An HONEST Monat Review: Legit MLM Business Opportunity or Scam?

If you’re considering joining the Monat business opportunity, then this could be the most important review you ever read.

Because I am not just going to focus on how “amazing” the company is.

As if it’s all just rainbows and sunshine!

Nope. I’m also going to include the “bad” stuff and the drawbacks you should know about. Because I think this is equally (if not more) important when weighing something like this up.

Here’s what I’ll be covering in my review:

• Overview- What’s Monat About?
• Products- Are They Worth Buying?
• Compensation Plan- Making Money as a Distributor
• Can You Really Make Money With Monat Global?
• Verdict- Legit Opportunity or Scam?

Overview- What’s Monat About?

Monat is a multilevel marketing (MLM) company that specialises in hair care products.

The “MLM” aspect means that the company sells these products through a network of independent distributors. Instead of through traditional retail outlets and the like.

Which opens up an “opportunity” for regular folks to earn money in a couple of ways. By selling the products and by referring others into the business opportunity who do the same.

Where did it all begin?

In 2001, Luis Urdaneta founded L’eudine, a Latin American MLM company that sells health and beauty products.

In 2008, Luis and his son, Ray Urdaneta, co-founded Alcora Corporation. And they officially launched the Monat brand in 2014 under the Alcora Corporation umbrella.

Today, Alcora Corporation owns the following four brands:

• L’eudine
• B&R Products
• Project Beauty
• Monat

The name “Monat” is a combination of “modern nature”. Which represents the company’s focus of combining science with natural ingredients to create quality hair care products.

No product is perfect, but they must be doing “something” right.

Because they sell $100’s millions worth of this stuff each year, through their network of over 120,000 distributors across the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.

Not to mention, they’ve received numerous DSA and Stevie awards to recognize their success.

Products- Are They Worth Buying?

Monat sells hair care products in the US, Canada and UK.

The products help people with virtually any type of hair care you can think of. From hair loss and damage, dandruff and dryness, to regular hair care, coloring and styling.

There are dozens of individual hair care products. And most of these are categorized into various “collections” and “systems”. Which cater to different customer needs and wants.

For example, the “Restructuring Hair Care Collection” helps reverse damaged hair, while the “Volume System” helps create thicker, fuller hair.

The company also sells products aimed at men, such as the Monat Black system which contains shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream and styling clay.

There’s even a dog shampoo and deodorizing spray system called Monat Pet!

But do these products really work and are they worth the money?

I think it depends on who you ask.

Of course, Monat and anyone promoting Monat, will tell you that these products are amazing and that many people see real results.

And according to the company website, the products are backed by science and work so well because of the “rich formulations” they use that “work in harmony with each other”.

For example, their flagship ‘Rejuveniqe Oil Intensive” formula, which is a blend of over 13 natural plant and essential oils that is used within many of their products. Along with other proprietary ingredients such as Capixl, Procataline and Crodasorb.

They also claim that they do not use any toxic ingredients in the products:

So it certainly sounds good.

And as I said earlier, they must be doing “something” right or they wouldn’t be where they are today.

But there is definitely some controversy surrounding the products.

For example, a 2018 ABC 13 news report (below), says that the FDA sent inspectors to Monat’s Florida facility after “consumer complaints about hair loss and scalp sores were piling up”:

This doesn’t mean that the products are a scam, but it does look as though some people are having an adverse reaction to them.

Monat stands behind their products though. Claiming that they are the “victims of falsehoods” and even going as far as to sue some people for defamation.

In any case, I’m not a hair care professional.

So I can’t advise you on how legit these products are one way or the other. That is something you will need to decide for yourself.

What I can say, is that before you rush out and start selling these to your friends and family, it might pay to do your homework and exercise some caution.

Compensation Plan- Making Money as a Distributor

The US hair care market is worth an estimated $47 billion (and growing) and Monat is taking full advantage of this. So there’s definitely an opportunity for distributors to earn money.

