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A new direct-selling company based in Utah on Thursday declared itself ready to compete in the crowded field of nutritional supplements.
With a razzle-dazzle display of huge video screens and loud music, Zrii touted the health benefits of its new product, a drink made with a fruit grown at the base of the Himalayas that is endorsed by popular author and speaker Deepak Chopra.
About 4,000 independent distributors crowded into the Salt Palace Convention Center to listen to the pep talks and inspirational sales messages from company officials.
"This is the largest launch in the history of network marketing," said Bill Farley, CEO of the multilevel marketing company based in Draper.
Amy Robinson, vice president of the Direct Selling Association, a trade group for companies that have independent sales forces who sell directly to consumers, said she didn't know of any way to compare the size of the launches of such companies.
A company spokesman did not return a phone call seeking information on Farley's statement.
Zrii appears to be trying to replicate the success of XanGo, a Utah-based direct marketing company that sells a single nutritional drink based on a fruit from Southeast Asia.
XanGo declined to comment on the launch of Zrii, which looks to be a direct competitor.
Zrii - a Sanskrit word that means light, luster, splendor and prosperity, according to the company's Web site - is made from amalaki, a small fruit grown in India, as well as six other herbs and fruits. The company touts it as health for body, mind and spirit but said while there are scientific studies on the health effects of its ingredients, none are complete on the drink itself.
The product is endorsed by the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, an organization founded by Chopra, a medical doctor from India who has written and spoken on the intersection of mind, body and spirituality. Chopra will address the convention today.
Farley is a former CEO of Fruit of the Loom Inc. who helped increase sales to $2 billion a year but was ousted from his post in 1999 after the company suffered huge losses.
Farley said Zrii grew out of his interest in fitness and nutrition and his friendship with Chopra.
Sales already were $5 million in May, Farley said, predicting rapid growth in the next five years.
"I think the result will be a $1 billion global brand," Farley said to cheers.