Did you know we are growing? We are expanding Nutrilite manufacturing facilities at sites around the globe to meet increased demand and to continue to provide the high quality products customers have come to expect.

In Buena Park, California, a new granulation plant and a research and development facility are under construction. The new buildings, along with a new visitor experience at the Nutrilite Center for Optimal Health, are scheduled to open in late 2014 or early 2015.

Work began on these projects last year when we started demolition of the older facilities. We’re far enough along to provide regular construction updates, not only from Buena Park, but also from the new facilities we’re building in Quincy, Washington, at our World Headquarters in Ada, Michigan, and other locations around the world.

Right now in Buena Park, the construction team is installing structural steel. That will continue for about six weeks. The granulation tower has been the first priority and is far enough along to allow the second floor decking to begin.

Watch us grow on our Nutrilite Facebook page, where we will be sharing regular photos from our construction sites.

About 140 eighth-graders received some hands-on job experience recently without ever leaving their classrooms.

Continuing longstanding partnerships between Amway, Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes and Grand Rapids Public Schools, students at Burton Middle School were visited by Amway employees from our World Headquarters as part of the Junior Achievement Reverse Job Shadow Day.

The employees told the students about their jobs and responsibilities, but also collaborated with them on real scenarios in their school.

“(We) were teaching the students about integrated marketing communications and how to put together a communications plan,” said Jerry DiTrapani, manager of marketing programs at Amway. “We did a group exercise to brainstorm the objectives for the upcoming Burton Field Day in May.

“The students had some tremendous ideas, which we will implement when we organize the field trip.”

The students also had some thoughtful questions for the employees.

“I wanted to know about the benefits of hard work,” said eighth-grader Victor Diaz, an aspiring home builder. “And what to do, if you put your all into a job, and don’t accomplish much.”

Through events like this, students become more likely to succeed in the workplace. JA’s research shows that students participating in programs like the Reverse Job Shadow Day have a better understanding of and interest in career opportunities.

It’s also a benefit for the employees who participate.

“Volunteering makes me a happier employee,” Sue Reahm, lead creative account representative at Amway, said. “It is great to give, and I also get so much out of spending time with the students. … I enjoy learning about them and with them and seeing first hand their hunger for knowledge.”

Check out more photos from the day at our Amway Facebook page.

One of the wonderful things about our Amway One by One Campaign for Children is how our employees and distributors reach out to make a difference right where they live. Because we operate in more than 100 countries and territories, in the 10 years since the campaign launched, lives have been changed all over the world.

This infographic represents only a small fraction of the more than 10 million children we’ve helped over the last decade. There are just too many projects to fit on one map!

Have you ever wondered how a global company with over 21,000 employees operating in more than 100 countries and territories handles the challenge of Information Technology? Take a look…

If you want to learn how to create a global career, ask someone who has one. That’s what the Harvard Business School Women’s Student Association did when they invited Amway CMO Candace Matthews to be part of its Harvard Dynamic Women in  Leadership Forum February 23.

Candace joined Tata Consulting Services head Farzana Haque in a panel discussion about how they developed and navigate careers that span the globe.

Candace’s lesson for success on a global scale?  “You have to have a yearning for learning,” she told the group. “You must have the desire to learn about other cultures, what motivates them and how they define success.”

For those starting out she advised learning four key words and phrases – hello, goodbye, please and thank you - to show interest and a connection with other cultures.

After spending time with the students, Candace sat down with the Harvard Business Review (HBR) to tape a lesson for the HBR Channel on how to stand up for yourself in business.  It was a lesson she learned long ago and was happy to pass along to the next generation of business leaders.  The video lesson will be online in April.

Remember this video highlighting the wonderful accomplishments of our business owners and employees through 10 years of our Amway One by One Campaign for Children?  It has a chance to win an award and you can help.

It’s part of the film festival at Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship. The website is recording public votes through March 1 for the best video.  Please vote and help us share our story! (Click here to vote.)

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We announced record sales this week of $11.3 billion for 2012. That very big number is representative of the many wonderful people and products behind a successful year:

• 21,000 employees.
• More than 900 scientists and technicians.
• 65 research & development labs.
• More than 1,000 patents granted, 800 pending.
• 2.7 million volunteer hours.
• 10 million children helped through the Amway One by One Campaign for Children.
• $3.5 billion in bonuses and incentives.

Watch the video to learn more. We look forward to another successful year!

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Today Amway’s parent company, Alticor, announced record sales of USD$11.3 billion for 2012. 

That’s a huge accomplishment, driven by the strength of our NUTRILITE™ brand, which accounts for 46 percent of product sales. The introduction of eSpring™ in China in 2012, the company’s biggest product launch ever, and the restaging of the ARTISTRY™ beauty brand, created excitement and generated strong sales. First-year sales of eSpring in China are expected to top USD$500 million.

Those are impressive numbers.  But we calculate success another way:  The strength of  the millions of Amway distributors operating their own businesses in more than 100 countries and territories, supported by more than 21,000 employees worldwide.  They are drawn to our business to earn extra income and create more flexibility and work/life balance. When they achieve, we achieve. 

That’s why in 2013 we’ll fuel their success through USD$335 million in investments in manufacturing and research and development expansions in the U.S., China, India and Vietnam.  We’ll continue to create innovative products in nutrition and beauty.  And we’ll find new ways to support our distributors doing business wherever they are.

Congratulations to our distributors and employees on another record year.  Thanks to you, we have a “strength in numbers” that creates success.

Our wireless power research and development operation was one of the stars of the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show.

“It was a year of influencing wireless power,” said Dave Baarman, Fulton’s director of advanced technologies. “We were selected by CNET as one of the three finalists for Best of CES 2013. That was quite an honor given the competition.”

Also on center stage was Qi, the wireless power standard Fulton Innovation helped develop with the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC).

“It was an explosion of hundreds of products using Qi this year,” Baarman said. “The WPC booth was packed and loaded with all types of adapters, battery packs, hardware, devices and solutions, including the Toyota Avalon wireless charging solution in leather to launch later this year.”

Congratulations to Fulton Innovation!

Our Chief Marketing Officer Candace Matthews sat down with CMO.com recently and talked about her role in transforming marketing at Amway while ensuring the company maintains the identity that served it so well for more than 50 years.

Matthews talked about creating a global strategy and global branding to the business to help our more than 3 million distributors be more successful. And she talked about the importance of listening to the younger generations.

“They live in a digital world,” she said. “And what they’re thinking about is beyond what we baby boomers could ever imagine.”

While the younger generation of distributors may go about things a bit differently from their predecessors, the core of what they do remains the same — building relationships. And Matthews said that is the key to success.

“Digital enhances our business model; it won’t replace our business model because that contact is who we are,” she told CMO.com. “What digital does is it brings relevance, but it won’t replace relationships. That’s the core of who we are.”

Read the entire interview here.