Sunrider

Sunrider International
Privately held company
Industry Direct selling
Founded Orem, Utah in 1982
Founders Tei-Fu Chen and Oi-Lin Chen
Headquarters Torrance, California
Products Herbal food and beverages, nutritional supplements, sports and weight management, skin care, personal care, oral care, home care
Website www.sunrider.com

Sunrider Corporation, or Sunrider International, is a privately owned multi-level marketing company headquartered in Torrance, California. Sunrider lists thousands of franchise stores and tens of thousands of distributors internationally. Sunrider manufactures health, beauty, food, and household products at four manufacturing plants: Southern California, China, Singapore, and Taiwan.[1] Sunrider does business in 42 countries,[2] and operates offices in 22 countries.[3]

Company history

Sunrider was founded in 1982 in Orem, Utah in the United States by the Taiwan-born herbalist, Tei-Fu Chen. In the late 1980s, the company moved its headquarters to the Los Angeles area. It has since expanded into an international corporation with about forty offices worldwide.

In 2007 Sunrider purchased the Holiday Inn Asiaworld Taipei and renamed it the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei, and expressed plans to purchase more hotels in Asia.[4] Sunrider has over 7,000 retail stores in China.[5]

In 1995 Sunrider International and its owner were charged with orchestrating a tax and customs fraud scheme to evade tens of millions of dollars in taxes. Chen and the Sunrider Corporation were indicted by a federal grand jury in a 20-count indictment charging them with conspiracy, tax evasion, filing of false corporate tax returns, and smuggling. In 1997, the Chens entered into a plea bargain with the court on the charges of tax evasion and customs fraud. Tei-Fu Chen served nearly a year in minimum security prison while his wife, Oi-Lin Chen, served six months of home detention. The couple paid over $100 million in back taxes, interest and penalties and an additional $4 million to avoid forfeiting the items they were accused of smuggling and undervaluing.[6]

"Journey to the Sun" - a book copyrighted by Robert A. Henrie - chronicles the Chen's journey from a dirt floor home to where they are today. The history of the troubles and tribulations of an American company started by foreigners is set against generations of tradition, culture, family greed, a new religion and ignorance of the law. "Journey to the Sun" is an excellent rags to riches story while the company's two main characters, a medical doctor and a pharmacist with an herbal twist, are steeped in integrity and faith.

Sunrider's founders were jointly named No. 6 on the Goldsea 100 list of America's top Asian entrepreneurs.[7]

Business

Sunrider is a multi-level marketing company which is primarily known for selling herbal products such as diet pills, teas, and health snacks. As of 2009 the company was reported to have an annual revenue of over $700 million, and 300,000 distributors.[6]

Stephen Barrett has accused the company of making false claims regarding its products' therapeutic effects, and reports legal problems the company has faced from the FDA and state of California regarding false medical claims. However, none of them were substantiated, and the company has never been directed to pay any fines for such wrong doings. In addition, Barret has said that Sunrider distributors do not have the proper qualifications to advise their customers about the product. However, since the products are foods, there are actually no qualifications needed to make suggestions for product use. [8][9] The company has instructed distributors to avoid medical claims.[6][10]

In 1992, Sunrider settled out of court to a woman who claimed that Sunrider products had negatively affected her health. Phoenix, Arizona This was settled out of court, even though the woman's estranged husband came forward with inormation about how poison had been added to the product after the woman received the products. [8][11]

Hotel Business

Sunrider owns and operates a hotel chain called Sunworld Dynasty, having acquired several hotels in Asia. In Beijing, the hotels are the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel (on Wangfujing) and the Sunworld Hotel, located next door. In Taipei, Taiwan, the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel is one of the largest hotels in the city.

Sunrider acquired the 297-room SLS Beverly Hills for about $200 million in mid 2015. The hotel is located at 465 S. La Cienega Blvd. [12]

Manufacturing of Products

Sunrider International researches, develops, and manufactures all of its own products and does not outsource any production. The manufacturing process begins with buying raw herbs, sanitizing/cleansing the herbs, refining and concentrating, and packaging.[1] This process occurs at all of Sunrider's four manufacturing sites in Guangzhou, China; Taiwan; Singapore; and Los Angeles. A fifth manufacturing plant is under construction in Kunshan, China, in the metropolitan area of Shanghai, China. The Kunshan plant will have nearly 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of manufacturing space. The Los Angeles manufacturing plant was opened in July 2008 and also has nearly 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of manufacturing facilities and space.[13]

In 1987, salmonella bacteria were found in one of the company's products.[14] [15]

Sunrider products are both kosher and halal, making them marketable and available to the Jewish and Islamic communities.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "Product Lines". Sunrider. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  2. ↑ Joyce Huang (2008-12-08). "Chinese Herbals, By Way of Utah". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  3. ↑ "Company Overview". Sunrider. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  4. ↑ "Sunworld Dynasty chief eyes expansion". Taipei Times. 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  5. ↑ "Sunrider Enters China's Hotel Sector". China Hospitality News. 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  6. 1 2 3 Hsu, Tiffany (9 September 2009). "Sunrider aims to put tax scandal behind it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "Tei-Fu Chen | America's Most Successful Asian Entrepreneurs | GoldSea 100". Goldsea.com. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  8. 1 2 Barrett, Stephen. "Sunrider and the Law (1992)". MLM Watch. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "The Mirage of Multilevel Marketing". Quackwatch.org. 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  10. ↑ "Sunrider International's Legal News". Business.sunrider.com. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  11. ↑ "Acupuncture, Naturopathy, and Other "Health Care" Wanna-Be's". Veterinarywatch. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  12. ↑ http://rebusinessonline.com/sunrider-international-buys-sls-beverly-hills/
  13. ↑ Torrance-based Sunrider opens plant in Harbor Gateway
  14. ↑ The Sunrider Corporation - Company History
  15. ↑ http://www.ifanca.org/products/index.php?manId=106 Archived October 31, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
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