SUNRIDER
SUNRIDER is a privately owned international multi-level marketing company selling herbal wellness, food, beauty, and household products.
Last updated October 13, 2026
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Overview
SUNRIDER, also known as Sunrider International or Sunrider Corporation, is a privately owned American multi-level marketing company founded in 1982 by Taiwan-born herbalist Tei-Fu Chen. The business began in Orem, Utah, and later moved its headquarters to the Los Angeles area, ultimately establishing its corporate base in Torrance, California. Its product portfolio centers on herbal and plant-based consumer goods, including dietary supplements, herbal teas, diet-oriented products, health snacks, personal-care items, cosmetics, and household products. The company combines direct manufacturing with a distributor and franchise-store network. Sunrider states that it researches, develops, and manufactures its own products rather than outsourcing production. Its manufacturing operations have included facilities in Southern California, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. Production is described as involving the sourcing and sanitation of raw herbs, followed by refinement, concentration, formulation, and packaging. The company has also developed additional manufacturing capacity in the United States and China, reflecting its effort to support international distribution and local market growth. Sunrider's commercial model is built around independent distributors and retail outlets. Reference material describes the company as operating in more than forty countries, with offices in more than twenty countries, thousands of franchise or retail stores, and a large international distributor base. China has been particularly important to the company's retail presence, with reference material describing more than 7,000 Sunrider stores there. The business has marketed products as kosher and halal, a positioning intended to broaden access among Jewish and Muslim consumers. Although primarily identified with herbal wellness and consumer products, Sunrider has also pursued hospitality investments under the Sunworld Dynasty name. Its Asian hotel portfolio included properties in Beijing and Taipei. In 2007, it acquired the Holiday Inn Asiaworld Taipei and renamed it the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei. The hotel was sold in 2020 to Fubon Life Insurance. In 2015, Sunrider acquired the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills from SBE and also acquired St Ermin's Hotel in London. These transactions represented a diversification beyond the company's core health, beauty, food, and household-product operations. Sunrider's history has also included regulatory, legal, and reputational difficulties. A salmonella contamination issue involving one product was reported in 1987 and was described as having been corrected without reported illnesses. The company later faced a product-related personal-injury claim that was settled in 1992. In the mid-1990s, Tei-Fu Chen and Oi-Lin Chen were charged in a federal tax and customs-fraud case. They entered a plea agreement in 1997, served criminal penalties, and paid substantial tax, interest, penalty, and customs-related amounts. Critics, including Stephen Barrett and Quackwatch, have challenged health claims associated with the company's products; Sunrider has instructed distributors to avoid making medical claims. These episodes remain relevant to understanding the brand's risk profile and the scrutiny that can accompany herbal-product and multi-level-marketing businesses. Sunrider remains an active privately owned company with an international product and distribution footprint. Its identity is defined by vertically integrated herbal-product manufacturing, direct selling, franchise retail, and a broader wellness-oriented brand proposition, supplemented at times by hotel ownership and hospitality investments.
History
Sunrider was established in 1982 in Orem, Utah, by Taiwan-born herbalist Tei-Fu Chen. The company developed around the sale of herbal and plant-based consumer products and used a direct-selling structure in which independent distributors promoted products to consumers. Oi-Lin Chen was also associated with the founding and leadership of the business. During the late 1980s, Sunrider moved its headquarters to the Los Angeles area, placing the company closer to a major manufacturing, logistics, and international-business base. The company's early development was accompanied by a product-safety issue. In 1987, salmonella bacteria were reportedly found in one Sunrider product. The issue was described as having been corrected, and reference material states that no illnesses were reported. In 1992, the company settled a claim brought by a woman who alleged that Sunrider products had harmed her health. The matter was resolved out of court. Reference material also reports that information later provided by the woman's estranged husband called into question whether the product had been contaminated after delivery, but the case nonetheless became part of the company's legal and reputational history. During the 1990s, Sunrider expanded from an American herbal-products business into an international operation. Its product categories broadened to include dietary supplements, teas, health snacks, beauty and personal-care products, and household goods. The company emphasized in-house research, product development, and manufacturing. Its production process