Is Thermomix a pyramid scheme?

[Sachertorten]

Why does it make me want to run away with every fibre of my being when someone mentions it to me? Surely the days of Tupperware and Avon are over. Everyone who wants in is an ‘influencer’ now? Another concept which makes me gag.

I am probably just showing my age, just a self-employed Millennial on mat leave with a mortgage and grumpy with the plight of the HENRY.

I've wondered this before - don't know a great deal about it but it all seems quite odd!

Their business model strongly suggests that is the case

It must be, I don’t see anyone buying a £1700 kitchen appliance they will never use.

I don't need any more appliances on my worktops - thank you!

(you are probably right, OP)

I go to a networking group where a Thermomix seller turns up every couple of months, and everyone bar me says in their recommendations how much they love the thing. One woman last month said she used it ten times a day (she must be forever washing up).

I looked at some videos of it and genuinely cannot see the point. But then, I quite like cooking, find it a bit therapeutic, and don't have a big family to cater for. I don't even have an air fryer!

I suspect people who introduce new buyers get a kickback.

Technically not (because pyramid schemes don't have actual products) but it is a recruitment and commission-based sales business just like Scentsy, Body Shop parties and all of those lot, i.e. heavy pushing, bonus for signing up more people to push the product. It's quite a clever model (from a business POV, not an ethical one), basically getting slaves 'advisors' to work for free to sell your product and find more 'advisors' to work for free, and only having to pay them if they actually sell a product.

That said, you do find professional Thermomix products in high-end restaurant kitchens, so they are a legit tool with good potential. They're just a bit overkill (and overpriced) for most home kitchens.

Technically it’s not an MLM because you don’t have to buy stock and you don’t get commission for recruiting people to become advisors.

However it’s definitely sold by an advisor network and people do sign up to be an advisor purely to earn back the cost of their previously purchased machine. Their biggest market is Australia and their highest earning advisor apparently grosses $2m per year.

I love mine, wouldn’t go without it and I’m a very competent cook. You see them in most restaurant kitchens as they are absolutely brilliant for sauces/emulsions, purees and dough.

Very much crossed posted with @FluentTealGuide Sorry!

Not at all. It's just the way they have set up the distribution model, though sales agents. You do not become a member of an organisation when you buy a machine nor have to recruit anyone yourself, you just buy a product and, if you want, stay in touch with your agent for training purposes... you really need to learn how to use it.

Most of my friends in Spain have one, it's very popular over there.