The decline of Tahitian Noni Juice, and along with it Tahitian Noni International, Inc. (TNI) (held by Morinda Holdinds, Inc.) is showing some interesting and possibly desperate activities.
As reported earlier, the Tahitian Noni Cafe’s, the brainfarts of Kelly Olson, have now been closed and done away with. It wasn’t a great idea to start with by taking a product with bogus claims into the mainstream like that. But John Wadsworth, founder and president of Tahitian Noni International, has also done away with Mr. Olsen by moving him to a board position and out of harm’s way. In Feb 09 the new management team was presented by Mr. Wadsworth and that team no longer included Mr. Olson. The new team consists of Robert G. Johnson (executive VP), Jeff Hill (VP of sales and marketing), Charlie Smith (VP of operations) Seth Miller (VP of global markets), Randall Smith (VP and CFO), and Richard Rife (VP and general counsel).
What about Mr. Kerry Asay, though? We’ll get to him in a minute.
There is no doubt that this new team will not be able to turn the tide and further layoffs, closing of foreign offices and cost cutting is not going to make much difference. John Wadsworth returned from a mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS, a.k.a. the Mormon Church) and has made it his mission to attempt to clean up TNI’s act but that is not the only thing going on in the private domain of Mr. Wadsworth. Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the private domain of Mr. Asay.
While the two of them attempted to undo the damage inflicted by Olson, without much success, and while having TNI and Noni products at the center of massive turmoil and losses in their network nobody has been paying attention to a new player in the market named MAAKOA. Perhaps all the attempts at having TNI look busy and healthy are a cover for the next jump point for yet another product that shares much of the same “miracle wonders” as Noni Juice pretended to provide. Is Kerry Asay funding this new company? How much is Kerry Asay involved in it? Let’s explore!
- Did you know that Kerry has a daughter, Kara Asay?
- Did you know that Kara is married to Kimble Smith?
- Did you know that Kimble Smith is a founder and the head of product development for MAAKOA?
Don’t take our word for it, look it up. It’s public information. Even on MAAKOA’s own site it says, “Kimble and his wife Kara live in Orem, Utah with their son Asay”.
Kara and Kimble’s son’s name is no doubt a way to keep the Asay name in the family. But what else is being kept in the family when MAAKOA has all the appearance of being the next TNI, the next MLM to go that route, the next company to have legions of brainwashed drinkers that believe in the miracle powers, the next company to have legions of scam artists selling the juice by making illegal medical and health claims? Is Kerry Asay involved in helping the family by betraying the other so-called family? Or is he just involved to create his next executive position when TNI falls to the ground and doesn’t get up?
Experts have looked at the Facebook fan profile of MAAKOA and found that approximately 70 percent of the “friends” of MAAKOA used to be, or currently still are, TNI distributors.
Maakoa is selling a purple Noni-like bottle called Koopuwa that is claimed to be a bland of Brazilian Cupuaçu, Açai, and other “super fruits” bursting with “phytonutrients” and antioxidants. What an amazing surprise, another “mystical” fruit from a far-away land, squeezed into a bottle. Other Maakoa related resources tell us that a bottle of Koopuwa contains Purified Water, Cupuacu (puree), Acai (powder and puree), Apple Juice, Red Grape Juice, Pear Juice, Wolfberry Juice, Yum Berry Juice, Blueberry Juice, Red Raspberry Juice, Pomegranate Juice Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Benzoate (as a preservative, E211)
Wolfberry Juice is also often referred to as Goji Juice. But what is even more surprising is the addition of Sodium Benzoate which in combination with ascorbic acid (vitamin C, E300), sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate may form benzene, a known carcinogen.
And already the testimonials are flowing, as you can see on the Maakoa website, “My Pain is Gone! Since 1992 my heart and immune system have given me problems…” and “Unable to exercise for most of 16 years, I am now working out in the gym with my husband. In 30 years in natural health, I have never seen anything so effective.” And that testimonial is credited to someone named Kara.
We probably won’t have to tell you that the offices of Maakoa are also in Orem, Utah. Where else would an MLM ‘juice company’ be headquartered? It’s so obvious that even a blind person could see this coming a mile away.
