For years, DSA has annually recognized the outstanding achievements of member companies for the products they offer consumers, the entrepreneurial opportunities they offer Americans, and the support they give to their local, national, and global communities.
Past DSA award winners have included Rodan+Fields and Mary Kay for their excellence in business development; Princess House and Ruby Ribbon for their innovative products; and WineShop At Home, 4Life Research, and The Avon Company for their sales and marketing campaigns.
“The DSA Awards showcase the innovation, creativity, excellence, and vision of our industry,” said Marjorie Fine, Director at Shaklee Corporation and Chairwoman of DSA’s Awards Committee. “They reward the efforts of the best among us by celebrating their achievements. Most importantly, they demonstrate that we are an industry that continuously reinvents itself to meet the needs of our constituents and the public.”
In 2020, voters could select winners in seven categories, including Vision for Tomorrow, Technology Innovation, Marketing & Sales Campaigns, Excellence in Business, Product Innovation, and Partnership. New to the awards program this year was a special category—2020 CSR Vision for Tomorrow, which DSA added to showcase how organizations responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also new this year was the voting procedure for the awards. Voting was done online by employees of DSA member companies and not, as in previous years, by a panel of judges. From November 5 to November 19, 2020, more than 6,200 votes from more than 1,800 employees were cast. Winners were announced during a livestream event held on December 15.
Submissions from the finalists and winners for each category are noted on the following pages.
Excellence in Business
WINNER! Nu Skin Enterprises—Velocity by Nu Skin Sales Performance Plan
Velocity by Nu Skin is a sales performance program that enables Brand Affiliates to work toward their goals by choosing their own path and pace. Velocity provides the opportunity to earn compensation selling products by offering flexible options to fit different lifestyles, giving fast rewards that keep Brand Affiliates motivated, and empowering them to build a fulfilling future in their own way. Nu Skin’s Velocity team worked in close collaboration with company leaders around the world to develop the plan. There was frequent communication and feedback about different elements of the plan at every stage of development, including implementing the plan into pilot markets that allowed Velocity to evolve into something that was a good fit for Brand Representatives globally.
Saladmaster—Saladmaster University
As Saladmaster continues to grow year over year, so did the need for a scalable training platform that would blend corporate-sponsored training with informal communications from all over the world. For the first time, Saladmaster Dealers can upload and manage their unique training elements within one central hub alongside foundational training produced by the Saladmaster University Training team.
Marketing & Sales Campaigns
Scentsy, Inc.—Anniversary Join Promotion
In 2019, Scentsy celebrated our 15th anniversary. Building on the Scentsy Mission, we set out to create an easy path for anyone to start their own Scentsy business for just $15, invigorating Consultants. The promotion ran twice and enrolled more Consultants than ever before, shattering records for new Consultant enrollments with 32,180 in May and 30,597 in September. These promotions led to a record-breaking year for new enrollments and 5 percent year-over-year growth in overall sales revenue.
WINNER! Scentsy, Inc.—Scentsy Club
In 2015, we launched the Scentsy VIP Program to reward loyal WINNER! customers with exclusive benefits for placing recurring orders. The program resulted in lackluster adoption, so we set out to develop something better. Scentsy Club makes it easier than ever for Consultants to serve their best customers. Average monthly revenue from 2019 Scentsy Club orders was 1,545 percent higher than Scentsy VIP orders in 2018.
Product Innovation
Neora—Age IQ Invisi-Bloc Sunscreen Gel
Neora’s Age IQ Invisi-Bloc Sunscreen Gel, launched in April 2019, introduced the world to intelligent suncare. With this product introduction, Neora unveiled an era of advanced suncare with a daily sunscreen that users actually want to wear. Invisi-Bloc’s clear and practically weightless watergel formula features microcapsules of UV filters that absorb easily to provide powerful protection that won’t clog your pores or show on your skin. This multifunctional SPF also includes Neora’s proprietary Eco-Veil blend, which forms a transparent, breathable barrier against digital blue light and environmental pollutants—plus an enriching antioxidant complex that works to help neutralize skin-damaging free radicals. Invisi-Bloc is applied as the last step in your skincare routine, before makeup if you wear it, to help stop the damage before it begins.
