What do you first think of when hear the country Cambodia mentioned? I picture it as a rather poor country, mostly jungle. Checking, the average income in Cambodia is about $750 per year. The Cambodian diet is based around noodles, soups, grills, stir-fried, curries, salads, desserts, lots of vegetables, tropical fruits, and of course rice which is the staple food for Cambodians. In other words, while a poor country, Cambodians seems to eat a fairly healthy diet.

But beware! Herbalife thinks othewise and wants to change all that. Instead of lots of vegetables, tropical fruits, soups, grills, and salads, Herbalife feels Cambodians needs nutritional products for a healthy life - like Herbalife shakes for instance.

At a recent rally in Phnom Penh, Herbalife flew in Alan Lorenz, a 72-year-old Englishman and one of the top “members” of Herbalife. “I only came here for one reason,” Lorenz tells the crowd of more than two hundred. “To make Cambodia the fastest growing country in Asia!” “[Friends and family] only believed me when I made my first million dollars,” he tells the crowd, referring to the lucrative virtues of Herbalife. (I thought Herbalife just said they were only interested in creating a healthy life for Cambodians?)

But it appears to be a tough slug for those trying to sell the stuff. Han Muy Ngin runs a one-room nutrition club in the capital’s Sen Sok district. After two months of operating the nutrition club – located in a moto garage and festooned with Herbalife posters asking questions like “Have you had your shake today?” – Muy Ngin has not recruited any new Herbalife members. She does sell Herbalife products, but only by the cup – $2.50 for two cups of Herbalife tea. Suppose that's about all the poor folks can afford. Really, who's going to buy the crap? Makes about as much sense to me as NuSkin opening stores in Mongolia.

But the bigger question is, doesn't Herbalife have any sense of decency or propriety? Selling this "opportunity" to folks in a country where the average income is about $750 per year? Apparently not, this is MLM after all.

Herbalife sees ‘no obstacles’ looking ahead