Update 5th of October: Mr. Kimble Smith has responded (see first comment on this post) saying that he does not work for Maakoa. And it appears he no longer does. However, at the time of writing of the above, a Mr. Kimble Smith (married to Kara and living in Orem, UT with their son Asay) did work at Maakoa. Since we are accused of not doing our homework we will present a small part of that homework here. Click on the image below to see the full page as it was prior to Maakoa removing the picture and description of “Kimble Smith, Vice President of Product Development & Manufacturing”: (here is another version of the site)
Or what about Kimble, described as “one of our Fearless Maakoa leaders”, taking one for the team? Or perhaps this one, The Leadership Staff include Bruce Davis, David Simpson, Todd Kirkpatrick, Jeff Bruning, Kimble Smith and Jerry Nelson? Or this page?
The admin name for the domain registration of Maakoa.org was, guess who, Kimble Smith. Prior to it changing registration details to Bruce Davis and Jeff Bruning:
Maybe we should look at the Linked-In profile of Mr. Kimble Smith (click the image for a larger page):
And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to homework. Granted, discovering that there are more people named Kara on the planet should be no surprise, however, we never claimed that the testimonial being referred to was written by Kara Smith. We just pointed out the name and the testimonial. Anyone else can follow the same homework and find a lot of the rest that we don’t have time posting about. Just use the internet. Search engines are your friend.
 Robert Dean Jr. - Why he left TNI [58:04m]: Play Now
|
Noni World Wide Warning
We took a hidden camera into a meeting for sales distributors in Costa Mesa.
It sounded like money is growing on trees, at least, the Noni tree. Sales of Tahitian Noni juice are in the billions.
"Every 1.7 seconds somebody buys a bottle of Tahitian Noni juice," one salesman told us.
The dealer says he is a "pearl" and starts explaining how the pyramid scheme works; that "two percent
of the world wide financial turnover is distributed amongst all pearls" and that after reaching that level
within the organizational pyramid structure you can become a "diamond pearl", "double diamond pearl",
"tripple diamond pearl" and finally "black pearl". He also says that
"Some [dealers] in The Netherlands already make 10.000 euros a month in additional bonussus".
The undercover reporter is presented with these miracle income opportunities and easy and quick advances
within the pyramidal organization structure, and of course, lots and lots of extra money.
Neil Solomon in his own words
Retired Medical Doctor Neil Solomon, considered a Noni expert admitted to unethical behavior!
“I admit that for at least the past 20 years, I have used my position as a physician to instigate a wide range of sexual relations with at least eight woman patients. This conduct included acts of sexual intercourse, as well as other explicit sex acts. These activities took place in my medical office during patient visits, as well as in other locations. I admit that I engaged in sexual misconduct with my patients during the physician/patient relationship. I admit that I engaged in this conduct with multiple patients over the same time period.” — Neil Solomon, October 27, 1993
The Noni Patent
As Morinda/TNI will proudly tell its distributors, and likewise proud distributors will tell unaware but potential customers and new distributors, there are patents involved with Noni! Using such statements they imply that something must be good and special about Noni. But only if you read the actual patent will you discover that this patent pertains to a "A method is disclosed for eliminating grease, sewage odor and hydrogen sulfide from restaurant grease traps and municipal sewage systems using xeronine. Xeronine works by stimulating the metabolism of the resident anaerobic and aerobic bacteria.". We could joke about how the vile smell of Noni easily out-stinks sewage, but we won't. We do, however, feel that patent 4,666,606 shows that drinkers of Noni Juice should not confuse themselves with sewers. Our advise would be to pour Noni Juice down the drain... in case things are clogged, of course.
Noni - No Evidence
Source : Caremark
Noni has been heavily promoted for an enormous range of uses, including abrasions, arthritis, atherosclerosis, bladder infections, boils, bowel disorders, burns, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, circulatory weakness, colds, cold sores, congestion, constipation, diabetes, drug addiction, eye inflammations, fever, fractures, gastric ulcers, gingivitis, headaches, heart disease, hypertension, improved digestion, immune weakness, indigestion, intestinal parasites, kidney disease, malaria, menstrual cramps, menstrual irregularities, mouth sores, respiratory disorders, ringworm, sinusitis, skin inflammation, sprains, stroke, thrush, and wounds. However, there is no real evidence that it is effective for any of these conditions. "Several animal studies have evaluated the effects of extracts derived from noni. The results suggest noni may have anti-cancer immune-enhancing and pain-relieving properties. However, most of these studies used unrealistically high doses that would be difficult to get from taking the juice itself. There have been no human trials of noni."