Isagenix International—BĒA Sparkling Energy Drink
In 2019, Isagenix International identified an opportunity to create something new in the energy drink space, a growing sector in the well-being world. Millions of people go to the store every day and grab an energy drink without thinking about what’s in it. We wondered, “What if the energy drink could be improved? Even better, what if, for the very first time, an energy drink could provide people with naturally sourced vitamins from organic fruits and vegetables with nothing synthetic?” We knew we were just the company to create such an innovative product and set to work, relying on the expertise and experience of our talented research and development team. The result? BĒA™ Sparkling Energy Drink. One 12-ounce can is packed with vitamins, adaptogens, and everything our consumers want—and skips the stuff they don’t. The beverage launched in October 2019 and has become the No. 7 seller for Isagenix in the United States. We’ve sold nearly five million cans worldwide, making BĒA the most successful launch in company history. BĒA comes in three sparkling, fruity flavors that provide a refreshing boost of energy: Berry Bellini, Citrus Sunrise, and Mango Mimosa Flavor. We’re excited to see BĒA continue to generate excitement for many years to come.
Scentsy, Inc.—Licensed Products
Scentsy Consultants often join because they love Scentsy products and want to share them with others. One way we continually improve their business opportunity is by partnering with other brands their customers love, and then design new Scentsy products that capture their unique branding, characters, logos and more—but in our authentic Scentsy style. Through licensed products, we get to offer Consultants something new and exciting to share! But our partnerships also give us the unique chance to broaden our global audience and customer base to include new fans. After successful partnerships with many organizations, we set out to hook our biggest (licensed) fish yet in 2018: a partnership with Disney, one of the most well-known and beloved brands of all time. In 2019, we set out to expand our partnership and offer Consultants even more opportunities to share the magic and grow their businesses. That expansion resulted in our biggest sales hour and day in company history on September 1, 2019, and our fastest-selling product in company history, with more than 94,000 Jack Skellington: Pumpkin King–Scentsy Warmers sold in twenty-four hours, and significant year-over-year growth for the entire Scentsy brand.
Scentsy, Inc.—Whiff Box
In 2018, most Scentsy customers knew and loved our flagship Simple System—Scentsy Warmers + Scentsy Wax Bars—or collected Scentsy Buddies for their kids. But so many had yet to try some of their favorite fragrances in our newer product categories like Body, Clean, and Laundry. We knew getting Scentsy products like Body Wash or Laundry Liquid into the hands of customers who loved our fragrances would encourage brand conversion for many must-have, consumable products and increase their order frequency in support of Scentsy Consultants. We developed a curated monthly kit of new and trending products, the Scentsy Whiff Box, to get new products into the hands of existing customers and create the opportunity for recurring revenue. Global Whiff Box sales increased steadily in 2019, from roughly 10,000 units per month to about 30,000!
Tastefully Simple Inc.—14 Day Reset
Tastefully Simple set out to build a real food offering that can help people create a healthy life they love—the 14-Day Reset program. It might be a bit of a shock to see us throw our hat in the ring for Product Innovation, but we believe we’ve achieved something that is worth noting—real food, driving real results. Unlike supplements, shakes, diet aids, or other external tools, the 14-Day Reset helps you improve your health by starting at the foundation—the food you eat every day. By creating great-for-you, easy-to-prepare recipes, Tastefully Simple delivers a fourteen-day program of delicious and nutritious meal plans and the products you need to follow the program, right to your front door. Designed to empower you to make healthier choices and develop better habits, this easy-to-follow program will help you eliminate empty calories and enjoy healthy portion sizes. How? Through lower carb, lower sugar, protein-packed and veggielicious recipes. The plan is grain- and dairy-free and balanced by a registered dietitian. Warning: You may experience side effects such as a healthy glow, peaceful sleep, and looser-fitting pants!
WINNER! USANA Health Sciences—USANA Oral Care
USANA Oral Care is a two-product system, a Whitening Toothpaste Featuring ADP-1 and an Oral Probiotic. USANA Oral Care products are like nothing available on the market today. They provide gentle, effective support for the health of your mouth, teeth, and gums. These products are made to support your long-term oral health. The fluoride-free Whitening Toothpaste and Oral Probiotic combine the power of naturally derived and scientifically advanced ingredients for a clean, fresh mouth and whiter, brighter smile. Adding a toothpaste with a postbiotic, like ADP-1, attracts the impurities in your mouth so they can be brushed away. This postbiotic helps support the cleansing process by targeting and clearing away unwanted compounds that can dull your teeth or cause bad breath. After your evening flossing and brushing, use USANA Oral Probiotic to protect your healthy-looking smile. When the tablet hits your tongue, powerful probiotic strains replenish good bacteria known as microflora.
