$200M wellness firm wraps up more global growth

BRADENTON — It Works Global, a $200 million multi-level marketing firm that sells a line of wellness, health and skincare products, has added six more countries to its global distribution list.

The additions, according to a release, are Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. It Works products will be available in Norway and Switzerland by March, the release states, while sales in the other countries launched Feb. 1. The global expansion brings the total number of countries It Works does business in to 18. It expanded to France in November. One of It Works' key products is the Ultimate Body Applicator wrap, a contouring product the firm claims will tighten, tone and firm any area of the body in 45 minutes.

“We continue to see more opportunities for It Works to expand worldwide,” It Works CEO Mark Pentecost says in a release. “Our domestic growth in the U.S. demonstrates that we have a unique opportunity for It Works products and independent distributors through expansion internationally.”

Pentecost, who made the expansion announcement at the company's recent annual conference at the Tampa Convention Center, says the company, based in Bradenton, will also enhance its global operations. It plans to add a warehouse in Europe and expand its facilities in Canada and Australia. The company has more than 60,000 independent product distributors worldwide.

It Works had $200 million in 2012 sales. Pentecost, who founded the company in 2001 in Grand Rapids, Mich., was named the Business Observer's Entrepreneur of the Year in May.