Omni-direct lifestyle company Youngevity International has completed an acquisition of RicoLife, a marketer of nutritionally charged teas, beneficial beverages, and supplements.

RicoLife's products remain available on RicoLife.com and are scheduled to be integrated into the Youngevity e-commerce site from 1 April. These products will come within the Youngevity nutrition category.

The founders of RicoLife Alberto Arellano, Ricardo Arellano, and Raul Luna will join Youngevity as associates.

The primary nutritional differentiator for RicoLife has been its use of camellia sinensis, commonly known as purple tea, which is a kind of green tea developed in Kenya. Its benefits have been the subject of an initial small-scale clinical study in Japan.

RicoLife's products include tea, coffee, cleanses, and energy and slimming supplements. These products contain some form of camellia sinensis.

Youngevity's chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder Steve Wallach said: "The acquisition of RicoLife harnesses nutritional breakthroughs that broaden and extend our core nutritional product offerings.

"RicoLife was one of the pioneers in bringing camellia sinensis to market, just as Youngevity has been a pioneer in the health and nutrition sector for decades."

"The RicoLife brand and products complement our existing Youngevity nutritional lines with products that are particularly popular in the US and Latin America."

Youngevity president and chief financial officer (CFO) Dave Briskie said: "RicoLife has attracted and retained a strong millennial following in the US, Mexico, and Latin America, supported by the founders, distributors, and growing customer base.

"We expect that the high-energy RicoLife culture will help to fuel our millennial business strategy."

RicoLife's co-founder Ricardo Arellano said: "Integrating RicoLife with Youngevity provides a natural synergy.

"RicoLife was one of the pioneers in bringing camellia sinensis to market, just as Youngevity has been a pioneer in the health and nutrition sector for decades. The expanded resources now available to our niche brand will allow us to continue to spread the benefits of camellia sinensis to a much wider audience."

Youngevity International offers a hybrid of the direct selling business model that involves e-commerce and social selling. 

The company was formed after the merger of Youngevity Essential Life Sciences with Javalution Coffee Company in 2011. The resulting company became Youngevity International in July 2013.