SeneGence International—Digital Age Defense Serum
SeneGence’s new Digital Age Defense Serum features the latest advances in skin care to help protect against visible signs of aging related to blue light exposure from digital devices. The serum offers a cool, refreshing feeling while helping to reduce the appearance of redness and blotchiness, and energizes and hydrates fatigued, sleep-deprived, and jet-lagged skin. It has no added fragrance and is non-comedogenic.
Partnership
PayQuicker
For the past two decades, PayQuicker has revolutionized mass payouts for hundreds of direct selling businesses ranging from startups to global enterprises. The PayQuicker platform, launched in 2007, empowers direct selling businesses of any size to offer secure and compliant instant global payouts to their distributors in local currency via secured bank accounts with prepaid debit cards, virtual cards, and mobile wallets—through a single point of integration. PayQuicker offers a low-cost, fully customizable, client-branded portal and experience with advanced technology that becomes our client’s competitive advantage. The PayQuicker mission is to provide clients with the most advanced global payout solution that results in happy distributors who, in turn, drive clients’ business growth with every login, payout, purchase, or swipe. PayQuicker solutions deliver on all mission-critical requirements to provide choice, speed, and security. Through one easy integration, clients can offer their distributor field flexible purchasing power with instant payments and instant spend. Nothing’s faster.
OneSource Tax Management LLC
In 1991, as a CPA, I discovered through a client I had at the time that his downline distributors were having serious problems with IRS auditors. I soon learned the problem was companywide. There was little training going on for distributors, and the IRS was not treating them fairly. I went on a mission to correct both of those problems. My training efforts included teaching thousands at direct selling training events and conventions over the years. I authored the booklet “IBO Bookkeeping 101” that has been read by thousands. My efforts at DSA as a member have been directed at taking my approach to all member companies of DSA. I have made several presentations at DSA’s Fall Regulatory Conferences urging members to do the same we have done in terms of training their field’s distributors and watching out for them in this area. Those efforts resulted in getting the IRS to publish its “Direct Seller Audit Technique Guide,” setting out rules to be allowed by IRS auditors when making hobby loss determinations. It was a monumental step for leveling the playing field for distributors who were audited. Complying with the hobby rule tenets as laid out in the “Direct Seller Audit Technique Guide” is complicated. I created 1sourcetax.com, a simple subscription-based website that helps distributors to stay in compliance.
WINNER! Multibrain
In 2012, Multibrain Chief Brain and CEO Scott Kramer met a table full of legends in direct selling during a DSA luncheon. From there, the entertainment and media pioneer dedicated his company to building the tools and training needed to take the direct selling channel to the next level in technology; and developed a mission of defining social selling in the digital arena. Over the next six years, the team at Multibrain gave total focus to training, supporting, and providing the tools for direct selling consultants to build their business via social media and establishing their own communities/networks. Multibrain has evolved in step with technology and developed a business focused on four pillars for enterprise corporate success, termed “controlled empowerment,” with an approach of “bottom up,” beginning at the field level. To date, the Multibrain platform has been successfully implemented by a handful of top direct selling companies and more than 180,000 individual consultants who have generated over six million new prospects (connections) in a funnel approach to generating new sales and recruits. Multibrain thrives in its ability to “find new people to talk to” for its users, and a platform that’s as easy to use as a single click.
Technology Innovation
Amway—AmCart
AmCart is an Amway exclusive (patented!) feature on product packaging making it simple to sample, sell, and track products—all while giving Amway’s Independent Business Owners (IBOs) credit. AmCart leverages either QR code or RFID technology to enable purchasing through phone scans of the AmCart logo on bottles, boxes, or cans. Amway products using AmCart technology are assigned a unique identity. The identity is then baked into a URL—taking the customer to the correct country’s website and product page and giving credit to the IBO with one scan. It also provides dual experiences for customers and IBOs—when recognized as an IBO, they are directed to a mobile point-of-sale system for selling, tracking their sales, ensuring they receive credit for future sales, and potentially providing simplified payment options. AmCart solves Amway challenges, including answering the customer question of “How do I get more?”; making it easy for customer orders while giving the correct IBO credit; leading to the proper Amway order page, as opposed to web searching and ending up on Amazon or eBay; tracking and incentivizing product sales-from-inventory so Amway and IBOs have records of transactions for every sale, including returns; and presenting a viable sampling strategy with strong lead to purchase.
