The direct selling industry has been booming in the UK as households struggle to make ends meet.

According to the Direct Selling Association (DSA), there are currently over 400,000 direct sellers in the UK, a rise of 20,000 people since 2009. The industry generates £2bn worth of sales annually in the UK.

In simple terms, direct selling is where goods are sold directly to consumers outside of a fixed retail environment, like a shop. 

Interestingly, the number of young people trying their hand at setting up small businesses has soared.

The number of under-25s turning to direct selling increased by 29% in 2012 from the previous year, a number that is predicted to grow as the next few generations aspire to be their own bosses.

Some of the DSA’s most popular companies are Avon, Arbonne, Herbalife, Amway, Forever Living Products and Cambridge Weight Plan.

Products range from books, clothes, gifts, greetings cards, health and beauty, home ware and jewellery.

Here, the DSA reveals the most popular products sold by sellers:

• Herbalife: Formula 1 (Vanilla) – Protein Shake, £28+

Herbalife is a global nutrition company. Its products are sold exclusively through Herbalife independent distributors who conduct business in more than 75 countries.

• Avon: Nailwear Pro + nail enamel, £6

Avon sells one of these products every 10 seconds and it is one of the most popular products in the direct selling industry.

• Forever Living Products – Aloe Vera Gel, £20

Founded in 1978, and operating in over 150 countries, Forever is one of the largest growers, manufacturers and distributors of aloe vera and bee products in the world.

This is its bestselling product and the company boasts that it’s like ‘slicing open an Aloe leaf and consuming the gel directly from the plant’.

• Amway: The two key products for Amway are ARTISTRY Creme LuXury £194.95 and ARTISTRY Creme LuXury Eye £107.40

Amways’s bestselling products are anything but cheap, but must do something right as the customers keep coming back for the luxury creams.