Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to a take look into a program dealing with the home and kitchen with my Tastefully Simple MLM Review. The online sale of home and kitchen ingredients can be an extremely lucrative opportunity with many making a good living selling items via online stores and affiliate marketing. Added to this obviously is the array of home based multi level marketing programs that are available.
So, is Tastefully Simple a MLM worth looking into? Let's have a look and see…

What is MLM?
Multi-level marketing (MLM) programs are the traditional mainstay of the ‘party plan' world of products such as Tupperware, Mary Kay and Amway etc. and, of course within the home products market. And as MLMs have become more popular in recent times – mainly due to the fact that much of the sales and marketing is now being managed online – more and more companies are starting to get in on the action.
That's right! Wealthy Affiliate provided me with all of the tools and training I needed to get this post in front of my audience - a.k.a YOU!
You too can start your very own online business here that can make you money from anywhere in the world!!
The ‘multi level' aspects of MLM come from its hierarchical nature in which you make commissions based not only on those that you sell to, but also the sales of those whom you ‘sign' into membership arrangements as well.
In short, the process works as follows:
- You join the program, either via referral from another person (known as your up line) or directly through their website.
- You promote the products of the company via parties, workshops or online.
- As you make sales, you offer incentives to your customers to sign up as a member of the program (there are different names for this but they all mean the same thing).
- That new member is then placed ‘underneath' you in a hierarchical arrangement (known as your down line).
- You, and a number of levels of your up line, then gain extra commissions for everything they sell as well.
- If they manage to refer their customers into memberships, they also become a member of your down line allowing you to make up line commissions as well.
The number of levels of your up and down lines will vary depending on the program you have joined. Commission rates will also change as your down line grows or contracts and many will also offer other incentives such as total company sales percentages and/or access to membership prizes as your own business grows.
Who are Tastefully Simple?

Tastefully Simple was founded in 1995 by Jill Blashack Strahan with a belief that “people are in search of crazy delicious food that's insanely easy to prepare”. In that time they have grown from a small business packing products on a pool table to a fully functional facility employing over 75 team members.
Tastefully Simple is based in Minnesota in the United States.
What do they sell?
As above, Tastefully Simple offers a large range of home and kitchen products and staples including:
- Breads & Soups
- Breakfast & Brunch
- Desserts & Baking
- Dips & Appetizers
- Dressings & Oils
- Drinks & Beverages
- Kitchenware & More
- Product Assortments
- Sauces
- Seasonings
- Snacks
- Totes & Coolers
All Tastefully Simple kitchenware can be sold as individual products or as part of a meal kit.

MLM Program outline
The Tastefully Simple MLM program calls their members ‘Consultants' who are part of what appears to be a simple program with a common retail and downline commission structure and a good number of bonus options included. I did find their compensation plan on their website (you will need to hunt for it but it is there) so here are the basics as I have found them…
Base Commission rate: 15% – 40% based on total sales tiers.
Down line commission rates: 1 – 7% to 3 levels (level 1 down line is 3% – rank Copper and above)
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions
To qualify for downline commissions, Consultants are required to meet monthly sales targets of at least $100 to earn 15% commissions. This can be made of personal or customer sales that are sold predominately via the party plan model. Sales less than $100 do however earn a 10% credit on the consultant's account.
Payment terms: Monthly.
Application required?: Yes, Application form on website.
Purchase requirements to join: Yes
New Distributors are required to purchase a Starter kit as follows:

Marketing materials provided: As per starter kit above.
Within most MLM programs, rankings and commissions are determined by the total bonus volume (PV) generated by the Distributor and their down line within a calendar month with points assigned to each product. These point allocations can range from 40 to 80% of the retail price of each product (before tax and shipping) and vary from item to item and currency of sale.
In the case of the Tastefully Simple MLM program however, commissions appear to be earned purely on the sales dollar amount minus tax and shipping
That's right! Wealthy Affiliate provided me with all of the tools and training I needed to get this post in front of my audience - a.k.a YOU! You too can start your very own online business here that can make you money from anywhere in the world!!
How can I get paid?
Ok, so from what I can garner from the compensation plan, there are 8 ways in which Tastefully Simple consultants can make money when they promote and sell Tastefully Simple products items. These are fairly straight forward and there are a few of the extra bonuses found in many other MLM arrangements. The 8 payment options for the Tastefully Simple MLM program are outlined as follows:
1. Direct Sales
These are the base commissions earned by the general day to day retail sales that Consultants can generate via online and face to face parties. Commissions are earned base on the number of sales per month as follows:

