What has Yanbal contributed to the sector, and what reforms do you see as important for its future?

CARLOS GALLEGOS Yanbal’s contribution in Ecuador has been substantial—we work with 100,000 women, and each one has an impact on five or six people each month. In the industrial area we have a distribution center located in the south of the city, where we work directly with more than 700 people. In terms of reforms, the production codes that were promoted and elaborated in 2012 provide us with more opportunities for our industrial operation. The production code offers many elements that are important for us, and I firmly believe that we are can use it to the benefit of the company.

What type of sponsorship work are you involved in?

FAUSTO ARCOS We sponsor a sports team called the Herbalife Team, which is composed of serious amateurs and professional athletes. They compete under our brand, and we provide them with nutritional support. They have their own nutritionist, and our nutritionists also work with them on their dietary needs. They use our products to improve their health and performance. This team is a leading example of the effective use of our products. We run sponsorships on both a local and global level. We also sponsor LA Galaxy, and recently signed a sponsorship agreement with soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. The way we sponsor, most of the time, adopts a more complete, holistic approach. Our sponsorship is aligned with a good lifestyle and nutrition that improves the performance of athletes and non-athletes alike. The team we sponsor in Ecuador is very strong. One of their members is an Olympic athlete named Rosa Chacha, who is also the best marathon runner in Ecuador, and one of the top athletes in Latin America. She participated in the London Olympics. Another is Felipe Caicedo, a top soccer player from the Ecuadorean national team. We help these athletes complement their nutrition with our products. We didn’t simply pick out stars—we have seen them improve since we sponsored them. They are the ambassadors of our brand.

What is the role of the company’s founder in Herbalife’s development?

FA Our founder went to Brazil and was shocked when he visited the favelas. The company had been around for 10 years, and was growing very rapidly. He decided that as the company grew, it needed to take on some social responsibilities. The distributors needed to give back to society what they were taking out. He established the first Casa Herbalife in Rio de Janeiro, and today we have over 60 Casa Herbalife programs around the world. Those Casas are aimed at helping children in need; low-income children who have nutritional needs. We don’t give them our products; we give money to organizations to feed children with natural food. That is what we do all over the world. We have nutritionists working based on our founding ideals. We also try to partner with local NGOs that already have projects on the ground in these countries. In Ecuador, Casa Herbalife Sinsoluka takes children off of the streets and supports them with good natural nutrition.

What main goals is the company currently pursuing?

CG Our main achievement in Ecuador was to change the lives of thousands of men and, women, who have found the opportunity to grow personally, professionally and economically at Yanbal. We are happy because to have contributed to improving the situation of thousands of families. We thus continue to contribute to social development in the country. Yanbal has consolidated many strategic partnerships during its 36 years of operation in Ecuador, supporting the growth of industry and services in general. We have partnerships to develop our social causes, such as, for example, the Paralympics. We permanently support them for the development of their activities, and with them we inaugurated the first dedicated school. Thus far, we have opened 12 special schools throughout Ecuador, a fact that fills us with joy and pride. In this way, we feel like a very important development agent for Ecuadorean society.