On July 29, 2026, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) released the survey results on the operational and development status of Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) enterprises in Taiwan for 2025. The FTC pointed out that while total MLM sales revenue had consistently surpassed the NT100billionthresholdeachyearsince2021,2025markedthefirsttimeinnearly5yearsthatitfellshortoftheNT100 billion mark.

The FTC stated that the primary reasons for falling below NT$100 billion in 2025 were likely related to declining annual revenues, intensifying market competition from similar product categories, and a reduction in the number of MLM distributors. Regarding this survey, the FTC noted that inactive, unlaunched, or closed/suspended businesses were excluded. The findings are based on responses from 333 active MLM enterprises that operated during 2025. A summary of the survey highlights is as follows:

(1) Overall Total Revenue Slightly Decreased

1. The total revenue of the 333 MLM enterprises in 2025 reached approximately NT$98.672 billion, representing a decrease of NT6.834billion(a6.48105.506 billion recorded in the 2024 survey. The average annual revenue per enterprise was NT296.31million,downbyaboutNT18.63 million from NT$314.94 million in 2024.
2. The largest group consisted of enterprises with annual revenues between NT10millionandNT100 million, totaling 130 businesses (39.04% of total enterprises). Their combined revenue was approximately NT$4.993 billion, accounting for 5.06% of the overall industry turnover.
3. A total of 20 enterprises achieved annual revenues of NT1billionormore,accountingfor6.0169.854 billion, representing 70.79% of the industry’s total turnover. The average revenue for these top-tier companies was approximately NT3.492billion,downbyNT18 million compared to NT$3.510 billion in 2024.

(2) Female Distributors Remain the Main Driving Force in the MLM Market

1. By the end of 2025, the total number of registered MLM distributors was 3.323 million, down by 263,000 from 3.586 million at the end of 2024. After removing duplicate memberships across multiple MLM businesses, the unique distributor count stood at 3.315 million.
2. The participation rate (the ratio of distributors to the total national population) was approximately 14.20%, meaning about 1,420 out of every 10,000 citizens joined an MLM company. This represents a 1.05 percentage point drop from 15.25% at the end of 2024.
3. In 2025, there were 546,000 new distributors who joined, while 405,400 distributors exited the market.
4. Women continued to be the main force in the MLM industry. By the end of 2025, female distributors numbered 2.4201 million (accounting for 72.81%).
5. Following amendments to the Multi-Level Marketing Supervision Act in August 2024 allowing electronic participation agreements, among the 333 enterprises in 2025: 164 businesses (49.25%) exclusively used paper contracts, 13 businesses (3.90%) exclusively used electronic contracts, and 156 businesses (46.85%) offered both options.

(3) Total Commissions (Bonuses) Paid Proportionately Decreased

1. In 2025, total commissions and bonuses paid by MLM enterprises amounted to approximately NT$42.323 billion (down from NT45.633billionin2024).Thisrepresented42.8998.672 billion), a slight decrease of 0.36 percentage points from the 43.25% payout ratio in 2024.
2. Approximately 913,000 distributors received commissions or bonuses in 2025, accounting for 27.48% of the total distributor population. Among them, 688,800 female distributors received payouts (75.37% of all payout recipients), totaling NT$30.879 billion (72.96% of total commissions paid).
3. Regarding the top 10 commission/bonus earners per company in 2025, having 7 female distributors among the top 10 was the most common scenario (73 companies, 21.92%), followed by 6 female distributors (50 companies, 15.02%), and 8 female distributors (48 companies, 14.41%). Overall, 269 MLM businesses (80.78% of total enterprises) had 5 or more women among their top 10 commission earners.

(4) Nutritional Supplements Remain the Top-Selling Product Category

Nutritional products generated the highest sales revenue among all product categories in 2025, reaching NT$63.783 billion (accounting for 64.64%), followed by cosmetics and skincare products at NT$20.191 billion (accounting for 20.46%).

(5) E-Commerce and Online Sales Adoption Gains Popularity

1. In 2025, 232 enterprises adopted online sales platforms, accounting for 69.67% of all businesses—an increase of 1.01 percentage points from 68.66% in 2024. Among them, 196 companies offered both online ordering systems and full-featured e-commerce storefronts.
2. Online sales revenue reached approximately NT$37.506 billion in 2025, representing 38.01% of total industry turnover.

(6) Businesses Maintain a Neutral Outlook on Future Operations

While MLM enterprises expressed concerns regarding overall market slumps, fiercer competition from similar product segments, and declining distributor counts, 118 companies (35.44%) anticipate higher revenues in 2026 compared to 2025, while 148 companies (44.44%) expect operational performance to remain stable.    Edited by Taipei Good   Earth CPA