marketing founded 2002 2002 headquarters lehi utah usa key people aaron garrity gary hollister joe morton gordon morton and kent wood website www.xango.com xango llc sometimes stylized as xango and xango is a privately owned international multilevel marketing company founded in 2002 which is based in lehi utah . the company markets and distributes xango juice a blended juice product consisting of mangosteen and other juices and skin care personal care energy supplement and nutritional supplement products formulated with botanical ingredients . 1 contents 1 company overview 1.1 executives 1.2 revenue 1.3 financial sponsorships and contributions 2 product overview 2.1 products and distribution 2.2 xango juice composition 3 false advertising claims 3.1 pericarp xanthones and potential health effects 3.2 u.s. fda warning 3.3 effectiveness 3.4 italian anti trust action 4 litigation 4.1 tahitian noni international 4.2 mismanagement allegations 4.3 taxation issues 5 see also 6 references company overview edit executives edit gary hollister founder chairman emeritus former chief executive former chairman of the board 2 aaron garrity founder chairman of the board ceo former president 3 4 joe morton founder board of directors 5 gordon morton founder board of directors kent wood founder board of directors 6 revenue edit xango is a privately held company and as such does not publicly disclose its financial statements . company press releases in 2005 2006 stated that sales totalled 40 million in 2003 and 150 million in 2004 7 and that 2005 sales were more than twice those of 2004 . 8 in october 2007 the company said that cumulative sales since its inception five years earlier were over 1 billion and by november 2008 had exceeded 1.5 billion . 9 in december 2012 direct selling news reported that xango concluded its first ten years of operation in november 2012 with sales operations in 43 countries 27 office locations 49 distribution centers more than two million distributors and about 2 billion in cumulative revenues.xango s revenues and annual reports have fueled much public and legal speculation that it is a pyramid scheme . 10 financial sponsorships and contributions edit in november 2006 xango llc became the official corporate jersey front sponsor of real salt lake a mls soccer team based in salt lake city utah for four years at a cost of between 500 000 and 1 million per year . 11 although xango s contract with real salt lake ends after the 2013 season there are no plans for xango to renew . in 2006 the company made a 5 year 1 million grant to an orem utah arts council for naming rights to what is now called the xango grand theater . 12 xango llc has been the top contributor to the political campaign of utah senator orrin hatch contributing 47 200 in 2008 and 46 700 in 2006 according to the center for responsive politics . 13 product overview edit products and distribution edit xango pronounced zan go is the common name of the company xango llc as well as its first and flagship juice product also often called xango juice . it also has other products in the personal care and wellness industry . xango juice is sold in the u.s. and as of late 2011 exported to australia canada germany japan malaysia mexico singapore sweden and the united kingdom . 14 15 the company began operating in taiwan as of october 2007 . 14 the company s business model is direct sales via multi level marketing rather than retail sales mainly using a nine level multi level marketing structure . 16 in june 2006 the company said it had 350 000 distributors . 17 in july the company told the federal trade commission that there were roughly 500 000 distributors worldwide 1 and in november it reported having more than 600 employees at its lehi headquarters and more than 500 000 independent distributors in 15 international markets . 18 in july 2007 it said it had about 700 000 distributors 14 of whom an estimated 70 percent simply use their status to buy the juice at the discounted membership price . 19 in october 2008 it said that it operated in 24 countries and had more than 1 million independent distributors . 2 in 2013 the company states that it now operates in 43 countries . 20 in the united states xango juice sells for a retail price of 37.50 for a 750 ml 25.35 ounce bottle . purchasing through xango s distributor group juice and other products can be bought at wholesale prices . xango also sells reserve a more expensive version of its original juice product with a higher mangosteen content . 10 citation needed in 2009 xango launched glimpse skin care products made using undefined quantities of mangosteen that may support skin health . the campaign for safe cosmetics recognized xango as a champion of safe cosmetics in 2011 . 21 xango has added other products to its glimpse family including their luminescence collection mineral treatment and mangosteen oils . 22 they supply personal care products via their juni family in shampoos conditioners skin lotion bar and body soaps . 23 xango also sells other products marketed in the wellness category . its 3sixty5 and 3sixty5 for kids are products manufactured to contain multiple vitamins . 24 its precis line includes men s health omega 3 and rest & renew . 25 its favao products promoted for weight control include body cleanse fiber and various protein supplements all which the company claims to include mangosteen components . 26 xango sells eleviv capsules 27 which contain four herbal ingredients . 28 xango juice composition edit xango juice is a blend of mangosteen aril and pericarp pur e with juice concentrates of eight other fruits apple pear juice and pur e grape blueberry raspberry strawberry cranberry and cherry . 29 other ingredients include citric acid natural flavor pectin xanthan gum sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate . xango claims its juice contains xanthonoid compounds from the mangosteen pericarp . 