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- A $4M Per Month Pyramid Scheme šŖ“
A $4M Per Month Pyramid Scheme šŖ“
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Finlay Williams
August 16, 2024
2 minute wacky businesses, you can tell your buddies about š§
Ever heard of the phrase, āSelling dirt to a farmerā? Black Oxygen Organics took that quite literally and turned it into a business model. Let me introduce you to the company that bottled up mud, called it magic, and managed to build a pyramid scheme with it.
This one is going to be a little differentā¦
Source: Google Trends
Dirt cures all! š§
Meet Black Oxygen Organics, a health and wellness company that somehow convinced folks that dirt could cure everything from arthritis to your love life. They raked in around $4 million a month (damn thatās a lot of dirt) before the walls came tumbling down.
Black Oxygen Organics (BOO) pitched themselves as the purveyors of āfulvic acid,ā a fancy term for, dirt. Their flagship product was muddy water packed into capsules/sold as a powder, promising to cleanse your body and mind (it didnāt). BOO didnāt just sell a product though; they sold a dreamāa dream of financial freedom through a classic pyramid scheme. Sign up, recruit others, and watch the cash flow in as long as the dirt keeps selling.
What are the nuggets? š
šŖ“ Origin: Marc Saint-Onge claimed to have discovered the āhealing propertiesā of fulvic acid after a life-changing trip toāyou guessed itāthe mudflats. He turned that experience into a product, starting BOO with the idea that dirt could make you rich.
šŖ“ Facebook groups: BOOās real power move was turning Facebook groups into high-pressure sales funnels. They tapped into existing communities, using testimonials and before-and-after photos to build a narrative. It was like watching a grassroots movementā¦ except, you know, for mud and fraud.
šŖ“ Pivotal Moment: The real boom came during the pandemic when everyone was looking for immune boosters. BOO capitalized on this by aggressively marketing their mud as the next big thing in wellness. For a while, it workedāuntil the FDA started asking questions.
šŖ“ The Parasite Debacle: Hereās where things got particularly weird. BOO's users started reporting that the mud was helping them expel parasites. People were posting pictures of strange things they found in their toilet bowls, claiming that BOO was ridding them of worms and other nasties. BOO obviously doubled down, using the fear of parasites as a marketing tool. Experts later pointed out that these so-called "parasites" were likely just bits of undigested food or even the mud itself.
šŖ“ Fall from Grace: Their undoing was as swift as their rise. In 2021, the FDA and Health Canada issued warnings and recalls of Black Oxygen Organics tablets and powders, citing potential health risks and promotion of the products in ways that had not been evaluated or authorised. Leading to the companyās eventual shutdown. Turns out, selling dirt as a cure-all doesnāt hold up under legal scrutiny.
šŖ“ The Cleanup: Even as they shut down, BOO left behind a mess. Lawsuits piled up, and many former distributors found themselves holding unsellable stock and shattered dreams.
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