And as a Monat distributor (AKA Market Partner), you can earn money by selling the company’s hair care products and by recruiting others who do the same.

The company may refer to it as “social marketing” or “direct selling”, which it is.

But make no mistake, this IS multilevel marketing (MLM).

Because you don’t just earn money when you sell products directly, you also earn by recruiting others into the same bizopp.

In any case, the official Monat compensation plan outlines the ways in which you can earn, how much you can earn and outlines the various qualifying criteria.

And in this section, I am going to break this down so you know what to expect.

Becoming a Distributor

To become a Monat distributor, you must either purchase a $99 Starter Kit OR one of four “product packs”:

• Starter Kit – $99
• Essentials Product Pack – $199
• Business Product Pack – $299
• Success Product Pack – $399
• Overachiever Product Pack – $649

The Starter Kit comes with product samples and marketing materials to get you started. While each Product Pack comes with the Starter Kit AND some additional products.

In order to become a Market Partner, the very first rank you can achieve as a distributor, you must acquire 200 PV or more. Which means purchasing an Essential Product Pack or higher. So even though you can technically just buy the $99 kit, it won’t qualify you for commissions.

In total, there are 11 distributor ranks within Monat Global:

• Market Partner
• Managing Market Partner
• Associate Market Builder
• Market Builder
• Managing Market Builder
• Associate Market Mentor
• Market Mentor
• Managing Market Mentor
• Associate Executive Director
• Executive Director
• Senior Executive Director

Each higher rank takes more to qualify for and pays out better commissions and bonuses. Basically, the more products you sell and the more people you recruit, the higher your rank and the more money you can earn.

Ways You Can Earn Money

There are a number of ways you can earn money within the compensation plan. And in this section, I’m going to walk you through these in detail, starting with selling the products.

Selling Products

Monat pays up to 40% commissions on products you personally sell. How much you earn from each sale depends on whether or not you are selling to a retail or VIP customer.

Selling to Retail Customers

Monat pays out 30% commissions on retail product orders. This is anyone who comes to your replicated site and makes a purchase through you.

And you can earn an added bonus commission based on how much you sell:

• 1,000 to 1,999 PV qualifies you for an extra 3% commission (33% total)
• 2,000 to 3,499 PV qualifies you for an extra 5% commission (35% total)
• 3,500 PV or more qualifies you for an extra 10% commission (40% total)

PV stands for “personal volume” and a set amount of PV is associated with each product and product package.

Selling to VIP Customers

VIP customers are customers who pay a $19.99 fee and agree to purchase at least three “flexship” orders (orders costing USD$84 or more each). The benefit is receiving 15% off retail pricing, free shipping on qualifying orders and some free products.

Earning from your VIP customers is a little different too.

Instead of getting a 30% commission, you only get 15% commissions on orders your VIP customers place. However, the additional PV bonuses remain the same.

And when you refer 4 or more VIP customers in a calendar month, you earn a $60 bonus. There is no limit to how many times you can earn this.

Uni-level Downline Commissions

This is where the MLM aspect comes into play.

Whenever you recruit someone, they are placed into your uni-level downline. This downline places you at the top, your direct referrals onto your “level 1”, their referrals go into your “level 2” and so on, 4 levels deep and infinitely wide.

Market Partners earn 7% commissions of the sales volume of their level 1 referrals only. Whereas Managing Market Partners earn 10% on level 1 and 3% on their level 2 recruits.

The higher your rank, the higher your commission percentages and the more levels you can earn on. This is how most MLM companies work really.

Group Volume Bonus

This is a bonus that is paid to Managing Market Builder distributors and above. If qualified, it pays out a 2% commission based on the sales volume between you and the next Managing Market Builder in your downline.

Rank Advancement Bonus

Rank advancement bonuses pay Managing Market Partners and above between $100 to $20,000 depending on the rank they advance to. In addition, the company pays bonuses when your referrals reach certain ranks.