A Summary
The following is an article (originally posted in Dutch and also on this site) that aims to provide a quick overview, summary, and personal perspective on Noni Juice. We have taken the liberty to translate this to English and would like to thank the original author for having posted this summary.
It is very interesting and bizarre that in a short exchange of "information" the number of people that write the most (about Noni Juice) are evidently active sales people that sell Noni Juice and as such they are influenced by the commercial and financial benefits they can reap.
What isn't being said in all the wonderful stories about this "miracle juice" is that the product is often offered and advertised through SPAM e-mail, by different so-called distributors. This then automatically places this "miracle juice" in the same category of SPAM as is the case with Viagra, penis enlargement, mortgages and credit, and "get rich quick schemes". The same category of SPAM that everyone with an e-mail address has already seen too much of.
What also isn't told by the fancy-speaking sales people and distributors is the background of the mother company that produces this "miracle juice" which it sells through a system that can commonly be referred to as a pyramid scheme (but referred to as multi level marketing just like SPAM companies call themselves direct marketing experts) and that the mother company has often been taken to court by government prosecutors of different states in the USA. These legal suits were often because of, amongst other things, the way in which Noni Juice was being sold (with claims that it was a medicine or cure for HIV, cancer, etc.) Not only in the USA has the company been forced to pay fines. Subsequently there are distributors in the pyramid construction who will say that this "miracle juice" has been approved by the EU but what they fail to mention is that this approval is with regard to using the trademark and name of Tahitian Noni (R) while only allowing it under the category of a "novelty food" product as pasteurized fruit-juice. The mother company and manufacturer Tahitian Noni International (TNI) previously operating under the name Morinda, Inc., knows better than to make unsubstantiated claims and therefore leaves the marketing, sales, and advertising up to their distributors which in turn deploy the kind of marketing that TNI itself could no longer sustain without running into yet more legal trouble. The fact that these distributors in the EU are using the EU "approval" to impress unsuspecting potential customers with the claim that the ingredients of this "miracle juice" are approved by the EU is definitely something that can be considered surprising and suspicious.
It is also remarkable that many of the distributors and sales people around the globe, working within the pyramid structure, have constructed many different web sites on the internet which only serve the purpose of influencing the results of search engines (like Google and AltaVista). These sites and pages use combinations of words such as "Noni Fraud" and "Noni Scam" to lure and lead people to other sites which in turn sell this "miracle juice" or otherwise contain a lot of positive-spin propaganda. It is clear that in many cases these pages only serve the purpose to hide and overshadow other material published about Noni Juice which makes it difficult for people to find neutral or less-than-positive information on the internet regarding Noni Juice. This manipulation of search engine results aims to hide pages carrying facts other than those offered by the distributors and sales people.
For example as can be found at http://www.worldwidewarning.net
Raising false and idle hope for people who are suffering from cancer, including the families and loved ones, with the purpose of commercial and financial gains makes you kind of wonder... to say the least. Perhaps in the future these distributors will learn what it is like to have a disease that can't be cured.. in their bank accounts. Maybe the Noni Juice distributors should consider taking up some of those "get rich quick" spam offers because Noni might not be their ticket to wealth. Considering that, maybe it's not so strange that distributors and sales people are deploying their marketing activities on the internet in many of the different forums and discussion groups.
What about the TRUTH?
This page is dedicated to all those unfortunate individuals who have been terminally ill and had their hopes raised by Noni sales people who's only interest was grabbing some quick cash from people who would not live to complain about the snake-oil and sugar-water
that was sold to them. We hope that the collection of information of Noni related information will be beneficial to anyone looking into Noni.
In Hawaii, it's called Noni. In Guam it's called Lada. In Tahiti they call it Nono. All of which are known as Noni Juice, Indian Mulberry, Morinda, Hog Apple, Meng Koedoe, Mora De La India, Ruibarbo Caribe, or Wild Pine. But what is there about all this that
those financially involved or associated with this substance are trying to hide from unsuspecting customers? This page presents a collection links and information that is difficult to find amongst the polluted results
of many of the internet search engine. This pollution of the search-engine results is a direct result of companies and individuals (that have a financial interest in the representation of Tahitian Noni Juice) using many web sites
and pages with specific key words that direct you to positive sales information and propaganda. The information and links we present here are copyrighted by their respective authors and will hopefully provide a bigger, and perhaps clearer, picture of this
NoniJuice that is often referred to as snakeoil.
|