2. Downline Commissions
Downline Commissions are the traditional unilevel commission structures prevalent within many MLM programs. Within the Tastefully Simple MLM program, commissions are paid to 3 levels based on the rank of the Consultant as follows:

Consultants must be at rank of Copper and above to qualify for Downline Commissions.
3. Team Growth Bonus
The Team Growth Bonus is a cash reward based on a percentage of increased sales from the same quarter of the prior year based on first line sales volume. Payments are paid to the higher ranks within the program as follows:

4. Fast Start Bonus
The Fast Start Bonus is a commonly utilized MLM bonus option that rewards new consultants for early sales. In this case, payments are made on sales of $250 or more within the first ten weeks of operation as below:

5. Leader Fast Track Bonus
New consultants that rise to higher ranks within the program within their first full quarter of operations can earn bonuses as follows:

6. Leader Ladder Cash Bonus
The Leader Ladder Cash Bonus is another common bonus option that rewards consultants for reaching higher ranks with the following cash payments:

Consultants who qualify for Leader Fast Track are not eligible for the Leader Ladder Cash.
7. Leadership Builder Bonus
The Leadership Depth Bonus is paid to Consultants who are able to nurture new leaders within their downline as below:

8. Shining in Leadership Bonus
The Shining Leadership Bonus is paid to consultants who are able to establish a balanced business of selling, sponsoring and leading per below:

Ranking structure
Tastefully Simple, as with most MLM programs, uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rankings for the Tastefully Simple MLM program are as follows (note personal and team sales qualification targets as well):

Again, as is common with almost all MLM programs, rank progression is determined by both the number of members within the Consultant's down line, and the total sales made by those members per month. Ranks can rise and fall based on the ability (or dis-ability) to reach the required member and sales targets.
What is good about it?
So, after a good look around the site and looking at all the options I could find, I do like the following:
- Commission rates for entry level sales are good.
- Program is simple and easy to follow.
What is no so good about it?
There are also some things to be aware of including:
- There are some joining costs.
- Some sales targets are required (albeit small) to earn commissions.
- Downline commissions are quite low compared to some other programs
How much can you make?
Tastefully Simple does provide an income disclosure statement on its website as follows:

Based on the information above, it has to be assumed that the percentage of members who earn a living with this program alone is very low (most MLM programs run at around less than 1%).
My final thoughts
Look, MLM is not an easy platform to make money in and there is not much that I have seen here to put this program above the many others I have seen. However, the program is pretty straight forward with common commission arrangements and the ability to make sales online, with the party plan model or via kiosks etc.
So if you are interested in the home products niche centered around the kitchen with a large customer list at your disposal and the ability to generate good sales via online processes, then the 15% – 40% base commission rates might just appeal here.
Once you have joined, there are not the usual financial pressures of needing to make minimum personal purchases in order to qualify for commissions as long as you can make them within your down line. Although from what I can see, I think if you are going to succeed within this MLM program, you may need to have a good array of demonstration stock on hand.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Tastefully Simple MLM program. I hope it has been of assistance but as usual, if you have any questions or experience with this program please do not hesitate to reach out by commenting below – especially if any of my information is inaccurate.
Are there any other programs you have been looking at but want to know more about? If so, please comment below and I will do my best to get some details for you.
Do you want further assistance with any of the above or need help to build your own food or home based website?
Are you looking for a comprehensive training platform that can give you step by step training, 24/7 support, tools to develop and host your very own website, ongoing assistance with SEO and social media and access to some of the best affiliate marketing minds on the planet, then click on the following link to read more about Wealthy Affiliate.
Until next time
Have fun
Paul
Note: If you make a purchase from this page, there is a very good chance that I make a commission from it – these commissions do not increase your sale price. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.