Total 545 words used
When you think of a family business, you tend to think small. Not the family behind Jeunesse. When husband and wife Randy Ray and Wendy Lewis launched Jeunesse in collaboration with Wendy's son Scott Lewis in 2009, the goal was to build a billion-dollar company. That impressive milestone was reached in just six years when Jeunesse achieved $1.3 billion in worldwide annual sales, becoming the fastest company in direct selling history to reach the billion-dollar annual sales mark.
Randy Ray grew up in such deep poverty that at times he didn’t own shoes and ate mud pies to stave off hunger pains. Despite this impoverished youth, Randy held a strong belief that he was destined for success. This belief helped him break free from poverty to attend college and later design a computer system used to launch NASA space shuttles. As a Founder and CEO of Jeunesse, Randy has commanded the helm of Jeunesse since its inception.
Wendy Lewis started down the entrepreneurial path at age 8 when she launched a summer camp from her parents’ back patio, charging neighborhood kids to make arts and crafts projects and participate in lawn games. Later in life, as a single mother who started her career as a math teacher, Wendy faced countless challenges on her entrepreneurial path. However, her work ethic and unrelenting determination have successfully seen her through many challenges. As a founder and COO, Wendy applies her analytical and problem-solving skills to overseeing the day-to-day global operations of the company, including overseeing IT, Customer Services, Human Resources, and Logistics.
Growing up the son of a serial entrepreneur, Scott was sure to learn a thing or two from his successful mom. However, it’s his visionary leadership and out-of-the-box thinking that has contributed so generously to the success of Jeunesse. Taking the road less traveled, Scott believed in a “reverse by design” strategy. When the Jeunesse launched, Scott promoted a diversified market strategy, growing several international markets early on, creating a stable global footprint. Today, Scott keeps his eye on the future, while overseeing worldwide events, marketing, and communications as well as working overseeing international markets.
With a large global infrastructure and critical processes and systems firmly in place, in 2021 the Jeunesse focused on products — specifically localizing products for international markets. This strategy included using local ingredients and manufacturers, filling unique niches, and entering growing product categories in specific markets.
Jeunesse launched 23 new products across five regions, ranging from supplements and beauty items to beverages and personal care goods.
This localization strategy resulted in lowered product costs and market growth. The average growth of the top three markets was greater than 106% in 2021. Also notable among the top 10 growth markets with at least $150,000 USD in monthly revenue:
- Top growing regions were Europe, Middle East, Greater China, and Latin America
- Growth ranged from 7.7% to 140%
- Growth among the top three markets averaged 59%
- Nine of the top ten growth markets saw double-digit growth
Live, in-person events are a key revenue driver for the company. Jeunesse ventured back into hosting limited live events in 2021 by taking a localized approach offering virtual only, limited in person, and hybrid events, depending on the situation in each host country and region.