Scentsy, Inc.—Host Enrollment: Earn a Kit
Most Scentsy Consultants join because they fall in love with our products, but they don’t always become a Consultant right away. Many start out as Scentsy fans and customers, eventually hosting a Scentsy event to get more products. From there, once they’ve experienced the ease and excitement of hosting, they see what it means to be a Consultant and want to join. The move from customer to Host is an easy conversion to promote—after all, Scentsy Hosts can get their must-have products half-price or free! But we needed an option to help facilitate the jump from Host to Consultant, one that would provide current Consultants with a new, compelling reason to share the Scentsy opportunity. We created a clear, convenient, and enticing path for Hosts to become Consultants by adding incentives to enrollment and upgrading our system to make it easy for Hosts to earn their Starter Kit and enroll. Now, not only do we have more Hosts becoming Consultants and an overall increase in recruiting and retention, but our existing Consultants love it!
Damsel in Defense—Protected Pepper with Shield Technology
Damsel in Defense products are designed to give users multiple layers of protection—from pepper sprays and personal alarms that work at a distance, to stun WINNER! devices and striking tools that multiply our natural defenses up close. We realized that in the moments when individuals might be in the fight of their life, they have no way of calling for backup. So, we fought to create an additional layer of protection by harnessing multiple technologies, allowing us to send alert messages discreetly and instantaneously on behalf of users in the moments when they need us most. This resulted in the advent of Shield Technology, our exclusive safety system that allows users to send immediate alerts to a list of their trusted contacts during an emergency. No matter the data around statistics, our greatest fear is that we would be alone when we need help the most. If our customers should ever be in the fight for their lives, our Shield innovation deploys help to them while they deploy the use of their defense. This is simply the most holistic approach to safety there is.
CSR Vision for Tomorrow
Isagenix International—Making a Difference: Isagenix International COVID-19 Response
Through product donations and grants, Isagenix International and our 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the ISA Foundation, have put tremendous resources into helping ensure the well-being of communities worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. While our global well-being company donates products to food banks and foundation partners year-round, we increased donations to assist those affected by the pandemic, including children out of school, homebound seniors, frontline emergency workers, and Navajo Nation residents. So far in 2020, Isagenix has donated more than $5.3 million worth of products to nonprofits in the United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. The donations represent more than 1.25 million snacks and meal replacements, including 378,924 servings of IsaKids® Super Smoothie and 767,323 drinks. We’ve also donated 8,095 IsaBlender® blenders and shaker cups to help nonprofits make shakes and smoothies. In addition, the ISA Foundation has provided COVID-19 relief through twelve grants totaling $525,000 to US-based nonprofits, paving the way for critical nutrition and resources to reach people around the world.
Princess House—Strengthening My Wings
This project was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the rapid, significant growth that our Hispanic, Spanish-speaking Leaders were experiencing in their businesses. This type of growth has never been seen in Princess House’s history. While this made the Leaders happy at first, the challenges of managing a larger business coupled with the COVID-19 situation made our Leaders feel overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious to such a high degree that they were literally crying for help. In response to those cries, Princess House developed and launched the program Strengthening My Wings to emotionally support the Leader’s personal development and to help them overcome challenges by providing them with knowledge and practical tools on self-awareness and happiness. The result of this program went beyond its initial expectations. Leaders started sharing how this program was changing their lives. The program went beyond personal development and contributed to them seeing and reacting differently to their circumstances and the world itself. Beyond the inspiring testimonials and the program’s great reviews, Leaders are more aware of their emotions and how to manage them.
