Amway celebrates 60 years: What’s your hashtag?

Editor’s note: 2019 marks Amway’s 60th anniversary. We’re celebrating with a series of blogs highlighting the company’s history, milestones, products and legacy. Join the conversation by leaving a hashtag comment on each blog. Published comments will be entered into a drawing for free products in our Amway through the Decades Giveaway*!

In the last 60 years, Amway has evolved from two guys selling soap from their basements to a multibillion-dollar global enterprise with more than 1 million independent business owners worldwide selling hundreds of nutrition, home and beauty products.

That’s the Amway story in one sentence, but that sentence encapsulates so many other stories. Stories of hope, hard work, endurance, failure, resilience, discovery, research and sometimes just plain luck.

As part of our series of blogs marking Amway’s 60^th Anniversary, we asked several people with key roles in those stories to distill Amway down even further: As the company looks back on 60 years and looks ahead to many more, what one word or hashtag comes to mind?

#Whataride

Tracy Loughlin, who has traveled the world in her role as a senior training and development specialist for Amway, offered #whataride to describe her 39 years with the company. While Judy Hoover-Brown said it’s been a #blessing to work at a company where many other family members have worked, too.

“The Hoover family has enjoyed 199 years of service dedicated to empowering our Amway Independent Business Owners (IBOs) to help others live better lives,” she said. “I am blessed to come into a job I really love, because I know that I can make someone’s life better every day.”

#Value

Senior Principal Engineer Sue Hoff, a member of the Amway Distinguished Leadership Society, chose #inclusive.

“Amway offers women around the world a chance to work either at Amway or as an entrepreneur,” Sue said. “When I was a young woman looking for work in the sciences, I faced blatant discrimination. Amway hired me and I thrived here.”

Jaime Gonzales, a plant manager who has worked for Amway for 33 years landed on #value.

“Amway has so many positive attributes, but one that I appreciate the most is their contribution to the community and the world,” Jaime said. “Amway stands for something beyond simply increasing profits. Our corporation provides products to the world to help people live better lives—from employees and IBOs to consumers. I am privileged to participate in adding value to the world every day.”

#Human

Senior Business Analyst Mike Porter, who has worked at Amway for more than 40 years, while his father worked there for several years before him, chose #human. He said the founding families’ corporate values are “not just words.”

“Freedom, Family, Hope and Reward have been demonstrably verified through the lives, communities, states and whole countries touched (by Amway),” he said. “The vision, inspiration, influence and determination of the Founding Families accomplished so very much for so very many lives on a profound and phenomenal scale.”

#Opportunity

It may not be surprising that Amway Co-chairmen Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos chose the same hashtag to describe the company founded by their fathers, Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos: #opportunity.

Doug remembers consultants many years ago advising Rich and Jay to focus their recruiting on only those with professional sales experience. The advice was soundly rejected.

“They asked a simple question: Who do you want to leave out?” Doug recalled. “The cause of Amway was to make opportunity available to everyone so that people from all different backgrounds would have the same opportunity to have a business of their own.”

Len Iakiri, general manager of Amway Canada, also chose #opportunity. He cited similar reasoning, but also looked at it from an employee perspective. “It’s an opportunity for anyone who touches it,” he said, “to be a part of something really special.”

#Mission

Americas Region President Candace Matthews described Amway as a #globalfamily, while Sarah Argomaniz, market manager for Amway Dominican Republic, chose #helpingpeoplelivebetterlives, and Rajneesh Chopra, vice president of sales for Amway North America, offered #believeingreatness.

Those are along the same lines as Amway North America Managing Director Jim Ayres, who offered #mission.

“The whole company is built around the idea of helping people achieve economic freedom, wherever they are in the world, whatever political system there is,” he said. “Regardless of their ethnicity, their religious beliefs, their gender, their educational background, any of that.

“We’re on a mission to help them have the ability to reach their goals, their economic freedom wherever they are and whoever they are. To me that’s the essence of what Amway is about.”

#Productoftheproduct

Dr. Sam Rehnborg, son of Nutrilite founder Carl Rehnborg and president of the Nutrilite Health Institute, chose #productoftheproduct.

“We’re helping people help themselves in all ways—from dietary supplements to beauty to skincare to the environment to their pocketbook,” he said. “You’ll find the ones most successful are those who are products of the product. That’s what drives business. Sometimes we forget how simple it is.”

#Experiencemore

David Vanderveen, cofounder of the XS™ Energy brand with Scott Coon, chose #experiencemore, noting that Amway is fundamentally built on relationships.

“We have a unique ability to connect people’s bucket list dreams and goals to our products,” he said. “No one else does that like us in a connected economy. When we deliver great experiences, it enhances our relationships, builds trust and gives us permission to take people to new destinations.”

Scott looked ahead to expanded products and potential in an ever changing marketplace and chose #justgettingstarted.

#Biggerandbetter

Amway’s new CEO Milind Pant looked back to Rich and Jay for his hashtag, which he has been using across Twitter and Instagram: #biggerandbetter.

“This is a phrase that Rich and Jay used to use when talking about the growth possibilities for Amway and ABOs when working together in partnership,” Milind said.

“We are focused on strengthening this partnership today, enabling ABOs to build #biggerandbetter businesses by creating personal brands online and offline around their passions.”

What’s your hashtag?

When you look back on the last 60 years of Amway and consider what the future holds, what’s your hashtag? How would you describe Amway in one or two words?

Post your hashtag comment below and be entered to win a 15.75-oz container of Nutrilite™ All Plant Protein Powder. Make sure to read all the blogs marking Amway’s 60^th Anniversary to see other opportunities to win a prize from the Amway through the Decades Giveaway*!