has been described as beginning with raw-herb procurement and sanitation, followed by refinement, concentration, formulation, and packaging. Facilities were reported in Southern California, China, Singapore, and Taiwan, while additional capacity was planned or developed in China and the United States. The company encountered a major legal setback in the mid-1990s. In 1995, a federal grand jury indicted Tei-Fu Chen and Oi-Lin Chen in connection with alleged tax and customs fraud. The charges included conspiracy, tax evasion, filing false corporate tax returns, and smuggling. In 1997, the couple entered a plea agreement. Tei-Fu Chen served nearly a year in a minimum-security prison, while Oi-Lin Chen served six months of home detention. The couple also paid reported amounts exceeding $100 million in back taxes, interest, and penalties, together with an additional payment related to avoiding forfeiture of items alleged to have been smuggled or undervalued. Sunrider continued international expansion after the legal case. The company developed a significant retail and distributor presence in China and operated in more than forty countries, with offices in more than twenty. It also promoted kosher and halal product credentials as a way of serving additional religious and cultural markets. In 2007, Sunrider bought the Holiday Inn Asiaworld Taipei and renamed it the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei. Its hospitality interests included hotels in Beijing and Taipei and formed a secondary business alongside the core consumer-products operation. In 2015, Sunrider broadened its hotel portfolio through the acquisition of the 297-room SLS Hotel Beverly Hills from SBE and the purchase of St Ermin's Hotel in London. These deals demonstrated the company's willingness to deploy capital outside its traditional herbal and direct-selling activities. The Taipei hotel was ultimately sold in 2020 to Fubon Life Insurance. Manufacturing investment remained part of the company's later strategy. A new manufacturing campus in the Dallas–Fort Worth area was announced through a 2020 groundbreaking, with a planned opening in 2022. Reference material also describes a large planned facility in Kunshan, China, near Shanghai. Together, these projects reflect Sunrider's stated preference for controlling product research, manufacturing, and distribution rather than relying wholly on external suppliers. Sunrider has faced continuing criticism typical of the herbal-supplement and multi-level-marketing sectors. Psychiatrist and Quackwatch co-founder Stephen Barrett accused the company and its distributors of making unsupported therapeutic claims and discussed regulatory concerns involving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and California authorities. Sunrider instructed distributors to avoid medical claims, indicating an effort to distinguish permitted product marketing from claims that products diagnose, treat, or cure disease. The company remains a privately owned international business whose main identity lies in herbal wellness and consumer products, supported by direct selling, franchise retail, vertically integrated manufacturing, and a historical hospitality portfolio.
- 2020
Taipei hotel sold
[1]Sunrider sold the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei to Fubon Life Insurance.
- 2020
Dallas–Fort Worth manufacturing campus announced
[1]The company broke ground on a new manufacturing campus in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
- 2015
Hospitality portfolio expands
[1]Sunrider acquired the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills and St Ermin's Hotel in London.
- 2008
Southern California manufacturing facility opens
[1]Sunrider opened a large manufacturing facility in Los Angeles, supporting its vertically integrated production model.
- 2007
Holiday Inn Asiaworld Taipei acquired and renamed
[1]Sunrider acquired the Taipei hotel and renamed it the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei.
- 1997
Plea agreement reached
[1]The Chen founders entered a plea agreement and paid reported taxes, interest, penalties, and customs-related amounts.
- 1995
Founders indicted in tax and customs case
[1]A federal grand jury charged the Chen founders with offenses including conspiracy, tax evasion, false corporate tax returns, and smuggling.
- 1992
Product-related personal-injury claim settled
[1]Sunrider settled out of court with a woman who alleged that its products had negatively affected her health.
- 1987
Product contamination issue reported
[1]Salmonella bacteria were reportedly found in one product; the issue was described as corrected without reported illnesses.
- 1987
Headquarters moves to the Los Angeles area
[1]During the late 1980s, Sunrider moved its headquarters from Utah to the Los Angeles area.
Products and positioning
An international herbal-wellness and lifestyle brand combining vertically integrated manufacturing with multi-level marketing, independent distributors, franchise retail, and selected hospitality investments.
Dietary supplements
Herbal dietary supplements
Sunrider's core range consists of herbal and plant-based nutritional products sold through its distributor and retail network. The company presents control over research, formulation, processing, and packaging as a central part of its product proposition. These products are positioned for general wellness and nutrition rather than, under the company's stated distributor guidance, as substitutes for medical treatment.
