Last month, I was able to experience Amway’s commitment to health and wellbeing firsthand. I spent time in Zurich, Switzerland with Founders Council members, and I also visited Napa Valley in California and spoke to a group of Japanese ABOs about how our future is taking shape.

The event in Zurich reflected the strong partnership between Amway and Founders Council Members who shared examples and best practices of how they are transforming and building their businesses differently with health and wellbeing as the focus.

At the event in Napa, I spoke with Amway Japan ABO leaders who were equally excited about the direction we are headed for future growth as a health and wellbeing company.  While this path forward seems like a new approach, this has always been the foundation of what my father believed in many years ago.

I came away from my travels and interactions struck by the overwhelming acceptance of this path forward for our business. I spoke with many different people who were so impressed because they can easily see a tangible, positive impact from our renewed focus on health and wellbeing. Not only for themselves, but for all the people connected to their communities throughout the world.

It was very validating for me because it recognizes the fundamentals of a wonderful concept that took root so long ago about the best way to live a healthy life.

Seeing it for ourselves

It has been 90 years since Nutrilite was founded, but more than 100 years since my father, Carl Rehnborg, first went to China and observed that plant-based diets and regular physical activity made people healthier. It created a seed of an idea for him that led to the founding of Nutrilite in 1934. 

I can see for myself that Amway understands that Nutrilite is so much more than a plant-based supplement brand – it is a way of life that has stood the test of time.

Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel saw it for themselves when they worked as Nutrilite distributors in the 1950s before founding Amway. Years ago, distributors would travel with Rich and Jay by bus to California to see Carl Rehnborg and the Nutrilite farms firsthand because they knew that the farms, the soil, and the meticulous devotion to quality was the true foundation of their business, something you will see in this incredible film from 1954 – From the Ground Up. 

Building a foundation

Today, those trips to the farm so many years ago – and the belief in a better way – have taken root. As a result, Amway’s foundational products work to help promote healthy nutrition and good daily habits. That’s where it starts.

And we need this more than ever now, because we are still faced with many challenges.

In the United States, where the standard American diet is the norm, people are consuming higher amounts of ultra processed foods and animal products. According to a recent Health Matters presentation from Stanford University, Americans continue to have wide nutritional gaps in their diets. 

The percentage of Americans who consume the recommended minimum amounts of fruits and vegetables is still much too low. According to the CDC, 12.3 percent meet fruit recommendations and 10 percent meet vegetable recommendations. The numbers are even lower for adolescents.[i]

Considering how fast paced and distracting our lives have become, it’s not surprising these numbers remain so low for many of us.

A way forward

It’s why the work we are doing is so important. We are creating vibrant communities that have the potential to empower millions of people to improve their health span – or the number of years they are healthy, happy, and feeling their best.

Don’t forget that it takes a village to do this – going it alone is not sustainable. We rely on our friends, family and counterparts to keep us motivated on our journeys to optimal health.

Together, we can empower people to live better, healthier lives, helping them achieve their wellbeing goals.

I’m so excited to see what the future will bring!

[1] Lee SH, Moore LV, Park S, Harris DM, Blanck HM. Adults Meeting Fruit and Vegetable Intake Recommendations — United States, 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:1–9. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7101a1.