30 the associated press commissioned the linus pauling institute to measure the in vitro antioxidant strength of xango juice against retail fruit juices . the antioxidant strength of xango juice measured slightly higher than cranberry juice but lower than black cherry and less than half the value for blueberry juice . 9 however the value of in vitro analysis of antioxidant strength is in question as there is no current evidence that antioxidant phytochemicals present in xango or other fruit juices actually have functions inside the human body . 31 the measurements of antioxidant strength apply to test tubes but consumed juices are affected by stomach acids that would neutralize or destroy antioxidant value preventing the same biological effects in vivo . 9 31 32 in 2002 xango founders aaron r. garrity gordon a. morton and joseph c. morton doing business as dbc llc applied for a united states patent 6730333 for xango juice ; however the application was rejected by the united states patent and trademark office on april 21 2005 . 33 on november 3 2008 the u.s. court of appeals for the federal circuit ruled that the decision of a patent appeals board to deny xango s patent application would still stand . 34 35 false advertising claims edit pericarp xanthones and potential health effects edit according to a 2006 warning by the us food and drug administration xango s distributors had illegally used marketing materials to promote mangosteen juice claiming more than 20 human health benefits including anti inflammatory anti microbial anti fungal anti viral anti cancer anti ulcer anti hepatotoxic anti rhinoviral and anti allergic effects . 36 promotional literature for the product cites antioxidants from the inedible pericarp of the fruit as providing health benefits . none of these claims however has scientific proof established by peer reviewed research and human clinical trials as discussed below . the american cancer society profile of mangosteen juice states there is no reliable evidence that mangosteen juice pur e or bark is effective as a cancer treatment in humans . 37 as of april 2013 it also states that the mangosteen fruit has been shown to be rich in anti oxidants . very early laboratory studies suggest it may have promise as a topical treatment for acne . early small laboratory and animal studies suggest that further research should be done to determine whether it can help to prevent cancer in humans . 38 pericarp xanthones remain under preliminary research to define their potential properties which may include antioxidant 39 and chemopreventive effects . 40 in 2007 the mayo clinic stated there was laboratory evidence that mangosteen xanthones had anti inflammatory activity but there was no evidence demonstrating such anti inflammatory effects in humans . 41 the mayo clinic has since confirmed there is still no conclusive evidence of effectiveness . 42 in 2009 xango scientific adviser david morton participated in a four part debate on the asserted claims of mangosteen health benefits . 43 44 45 46 u.s. fda warning edit on september 20 2006 the united states food and drug administration issued a warning letter to xango llc international in response to the company s promotion of xango juice as an aid to treat and or cure various diseases . 47 the agency s letter warned that xango juice had not been properly tested for safety and efficacy and as a proposed new drug it could not be legally sold in the u.s. without prior approval of the fda . xango was warned that it could face enforcement action including seizure and or injunction of products or suspension of business . under fda drug labeling rules xango as manufacturer is responsible for satisfying scientific criteria to make health claims on its product labels and all marketing materials . as of september 2008 the case remained open . effectiveness edit the mayo clinic said in october 2005 that there are no published clinical trials showing evidence that either the fruit or its juice marketed under the name xango juice is an effective treatment for arthritis cancer or any other disorder in humans . 48 in 2011 the mayo clinic reiterated that it is still too early to say for sure what role mangosteen juice has in treating arthritis symptoms . 42 in february 2006 the u.c. berkeley wellness newsletter sponsored by the university of california at berkeley said that mangosteen marketers make farfetched and unsubstantiated claims for their products . the newsletter notes that there are no clinical trials and what happens in a test tube or animal may not occur in a human . any reported benefits in humans have been anecdotal . no one even knows if the processed fruit juice and capsules retain the potentially beneficial compounds . what s more the juice is typically a mix of fruit juices with an undisclosed amount of mangosteen in it . 49 ralph moss an alternative cancer treatment advocate 50 has said of mangosteen juice in my opinion what we have here is simply an overpriced fruit drink . fruit drinks are often healthful beverages . but the only reason i can see that the promoters of mangosteen can get away with charging 37 for this product is that they are playing on patients hopes and fears in a cynical way . without the health claims open or implied the product could only be sold for at most 5 or 6 which for example is the cost of antioxidant rich pomegranate juice . 51 a 2008 medical case report described a patient with severe acidosis possibly attributable to a year of daily use to lose weight dose not described of mangosteen juice brand not described infused with xanthonoids 52 as occurs in the manufacture of xango juice . the authors proposed that chronic exposure to alpha mangostin a xanthone could be toxic to mitochondrial function 53 leading to impairment of cellular respiration and production of lactic acidosis . italian anti trust action edit in