WINNER! Amway—Project Light Speed
From building healthy farms and playgrounds for kids, to community gardens and natural disaster relief to fighting childhood malnutrition, to global sustainability initiatives, Amway is working hard to build a healthier, safer world, one community at a time. So when the COVID-19 global pandemic reached a critical point and a need arose in our hometown of Ada, Michigan, we stepped up. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies healthy hand hygiene as a key strategy for preventing illness and the spread of germs. When soap and water aren’t readily available, hand sanitizer is second best, yet it became increasingly difficult for manufacturers to meet overwhelming health care and consumer demand. Scarcity was imminent. A few weeks into the pandemic, Spectrum Health System reached out to us in need of hand sanitizer. Combining our passion for corporate responsibility and community stewardship with our core competencies in manufacturing naturally safe, high-performing cleaning products at our Amway World Headquarters campus, we were able to help meet their needs. With nearly 40,000 employees across its dozens of hospitals, treatment centers, emergency care facilities, and physician offices, the non-profit health care system is the largest employer in West Michigan and the region’s epicenter for COVID-19 care. As COVID-19 numbers continued to spike in March 2020, so did Spectrum Health System’s need for hand sanitizer to protect the tens of thousands of first responders and health care workers as they served the growing population of affected patients. That’s where Project Light Speed came in.
Noonday Collection—Gather for Good
Noonday Collection’s corporate response to COVID-19 had both a national and international effect. To support the sales of our Ambassadors and to provide economic relief to our Ambassadors’ local communities, Noonday launched the Gather for Good campaign. When a Hostess partnered with an Ambassador to host a Gather for Good Trunk Show (virtually for safety purposes), we donated 10 percent of the sales to a local business, charitable organization, or individual of the Hostess’ choice. From March 19 to May 31, more than $120,000 was raised through Gather for Good Trunk Shows and was donated to 1,009 recipients facing economic challenges due to the pandemic. Of that amount, $20,883 included a donation to No Kid Hungry. Additionally, more than $35,000 was raised and donated to our Global Artisan Business Partner’s via Gather for Global Good Trunk Shows.
Vision for Tomorrow
Jeunesse Global—Jeunesse Kids $1 Million Grant to the Kids Beating Cancer Cellular Therapy Lab
Jeunesse Founders Randy Ray and Wendy Lewis created Jeunesse Kids™ in 2012 with a mission to empower communities to give children a brighter future, and a vision to reach children in need on each of the six continents in which Jeunesse operates. Since then, Jeunesse Kids has raised more than $12 million and has been making a meaningful difference in the lives of children in need around the world through local and global programs that provide sustainability and create long-term impact. In 2019, Jeunesse Kids made the largest single donation in the organization’s seven-year history with a $1 million grant to fund the Kids Beating Cancer Cellular Therapy Lab in the company’s hometown of Orlando, Florida. This initiative was fully funded by contributions by Jeunesse Distributors from around the world. The funding of the Kids Beating Cancer Cellular Therapy Lab fulfilled a twenty-seven-year dream of Founder Margaret Guedes who established the organization after losing her son John to cancer in 1992. In the twenty-eight years since, Kids Beating Cancer has raised more than $22 million and has provided access to programs and services for 9,500 children. For decades to come, the Kids Beating Cancer Cellular Therapy lab will help to save the lives of countless more children battling cancer and will help to advance research to find a cure to childhood cancer.
USANA Health Sciences, Inc.—USANA Foundation
The USANA Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides the most critical human necessities—nutrition, clothing, shelter, medical assistance, and health education— to those who are suffering or in need, around the globe. The USANA Foundation provides immediate and long-term global food relief for those in severe need. We lead a network of community-driven partnerships to nourish, equip, and eliminate hunger throughout the world. From disaster relief to curbing food insecurity in Utah, the USANA Foundation is dedicated to making the world a better place. Through programs like USANA Kids Eat, the Foundation and volunteers of USANA employees, their families, and the Utah community can pack bags of non-perishable and easy-toprepare food to help feed children in Utah who rely on school lunch and breakfast programs for nutritious meals. These children often go hungry on weekends and holidays when school is out. The backpacks are then distributed monthly to several schools in the area by USANA employee volunteers. This service has been made even more vital due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closings of in-person schooling.
WINNER! Nu Skin Enterprises—Nu Skin’s Sustainability Commitments
At Nu Skin, we are a force for good through caring for our planet, improving the lives of children, nourishing future generations, and investing in our global community. Sustainability is so much more than just a buzzword to Nu Skin. We are committed to keeping our global communities clean, safe, and protected for the future. It’s a daunting task, but we’re proud to make it our mission to embrace sustainable practices today to enhance a resource-rich tomorrow. Today, we’re taking active, engaged strides to ensure the future is bright for both the planet and for each other. That is why, in 2019, we were proud to announce our global sustainability commitments. Our efforts rest firmly on three critical pillars: PEOPLE, PLANET, and PRODUCT.