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Monat

Monat Global Corp.
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryMulti-level marketing
FoundedOctober 2014; 10 years ago (2014-10)
Headquarters
Doral, Florida
,
United States
Key people
Luis Urdaneta (Co-founder & chairperson)
Rayner Urdaneta (Co-founder & CEO)
ProductsHair care, skin care, and wellness
Websitemonatglobal.com

Monat Global Corp., or simply Monat, is a privately-held American multi-level marketing company headquartered in Doral, Florida, which sells haircare, skincare, and wellness products. It is a subsidiary of the Alcora Corporation, a private-labeling company formed in 2001. Monat operates in the U.S.,[1] Canada, the U.K.,[1] Ireland,[2] Poland,[2] Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Lithuania, France,[3] Mexico, and Colombia.

History

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Luis Urdaneta (chairman) and Rayner Urdaneta (CEO) co-founded the company in 2014 (originally Alcora Group).[4][5][6] They began with haircare products and expanded into skincare in 2019[7][8] and wellness in 2020.[7][9][10] The wellness line was developed through a partnership with Dr. Brent Agin and includes supplements, mixes, and powders which the company claims supports energy, digestion, beauty, and sleep.[11][12][13][14][15]

Position on animal testing

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In 2018, Monat was recognized by Cruelty Free International as a Leaping Bunny Approved Brands, certifying that no animals were harmed or affected in the creation of their products at the ingredient level.[16][17][18] All the company's products are vegan.[19][20]

Philanthropy

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Monat donates to nonprofit organizations around the world through its charitable platform Monat Gratitude, established in 2014 when the company was founded.[21][22] All net profits from its limited edition Helping Hand Gift Sets were donated to nonprofits focused on assisting at-risk youth.[23][24] This included Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Horizons for Youth, Chance UK, [[SOS Wioski Dziecięce, and the Irish Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC).[25] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Monat Gratitude donated disaster relief kits and hand sanitizer to hospitals and other organizations including the Salvation Army Winnipeg, Kelowna Gospel Mission, and the Toronto Police.[26]

In November 2022, the Monat Gratitude donated a fraction of their sales to support communities in Puerto Rico, Florida and Canada who were impacted by Hurricanes Fiona and Ian.[27]

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Monat has been the subject of ten lawsuits and hundreds of complaints to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Better Business Bureau.[28][29][30][31][32][33] Monat retaliated against some of the complainants by filing unsuccessful defamation lawsuits.[30]

In 2018, and again in 2020, Monat’s products were tested at the independent clinical testing labs of Kosmoscience Ciencia & Tecnologia Cosmetica Ltda, an ISO 17025-certified laboratory in Brazil. Kosmoscience has also tested products for L’Oreal, Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, and Johnson & Johnson. The tests reported that Monat’s products did not promote hair breakage or hair damage.[34][35]

In March 2019, a federal report filed by the FDA after inspecting Monat's Florida manufacturing facility found that multiple products were "prepared, packed, or held under unsanitary conditions whereby (they) may have become contaminated with filth".[31] An FDA legal expert said that the report "falls on the mild side of the enforcement spectrum and notes fairly common issues."[36]

In October 2019, a ruling by the U.S. district court in Miami, Florida allowed a consumer class action lawsuit against Monat to proceed,[37] although the judge noted that plaintiffs may have difficulty proving that the company’s products are to blame for their injuries.[38] The judge in the case said that the plaintiffs sufficiently alleged that Monat's products were defectively designed using contaminated chemicals and that the company had failed to inspect their ingredients for contamination.[30] In a separate court case, a judge ruled that the plaintiffs had no constitutional standing to seek injunctive relief from Monat.[39]

In 2020, the Florida Attorney General terminated its investigation into Monat after the company signed an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance.[40]

In 2024, former president and director Stuart MacMillan sued the company for breach of contract and fraud. He claimed that the company uses low quality ingredients and that the owners run a no-show job scheme to funnel money to their family members.[41]

