Tahitian Noni

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Tahitian Noni International
Type	Subsidiary of Morinda Holdings, Inc.
Founded	1996
Headquarters	Provo, Utah
Key people	Kerry O. Asay, President, CEO, and Co-Founder[1]
Industry	Multi-level Marketing
Revenue	$500 million[2]
Employees	1,500[3]
Website	http://www.tahitiannoni.com

Tahitian Noni International (TNI) is a company known for its products made from the noni plant.^[4] Operating under a multi-level marketing business model and a subsidiary of Morinda Holdings, Inc., TNI claims to have started the noni industry, which now consists of over 250 companies.^[5] Founded in 1996 and based in Provo, Utah, TNI employs approximately 1500 employees worldwide and claims total yearly sales in the range of $500 million.^[5]

TNI has manufacturing plants in Tahiti^[6], Japan, China, Germany, and the U.S. (American Fork, Utah). It also operates cafés[1] and visitors centers [2] around the globe.^[4]

The company helped finance the 2003 film The Legend of Johnny Lingo, where the noni fruit and juice were included as part of the story line.

Contents 1 Products 1.1 Tahitian Noni Juice 1.2 HIRO beverages 1.3 Beauty and personal care 2 Criticisms and legal battles 2.1 Attorneys General (AZ, CA, NJ, TX) vs. Morinda Holdings, Inc. 2.2 Tahitian Noni & XanGo settlement 2.3 Possible contamination in Spain 3 References

[edit] Products

[edit] Tahitian Noni Juice

Tahitian Noni Juice is available in various sizes and in Kosher form. Currently, the retail price of a standard 1-liter bottle of juice is $42.00 U.S.^[7]

[edit] HIRO beverages

The HIRO line of beverages each claim to yield different effects: Thermo (to burn calories), Energy, Mobility, and Vitality. The retail price of a 24-pack of HIRO (each can containing 250mL) costs $87.00 U.S. ^[8]

[edit] Beauty and personal care

TNI offers beauty and personal care products ranging from hair care to facial care to body care--most made with noni seed oil.^[9]

• The company also offers different types of teas (called Tahiteas^[10]) and nutritional foods and food supplements--some even for animals (i.e., horses and canines).^[11]

[edit] Criticisms and legal battles

[edit] Attorneys General (AZ, CA, NJ, TX) vs. Morinda Holdings, Inc.

On August 26, 1998, the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, New Jersey, and Texas announced a multi-state settlement with Morinda, Inc., the charges stating that Morinda had made "unsubstantiated claims in consumer testimonials and other promotional material that its Tahitian Noni juice could treat, cure or prevent numerous diseases, including diabetes, depression, hemorrhoids and arthritis."^[12] Such claims rendered the beverage an unapproved new drug under state and federal food and drug laws and should not have been sold until it received approval. Under the terms of the agreement, Morinda agreed to:

• No longer make drug claims, or claims that the product can cure, treat, or prevent any disease until "Tahitian Noni" is approved and cleared for those uses by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Not make any other claims, whether health claims or others, regarding the benefits of Tahitian Noni unless such claims are true and the company can substantiate the claim by reliable scientific evidence.
• Not use testimonials which imply that the advertised claimed results are the typical or ordinary experience of consumers in actual conditions of use, unless Morinda possesses and relies upon adequate substantiation that the results are typical or ordinary.

In addition, Morinda agreed to refund to any consumer who requests a refund in writing, the full purchase price paid for the product. The agreement also called for Morinda to pay $100,000 for investigative costs.^[13]

[edit] Tahitian Noni & XanGo settlement

Tahitian Noni sued XanGo and several of its top executives in February 2003 in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, alleging that executives stole Tahitian Noni's concept for a mangosteen-based supplement while they were employed by TNI's parent-company, to which XanGo counter-sued. In a joint statement, Tahitian Noni and XanGo did not disclose particulars regarding the settlement, only stating that they have "agreed to resolve their disputes and the litigation between them and their founders."^[14]

[edit] Possible contamination in Spain

Residents of Spain were alerted in February 2007 to avoid consuming certain improperly labeled bottles of Tahitian Noni Juice while the health department there awaits toxicology reports for a man who died after drinking the juice. According to reports in Spain, a 40-year-old man from Ogijares—located in the southernmost region of Spain—drank some noni juice for breakfast and began to experience strange sensations in his mouth and blurred vision. He died shortly thereafter, and another family member, who also drank some juice, reported similar symptoms.^[15] More recent reports state that there were large amounts of cocaine in the bottles and the body of the deceased man.^[16]

The bottles of juice recovered from the deceased man's home were submitted to the Spanish Institute of Toxicology, where it was confirmed the bottles were contaminated with cocaine. The bottles in question bore labels from Mexico, and the lot number and expiration dates were illegible. Spanish authorities urged consumers to check the labels on their bottles of juice and report any irregularities. Consumers were also asked not to purchase bottles of juice outside the company’s normal distribution channels.^[17]

The investigation is ongoing, and Spanish authorities have not banned sales of the juice in Spain.

[edit] References