This week, Herbalife confirmed that they're being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission. Herbalife said that they welcomed the investigation and that they're confident they operate in compliance with all laws and regulations.
The multi-level marketing company has received a lot of attention lately. Herbalife, which sells weight loss shakes and nutritional supplements, has been caught in the crosshairs of an epic hedge fund war.
Activist investor Bill Ackman, who runs Pershing Square, is betting on the company's demise. It's his contention that Herbalife operates as a "pyramid scheme" that targets lower income individuals and that regulators will be persuaded to investigate it and shut it down.
Not everyone has agreed with Ackman. A number of hedge fund managers, including Ackman's arch-nemesis Carl Icahn, are betting on the stock's rise.
We've been exposed to Herbalife via this nasty hedge fund battle, but haven't really been able to look at the people who make a living selling this product.
If you look on Instagram, there's more than 1.5 million photos that are hashtagged #Herbalife. There are also many so-called "Independent Distributors" marketing Herbalife products on the social media app.
We've posted images from 19 different independent distributors below. One thing we noticed is that a bunch of them refer to themselves as "wellness", "health" or "nutrition" coaches instead of "distributors."
Apparently, it's pretty popular to take selfies enjoying Herbalife.
Check it out:
We're not sure if that's a real tattoo...