Data from the International Health, Racquet, and Sports Club Association shows that the U.S health and fitness industry, initially valued at $30 billion, has steadily grown by 3 to 4% annually over the last decade. Currently, over 20% or one in every five U.S adults is a fitness club member, with this number expected to double in the next decade. These random statistics paint the image of a growing fitness franchise industry worldwide.
Fitness franchises are booming for a variety of reasons. Many of these reasons are a growing number of people embracing a healthy lifestyle and preventive care, are looking to reduce health insurance and health care costs, gyms are more affordable, and in-home workouts as well as new technologies are making it easier for consumers to join a fitness franchise.
Unlike before, more people are becoming self-aware of the benefits of living healthily. As a result, fitness is slowly becoming a trend for millions globally. Even though more people live sedentary lifestyles, more individuals still prefer a proactive lifestyle for obvious benefits.
While identifying the specific size of this market is daunting, the following fitness industry statistics reflect the changes in this industry over time.
- There are over 400,000 fitness professionals in the U.S. There are positive prospects for fitness experts. The IHRSA estimates that this number will increase as more people seek expert guidance in their fitness routines to achieve their goals. The BLS estimates that the number of fitness instructors and trainers will increase by 13% by 2028.
- There was a 77% increase in the use of fitness wearables. Despite being on the market for quite a period, fitness wearables are still creating a buzz in the fitness world. They collect fitness data, enabling professionals to monitor their clients’ performance.
While fitness is among the fastest-growing industries, entrepreneurs and other enthusiasts should understand that running a business is hard. Even though you can ride on the wave caused by increased adoption of fitness culture to grow your business, starting a business, managing its day-to-day activities, and making profits might prove challenging. As such, buying into an already established fitness franchise seems appealing to many.
7 Reasons Why Fitness Franchises Are Booming
Anytime a specific sector or market is thriving, understanding the reasons behind the boom is crucial. This will help you understand if the current boom is consistent or just a brief bubble. Below are the top reasons why the fitness franchise industry is booming.
- Health Insurance Costs
Encouraging employees and customers to embrace healthy lifestyles significantly reduces insurance costs incurred by insurance companies and employers. It goes without saying that insuring healthy people costs less. As a result, many businesses and organizations have decided to foot gym membership and fitness class bills for their employees.
Other companies use healthy lifestyle incentives to encourage employees to ride bikes to work or provide education about healthy food options. While these few measures cannot be attributed to the surge in fitness franchises, it contributes significantly to supplementing the industry’s overall revenue.
- Heavy Social Media Influence
It takes a few scrolls to see the effect of social media on the fitness industry. For instance, the fitness hashtag (#fitness) currently has almost 500 million posts on Instagram. Fitness brands partner with celebrities and influencers to encourage health and fitness practices. More social media users currently promote exercise, healthy eating, and the desire to achieve a lean and athletic look.
Social media influencers are a major force in marketing fitness franchises. Be it fitness centers, products, services, or other related issues, social media platforms have enabled marketers to reach a broad audience. A good example is Kayla Itsines, a fitness enthusiast who grew her fitness brand majorly through Instagram.
- Advancing Fitness Technologies
Technological innovations affect nearly all sectors, including the fitness industry. Modern technologies, such as smart fitness clothing, wearable technologies, and high-end home gyms supported by artificial intelligence have propelled the adoption of fitness routines. Wearable technologies have enabled users to become increasingly aware of their health and fitness.
The use of devices, such as the Apple Watch, Garmin, and Fitbit, is becoming a norm, allowing users to incorporate their health data into their daily lives. In the next few years, fitness clubs and gyms will easily monitor their members’ data through wearable technologies.
- Increased Awareness of Preventive Health Care
Traditionally, most people and medical personnel focused on curative medicine to alleviate already-existing medical conditions. However, more people currently prefer preventive healthcare practices. Instead of taking medication to cure ailments, patients prefer lifestyle changes, including changing diets and increasing activity to improve their health. More healthcare professionals also currently recommend regular exercise and healthy eating.
- Increased Demand for Home Workouts
Millennials are probably the most active group of people currently. They are more focused and committed to eating right and exercising than other generations. However, they face serious time constraints, forcing them to adapt at-home workout schedules. Technologies have made it possible for people to achieve their fitness goals in the comfort of their homes. Before streaming for fitness classes was made possible, even enthusiasts who couldn’t find time to visit their gyms couldn’t exercise.
- Increase in Lifestyle-Related Conditions
As mentioned, more people have adopted sedentary lifestyles. However, this lifestyle has increased obesity rates and other associated illnesses. According to the WHO, the prevalence of chronic illnesses will likely increase by 57%. Most of these chronic conditions are caused by physical inactivity and poor diets.
Currently, nearly half of U.S citizens have adopted diets related to chronic illnesses. Increased prevalence rates for these preventable conditions underpins the importance of adopting healthy diets and a fitness lifestyle.
- Affordable Gyms
The proliferation of boutique fitness studios and HVLP (High Value, Low Price) clubs also play a crucial role in the fitness franchise boom. HVLP clubs attract members with inexpensive membership offers, typically $10 to $20 per month. While budget gyms have been around for years, HVLP is a new breed that offers several fitness equipment and gym classes with a fixed pricing structure.
The number of boutique studios has also increased countrywide. Unlike typical gyms, they are small and very specialized. They provide high-intensity training, spinning, and other tailored classes.
The Bottom Line
The fitness industry is clearly on a growing spiral. Currently, there is a surge in fitness franchise options, including F45 training, GymGuyz, Orange theory Fitness, Purebarre, Planet Fitness, Crunch Fitness, and other franchise options, thanks to the reasons mentioned above. Buying into one of these franchises is a good way to benefit from the expanding market.