References

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  1. ^ a b Magazine, FABUK (April 17, 2018). "Monat Announces UK Launch". Fabuk Magazine. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Monat Global". HAPPI. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  3. ^ "MONAT Global Expands European Operations in France". www.businesswire.com. April 5, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "Monat Global Company Information, Products, Sales & More : The Top 50 Household and Personal Products Companies in 2019 - HAPPI". www.happi.com. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  5. ^ "Monat Launches Collection of Luxury Skin Care Products". Beauty Packaging. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  6. ^ "MONAT". Alcora Corporation. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Monat Enters Wellness Space". HAPPI. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "MONAT Enters the Wellness Space With 5 New Offerings". NewBeauty. September 14, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  9. ^ "MONAT Enters the Wellness Space With 5 New Offerings". NewBeauty. September 14, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "Monat Wellness Enters the Ingestibles Game". Global Cosmetic Industry. September 15, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  11. ^ "Monat Enters Wellness Space". HAPPI. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  12. ^ "MONAT Enters the Wellness Space With 5 New Offerings". NewBeauty. September 14, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "Monat Wellness Enters the Ingestibles Game". Global Cosmetic Industry. September 15, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  14. ^ "Monat breaks into the wellness category with new range". www.cosmeticsbusiness.com. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  15. ^ "Is Plant-Based Collagen As Good As The Real Thing?". Byrdie. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  16. ^ "Bask-It-Style Lounge: TIFF 2019 Edition". Beyond Fashion Magazine. September 20, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  17. ^ "Leaping Bunny Program".
  18. ^ "This new skincare line sold £1.6m worth of glow-giving products in under 5 hours, so what's all the hype about?". Glamour UK. October 8, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  19. ^ "Monat". Beauty-not-cruelty. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  20. ^ "This new skincare line sold £1.6m worth of glow-giving products in under 5 hours, so what's all the hype about?". Glamour UK. October 8, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  21. ^ "Monat Global". HAPPI. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  22. ^ Content, StyleDemocracy Branded (April 16, 2020). "Beauty Brand MONAT Is Donating Thousands Of Hand Sanitizers & Disaster Relief Kits To Frontline Workers". StyleDemocracy. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  23. ^ "Monat Global". HAPPI. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  24. ^ "MONAT Raises $248,000 to Support At-Risk Youth - Direct Selling News". www.directsellingnews.com. May 13, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  25. ^ "MONAT Raises $248,000 to Support At-Risk Youth - Direct Selling News". www.directsellingnews.com. May 13, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  26. ^ Content, StyleDemocracy Branded (April 16, 2020). "Beauty Brand MONAT Is Donating Thousands Of Hand Sanitizers & Disaster Relief Kits To Frontline Workers". StyleDemocracy. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  27. ^ "MONAT Donates $288,000 to Support Hurricane Relief and Underserved Youth". November 23, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  28. ^ "Monat files another defamation lawsuit but FDA complaints flood in". Cosmetics Business. March 10, 2018.
  29. ^ Spears, Darcy (March 14, 2018). "Complaints, class action lawsuits pile up against hair care company Monat". WXYZ-TV. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  30. ^ a b c "Monat Global loses bid to dismiss lawsuit over trendy haircare products". Reuters. October 24, 2019.
  31. ^ a b Spears, Darcy (August 20, 2018). "FDA inspection finds 'insanitary conditions' at Monat manufacturing facility". KTNV-TV. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  32. ^ Miller, Korin (March 14, 2018). "People Say This Hair-Care Product Causes Balding And Scalp Sores". Women's Health. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  33. ^ "Monat global class actions piling up". Truth in Advertising. May 15, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  34. ^ "FDA inspects Monat manufacturing facility". KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas. August 21, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  35. ^ WABC (June 12, 2018). "Exclusive: Execs behind company accused of causing hair loss speak out". ABC7 New York. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  36. ^ "FDA inspects Monat manufacturing facility". KTNV. August 21, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  37. ^ "Hoffpauir et al v. Monat Global Corp., Case No. 18-cv-21606, S. D. FL" (PDF). Truth in Advertising. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  38. ^ "MONAT can't shed class action linking its products to hair loss". October 28, 2019.
  39. ^ "Two Days in October Result in Two Different Rulings by District Court Judges in the Southern District of Florida Regarding Standing to Seek Injunctive Relief on Behalf of a Class". The National Law Review. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  40. ^ "Assurance of Voluntary Compliance" (PDF). MyFloridaLegal.com. August 14, 2020.
  41. ^ Spears, Darcy (May 24, 2024). "Monat's biggest cheerleader becomes company's harshest critic". KTNV-TV.