Privately-held Melaleuca says it generates more than $2 billion in sales; but the bulk of that total comes from dietary supplements. In fact, the company maintains it manufactures and distributes more than 450 health, pharmaceutical, personal care and home care products. Melaleuca was founded in 1985 by Executive Chairman Frank VanderSloot. The company’s name originates from Melaleuca alternifolia, an Australian tree that produces a natural oil known for its antiseptic qualities. Originally, all of the company’s products contained Melaleuca oil as a key ingredient. Over the years, as the product line has expanded, not every product has incorporated it. Today, less than 5% of Melaleuca’s products contain melaleuca oil.

Last year and for the third year in a row, Forbes put Melaleuca on its list of America’s Best Employers. Melaleuca employs about 2000 in the US, with most of them living in southeast Idaho, Knoxville, TN, and Kansas City, MO.

Last year, Melaleuca received the Patriot Award from the US Department of Defense. Major General Michael J. Garshak presented the Patriot Award to Melaleuca Senior Director of Product Management James Andersen during a ceremony held at the Idaho National Guard Armory in Pocatello, ID.

Sales: $650 million

Founded in 1985, Melaleuca sells more than 450 wellness products across nutrition, personal care, home cleaning and cosmetics. By its own estimates, Melaleuca says it generates more than $2 billion in annual revenue and has more than two million households that shop with it each month.

Forbes named Melaleuca to its list of America’s Best Employers in 2023 (specifically the Midsize Employers list). The company also made the cut in 2022 and 2021. Forbes recognized Melaleuca as one of America’s Best Employers for Women in 2022, too.

“At Melaleuca, we are committed to fulfilling our mission of enhancing lives and providing a positive, welcoming environment for all our team members,” Melaleuca Executive Chairman Frank VanderSloot said in a statement. “This is a tribute to the exceptional team of people who work here, and I’m proud of their tremendous accomplishments. They are the ones who’ve built this company and made it such a great success.”

Melaleuca employs roughly 2,000 team members in the US, with most of them living in eastern Idaho, Knoxville, TN, and Kansas City, MO. Earlier this year, 238 of them were celebrated for milestone work anniversaries with more than $3.2 million. Their checks ranged from $5,000 to just over $31,000. This year, Melaleuca’s payout of its Loyalty and Long-Term Contribution Bonus was the largest in its history. This longstanding program pays team members $5,000 for a five-year service anniversary—$10,000 at 10 years, $15,000 at 15 years, $31,323 ($20,000 net) at 20 years, $25,000 at 25 years, $30,000 at 30 years and $35,000 at 35 years. This bonus is for all employees, regardless of position or pay level and the only qualification is length of service at the company, according to Melaleuca.

The company is also generous to those in need outside its walls. In an effort to help thousands of Ukrainian families, Melaleuca of Germany made two large donations of its health and wellness products worth more than $236,000.

Sales: $700 million (est.) for household and personal care products.
Corporate sales: $2 billion

Privately-held Melaleuca got its start in 1985 when founder Frank VanderSloot left his job as regional vice president for Cox Communications’ cable TV division in Washington state. His then brother-in-law convinced him to return to Idaho to help launch a company based on a handful of products tied to the melaleuca, or “tea tree” of Australia. VanderSloot had several issues with the new venture, shut it down, regrouped and launched Melaleuca.

VanderSloot insists his company differs from traditional multi-level marketers because customers buy products directly from Melaleuca—not from other customers who distribute the products. Melaleuca calls itself “the world’s first Consumer Direct Marketing company.”

New offerings from Melaleuca include Affinia body care. The collection features shampoos, conditioners, body washes and deodorants in five “nature-inspired” scents. New Exceed tooth polishes feature something called “ProRadiant Technology” to deeply clean teeth, freshen breath and whiten teeth without damaging enamel. The formula contains xylitol and T40-C3 melaleuca, the company’s “rare quality” tea tree oil. According to Melaleuca, in a third-party, double-blind study, participants preferred Exceed tooth polishes over Tom’s of Maine by a margin of nearly 2 to 1.

A bough so strong you can build a company on it.

Sales: $800 (estimated) for household and personal care products
Corporate sales: $2.2 billion

Melaleuca has always considered itself the largest online wellness shopping club in North America. But with 87% of customers placing their orders online, Melaleuca is also Idaho’s largest e-commerce company and one of the top 100 e-commerce companies in North America. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Melaleuca was prepared. According to the Post Register (a local newspaper), “ten days before the Post Register had even mentioned the virus, Melaleuca created a ‘global crisis group’ made up of company leaders from both Asia and Idaho Falls who had ‘conference calls every evening to discuss how to deal with the coronavirus.’”

Sales: $700 million, estimated, for household and personal care products.
Corporate sales: $2 billion

Melaleuca calls itself the largest online wellness shopping club in North America, welcoming more than one million shoppers every month and enjoying 96% monthly reorder rates. CEO Frank L. VanderSloot founded the company in 1985 and today he is the wealthiest person in Idaho.

Melaleuca is consistently ranked among the fastest growing companies in the US and, following the outbreak of COVID-19, it is growing even faster, according to Chief Operating Officer Cole Clinger who told the East Idaho News that Melaleuca is hiring at least 50 employees to meet an increased demand of orders the company has experienced since the outbreak.

“Health is on everyone’s minds right now and we are The Wellness Company,” said Clinger. “People want a healthy immune system and they know we have great nutrition products. The number of new customers coming to Melaleuca is exploding and we can’t ship the orders fast enough. The orders are coming in so fast from those new customers and our existing customers that we need more people to fill them.”

In May, Melaleuca held its first virtual convention. During the event, the company introduced four skin care collections—Vitamin C Skin Defense, Honey & Rose Skin Soothing Recovery, Deep Marine Age Protection, and Charcoal & Flower Skin Refining. In addition, the company expand its essential oil offerings with products like Blue Heat pre-mixed, roll-on gel.

Sales: $714 million (estimated).

In 1985, Melaleuca was the first company to bring the healing powers of essential Melaleuca Alternifolia oil to people all over the world. Since then, Melaleuca has grown into an international company that generates more than $2 billion in retail sales under the direction of CEO and founder Frank L. Vandersloot.

In March the company reported that 97.16% of everyone who ordered their products in February, ordered again in March. This broke Melaleuca’s previous customer retention rate record of 96.7% a month prior.

Melaleuca was honored by the American Red Cross of Greater Idaho in March during the organization’s annual East Idaho Real Heroes Event. Over the years, Melaleuca has donated millions of dollars and products to flood, earthquake, wildfire, hurricane and tornado victims. Most recently, Melaleuca organized a supply drive for Houston after more than 3,000 people were left homeless in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Sales: $ 700 million (estimated) for household and personal care products.
Corporate sales: $1 billion.

Melaleuca marked a milestone last year as retail sales topped $2 billion for the first time. The company was founded in 1985, but CEO Frank VanderSloot noted that Melaleuca has been growing “like a rocket ship” over the past 24 months, pointing out that it took the company 19 years to reach the $500 million mark.

“This is just a milestone,” he added, “not a destination.”

The company markets more than 480 health and wellness products in a variety of categories, including personal care, home cleaning, health and pharmaceuticals.