Melaleuca Reviews from the Inside: Employees Say Company Stays True to Its Roots

Nowadays, it’s harder and harder to find consumer goods manufacturers that make their products right here in America. As the world becomes increasingly interested in fair wages, safe working conditions, and quality of ingredients found in household, health and beauty products, where those products are made matters more than ever. American-made products typically represent the gold standard of quality, since American factories are held to higher standards than those in other countries, but manufacturers must balance price with value. 

Fortunately, with the health and wellness company Melaleuca, consumers can find the ideal situation: exclusive high-quality health and wellness products made by an American company that treats their employees with respect.

When customers purchase home and laundry cleaners, supplements and foods and personal care and beauty products from Melaleuca, they most likely do so knowing that they are selecting a healthy, environmentally friendly option for their families. All 400+ products that the company manufactures are made without chlorine bleach, phthalates, quaternary disinfectants, ammonia, triclosan, abrasives, parabens, phosphates or formaldehydes. This keeps families from being exposed to some of the most common, albeit dangerous, chemicals found in homes.

A Melaleuca Review of Company History

Melaleuca generates more than $2 billion each year in revenue, and its products are found in millions of households across 20 countries and territories. Considered the world’s largest online shopping club, Melaleuca continues to grow its customer base and product offerings. The organization has come a long way since its founding in September 1985.

When longtime CEO Frank VanderSloot officially launched Melaleuca: The Wellness Company, it sold merely seven products containing melaleuca oil, or Australian “tea tree oil.” When applied to the skin, melaleuca oil is an antibacterial and can be used to treat acne, athlete’s foot, lice, nail fungus and insect bites. From there, VanderSloot prioritized the use of natural ingredients in Melaleuca products, falling back on other ingredient options only when there was no better choice provided by nature — something the company continues to do today.

Although Melaleuca has grown into a large business, it has held true to its roots: naturally derived ingredients and products that are manufactured in the USA. Considering the various flavors, colors and varieties of its products, the company now provides thousands of choices to its customers. And it does so while holding to rigorous standards of quality and delivering affordable, healthy household products that perform as well as or better than grocery store products.

Employee Reviews of Melaleuca

Melaleuca has over 4,000 employees around the globe, with roughly 2,000 people living near their US operations in southeast Idaho, Knoxville and Kansas City. 

Melaleuca employees have been vocal in sharing their perspectives about the company, often citing stellar coworkers, career opportunities, room for professional growth, respect for family needs and time-off requests being honored. 

Generally speaking, former and current employees have positive things to say about their experience working for Melaleuca on popular employee review websites like Glassdoor, Comparably and Indeed, such as the following reviews:

“I worked at Melaleuca for 26 years. It was a fantastic place to work and allowed me tons of opportunities for advancement in my career. I would highly recommend it to people just starting out in their career that are not sure what they want to do in life because there are many types of positions in the company.”

“Melaleuca is a great place to work for. I have great friends here and enjoy the work that I do. We are definitely going through growing pains and struggling through impacts of the pandemic and logistics, but it’s a good place. The new CEO is awesome.”

“Lots of room to grow in the company and you can be a superstar if you’re willing to work hard and be competent at any type of technology.”

“Melaleuca is an incredible company. Great pay, amazing benefits and for the most part a great work/ home life balance (they do have busy seasons where days & weeks can be long but the pay and little bonuses help.) I would recommend this job to anybody able to do fairly simple rotating line work. It’s incredibly easy to make friends here as well which makes work so much more fun and less like work.”

And if you’re looking for a review score, Comparably gives the overall Melaleuca culture an A based on the 94 employees who have written online reviews. 

Melaleuca Company Culture

Frank VanderSloot served as Melaleuca CEO for 36 years. Today, he is executive chairman of the board of directors, remaining intimately involved in the company decisions. The new Melaleuca CEO, Jerry Felton, had previously led the company’s international department. 

VanderSloot has been honored numerous times for his business accomplishments and entrepreneurship in building the state of Idaho’s fifth-largest privately held company, according to the Idaho Statesman. But there is much more to this man than his company; unquestionably, his values, interests and passions have shaped Melaleuca’s company culture.

One of the greatest influences in shaping Melaleuca’s corporate culture is the mission statement that VanderSloot developed on day one: “to enhance the lives we touch by helping people reach their goals.” Small goals, big goals and everything in between. 

VanderSloot is a patriotic American and a proponent of hard work and the blue-collar values he learned while being raised on a farm. He’s a well-known member of his community and a philanthropist. He often donates products and his own time to help veterans or families after natural disasters. 

In March 2023, he planned and paid for a remarkable trip that hosted eight war veterans in Washington D.C. to pay tribute to their patriotic service. They flew on the company’s corporate jet and returned home to a hero’s welcome in Idaho. Additionally, for 30 years, Melaleuca has funded and hosted the largest Independence Day fireworks display west of the Mississippi, celebrating the birth of America with a stirring 31-minute tribute to our Founding Fathers that lights up the night sky.

The Melaleuca Foundation is the charitable arm of the company, created when VanderSloot and his company helped families after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Since it was founded, the Melaleuca Foundation has donated millions of dollars and has mobilized employees and Marketing Executives to help others in need. While supporting those suffering after a natural disaster is a major effort of the Foundation, it also supports many other charitable efforts. For example, it has helped the 4-H program, the Boy Scouts of America, The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, the National Federation of the Blind, Feeding America, Caritas International, St. Vincent de Paul, food banks and many nonprofit organizations around the world. Its signature cause is funding a special orphanage in Quito, Ecuador. 

These examples provide insight into VanderSloot’s character, and they are also reflected in the way Melaleuca conducts its business. In online reviews, Melaleuca employees say it feels like a large family, helping them advance their careers and build their professional skill sets. 

And that is what the data says too. The online reviews from Comparably give Frank VanderSloot an A+ as a leader based on the average score of 85 Melaleuca employees who have ranked him there.

In an age where employees have learned their value and judge employers by how they treat their workers, Melaleuca manages to come out on top. By staying true to its core values, Melaleuca has been able to provide high-quality products at an affordable price while still treating their workforce fairly. It may be an unusual story in today’s fierce business climate, but it’s one that is welcome to hear.