Motor Club Bonus

The Motor Club Bonus pays between $500 to $1,000 per month to Market Mentor ranked affiliates and above, which can be put towards the hiring of a vehicle.

Generation Bonus

This works in the same way as the Group Volume Bonus I explained earlier. Except this is only available to Associate Market Mentor affiliates and above and pays out between 3-4% commissions down 5 generations.

Smart Start Bonuses (4 total)

Smart Start Bonuses are all about helping new distributors get into profit faster. There are four Smart Start Bonuses in total and they apply during the Marketing Partner’s first enrolment month, plus the next two calendar months only.

1- VIP Acquisition Bonus

This is the same VIP customer commissions I went over earlier. Basically, you earn $60 every time you signup 4 VIP customers and you can signup as many as you like.

2- Block Bonus

When you signup four VIP customers and one Marketing Partner who purchases a product pack, this forms a “block”. And each block pays out $150.

3- Monatborhood Bonus

Don’t ask me what the hell kind of name that is for a bonus (lol). But this pays you a $500 bonus for every 3 blocks you have (12 VIP customers and 3 Market Partners who each buy a Product Pack).

4- Matching Smart Start Bonus

Whenever one of your referrals, who is within their SMART Start period, earns a Block Bonus, you earn a $75 commission.

Product Pack Bonuses

When you refer a Market Partner who purchases a Product Pack (instead of just a regular Starter Kit) you will earn a bonus depending on which of the following Product Packs they buy:

• Essentials Product Pack – $50 commission
• Business Product Pack – $100 commission
• Success Product Pack – $120 commission
• Overachiever Product Pack – $230 commission

Emerging Founders Pool

The Emerging Founders Pool pays Market Partners a share in 1% of the company’s total US and Canada revenue above $75 million. The more money the company makes, the greater this pool will be. Just as the more Marketing Partners you are sharing this with there are, the less you will receive. This started on April 2019 and is apparently a “limited time” deal.

Can You Really Make Money With Monat Global?

The short answer is yes, you can make money as a Monat distributor.

In fact, you could potentially earn a lot of money with a business like this over time, if you recruit enough people and make enough sales.

However, the reality most people won’t make a life changing income.

This is because most people signup, buy some products, pitch to friends and family, and barely make their money back. This is the typical scenario within the MLM world.

It’s not that you can’t be successful, it’s that you really need to be the type of person who loves networking and constantly talking to people about the “opportunity”.

If you’re not doing this, you won’t get very far.

I don’t care what anyone says, the bulk of money within MLM is made by recruiting people. So you need to become a recruiting machine if you want to be successful.

The better alternative is to learn how to do market online with your own website or with social media for example. Because this allows you to tap into a much larger audience and go well beyond people you personally know. It also means no “gag worthy” face to face recruiting!

Conclusion – Legit MLM Opportunity?

Monat is a legitimate company with legitimate products in a profitable and growing niche.

So for the right person who is willing to put in the time and effort, there is money to be made as a distributor. So yes, this is a legitimate opportunity to earn money from home.

With that being said, I’m not sure I would personally recommend it either.

For one thing, I don’t recommend MLM companies in general. Because, well, I think there are better business models out there.

And secondly, the company has had quite a few complaints on the BBB website over the years. The majority of which have to do with the products themselves. Not to mention, there’s a mix of both positive and negative comments on sites like TrustPilot.

So there’s definitely some controversy here, which does concern me to an extent.

But it’s not all bad either.

The reality is that when companies become this large, it is normal to have complaints. In some cases, a lot of them. Look up reviews for some of the most legitimate companies on the planet, and even they have tons of negative reviews.

My point being, rather than base your decision solely on these negative reviews, or on the slick sales pitch of some distributor, I recommend doing your own research and forming your own objective opinion.

Maybe even try the products yourself before deciding to sell them.

This way, you know first hand if they live up to the hype and you can feel confident in your decision to share this with others.

Whatever you decide, I hope you found this review helpful.