the company when sellers jumped ship from a now defunct MLM, Black Oxygen Organics, which sold bags of dirt (under the name “fulvic acid”) for $110 a pop. It is my belief that you should avoid this company at all costs.”Ĭeara Manchester, an activist who runs the anti-MLM Instagram account has been tracking the rise of Elomir. It presents very, very much as a pyramid scheme-unapologetically so. “This product is the epitome of a scammy miracle supplement,” said Hannah Alonzo, a YouTuber who makes videos about MLMs and scams, in a video about Elomir posted in July. The launch of these little yellow strips has prompted a backlash in the anti-MLM community, a loose network of bloggers, YouTubers, Redditers, and civilian investigators who make it their mission to publicize what they see as the false claims and exploitative practices of these companies.
In an August Instagram post, CEO Van Nyguen said that the company had already paid out $1.2 million in commissions, despite the strips not yet being available to regular customers–only “brand partners.” An official Elomir group for sellers currently has over 5,600 members. A pack of 30 strips-one month’s supply-currently costs $89. Elomir’s website describes their strips as an “income opportunity” for partners. Notionally, this means they have an opportunity to make a profit from reselling their strips, as well as from recruiting other sellers. include Amway, HerbaLife and Avon.)Įlomir’s yellow strips are not available to buy in stores instead “brand partners” can purchase them to sell on to others. Critics of these kinds of businesses say they are often “pyramid schemes,” in which the company makes a profit, often at the expense of the sellers they recruit.
Elomir describes itself as a “Network Marketing” company-a structure more commonly referred to as an “MLM” or “multi-level marketing” business. The yellow strips, called Axis Klärity, are the only product currently made by a company called Elomir, founded in September 2021. Many of the posts were accompanied by a string of hashtags: #hitthestrip #joinmystripclub #littlestripofsunshine “This little piece of yellow goodness is going to 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 it’s mind blowing,” one caption read.
“Don’t sleep on this!” the posts advised, “It’s not just hype.” Many of the captions on these posts promised “instant impact” from the yellow strips, saying they would help a long list of maladies, including “energy, mood, gut health, focus, anxiety, joint pain.” Women, many blonde, often at home in their athleisure-wear or out in their cars, filmed videos of themselves opening a white wrapper and placing a small yellow square, about the size and shape of a mint breath strip, on their tongues. In the comments she posted the hashtag #elomir and encouraged readers to get on her “VIP list” to buy a new product. “I was diagnosed with ADHD last August,” another poster writes, “ANYWAY, I’ve decided to stop taking my medication But I’ve decided to look into other methods of clarity, focus, motivation, and CALM.”
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