Beverages
Herbal teas
Herbal teas are among the product types for which Sunrider is principally known. They fit the company's broader emphasis on traditional herbs, concentrated botanical ingredients, and everyday wellness consumption. The teas are distributed internationally through direct-selling channels and retail outlets.
Nutrition and weight management
Diet and weight-management products
Sunrider has marketed diet pills and other products associated with weight management. These offerings form part of the company's broader nutritional portfolio and have also contributed to scrutiny over the health and therapeutic claims made by distributors or other marketers.
Food
Health snacks
Health snacks extend Sunrider's herbal-wellness proposition into convenient food products. They are presented as nutrition-oriented consumer goods and are sold alongside supplements and beverages through the company's international distribution system.
Beauty and personal care
Beauty and personal-care products
Sunrider's beauty and personal-care lines broaden the brand beyond ingestible wellness products. The category includes consumer products associated with grooming, skincare, and everyday personal care, allowing distributors to offer a wider lifestyle-oriented assortment.
Household care
Household products
Household products form a further extension of Sunrider's consumer-goods portfolio. They support the company's effort to create a broad home-and-wellness product range that can be sold through the same distributor and franchise-retail infrastructure.
Controversies
1997
Plea agreement and penalties in tax case
The Chen founders entered a plea agreement. Reported consequences included incarceration or home detention and payments exceeding $100 million in back taxes, interest, and penalties, plus an additional customs-related payment.
1995
Federal tax and customs-fraud indictment
Tei-Fu Chen and Oi-Lin Chen were indicted on federal charges involving alleged conspiracy, tax evasion, false corporate tax returns, and smuggling.
1992
Product-related health claim and settlement
A woman alleged that Sunrider products had adversely affected her health, and the company settled the case out of court. Later information cited in reference material disputed the alleged product causation.
1987
Salmonella contamination report
Salmonella bacteria were reported in one Sunrider product. The issue was described as immediately corrected, and no cases of illness were reported in the reference material.
Criticism of therapeutic product claims
Stephen Barrett and Quackwatch criticized claims that Sunrider products could produce therapeutic effects and discussed regulatory concerns involving the FDA and California authorities. Sunrider instructed distributors not to make medical claims.
Brand decisions
2020
Sell Sunworld Dynasty Hotel TaipeiM&ABackground
Sunrider reduced or restructured its hospitality holdings after owning the Taipei property for more than a decade.
Action taken
The company sold the hotel to Fubon Life Insurance.
Aftermath
The sale reduced Sunrider's hotel portfolio in Taiwan while the company continued to be identified primarily with wellness and consumer products.
2020
Invest in a Dallas–Fort Worth manufacturing campusStrategyBackground
Sunrider's vertically integrated operating model required manufacturing capacity to support its international product business.
Action taken
The company broke ground on a new manufacturing campus in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, with a planned opening in 2022.
2015
Expand into Beverly Hills and London hotelsM&ABackground
Sunrider continued its diversification into hospitality after operating hotels in Asia.
Action taken
The company acquired the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills and St Ermin's Hotel in London.
Aftermath
The acquisitions added prominent properties in the United States and United Kingdom to the company's hospitality portfolio.
2007
Acquire and rename Holiday Inn Asiaworld TaipeiM&ABackground
Sunrider expanded beyond consumer products into Asian hospitality as part of a broader diversification strategy.
Action taken
The company acquired the Taipei hotel and renamed it the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei.
Aftermath
The property remained part of Sunrider's hospitality interests until it was sold in 2020.
Recent events
- 2020
Sunrider begins construction of a new manufacturing campus in the Dallas–Fort Worth area[1]
Other
The company broke ground on a new manufacturing campus in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area, with an expected opening described for 2022.
- 2020
Sunrider sells Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei[1]
M&A
Sunrider sold the Taipei hotel it had acquired and renamed in 2007 to Fubon Life Insurance.
- 2015
Sunrider acquires SLS Hotel Beverly Hills[1]
M&A
Sunrider acquired the 297-room SLS Hotel Beverly Hills from SBE, extending its hospitality activities into the United States.
- 2015
Sunrider acquires St Ermin's Hotel in London[1]
M&A
The company acquired the historic St Ermin's Hotel in London as part of its hospitality expansion.
Sources1 sources
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