2023 Fitness Franchise Trends

2023 is just around the corner; so if you are a fitness franchise owner or just looking into fitness franchises, you may be curious about what fitness franchise trends will be hot in the new year. Rick Mayo (Alloy Founder and CEO) shares the most interesting trends in fitness.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the top 2023 fitness franchise trends to look forward to in the coming year.

7 Fitness Franchise Trends to Look for in 2023

Whether you’re a fitness franchise owner or an entrepreneur looking for a new opportunity, these seven exciting trends will help you grow your business in 2023 and beyond:

1. Make Fitness More Convenient

Fitness apps
Hybrid classes
At-home Training

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the face of fitness forever. In the wake of that, we’re seeing more hybrid fitness offerings, like at-home training, outdoor activities, fitness apps, and on-demand classes.

For example, here at Alloy, we plan personal training programs and use our Alloy App to increase fitness activity outside the studio. as well as training in the studio, to increase overall movement and support their fitness goals.

Increasing convenience for fitness offerings in the facility and outside the facility are all great options for franchises that want to expand their offerings for clients, increase their activity level and make getting fit easier than ever.

2. Continued Growth of Small Group and Personal Training

According to IBIS World, there’s more demand for personal training now than ever. In fact, they expect the personal training market size in the US to grow by 1% by the end of 2022. In the last 5 years, it has increased by 4.3% from 2017 to 2022.

What does this mean for fitness franchises? It means that the coming year is a great time to invest or reinvest in small group and personal training offerings.

3. Technology Improves Fitness Metrics

Gone are the days of relying on BMI to establish fitness baselines. Today, wearable technology and advanced biometric screening devices are leading the way.

Here at Alloy, we’ve embraced that trend by using a special body composition analysis tool and functional movement screening to measure and assess a new member’s fitness during our Starting Point Sessions. We then measure fitness progress over time by including body composition analysis and the functional movement screen to assess progress in relation to the client’s fitness goals.

We measure body composition and dry lean mass (which is the weight of the body’s mineral and protein content) and lean body mass (which represents the weight of all the body’s muscle mass, not fat). Both are noninvasive screening measurement tools and are an excellent way for our trainers and clients to understand and establish fitness goals.

4. Personal Training Studios Continue to Grow

It’s been a tough few years for big gyms. Fortunately, personal training studios and some boutique fitness franchises have weathered the times very well. Thanks to the combination of small group sizes, fewer people in the facility at a time, and highly personalized training programs, studio franchises are thriving right now.

This trend is going to continue easily into 2023 and beyond. Previously, we reported in the 2022 Trends Report they expect boutique fitness to grow 450% between 2021-2028.

What’s the difference between a boutique fitness gym concept and the small group personal training studio concept?

A boutique fitness gym is usually a small gym (800 – 3500 square feet) that focuses on group exercise and specializes in one or two fitness areas. There are usually a larger group of people working out at one time to make the unit economics better for the gym. Everyone attends the group exercise class and everyone does the same workout that day. Examples are barre classes, spin classes, High Intensity(HIIT), or bootcamp classes. One of the most remarkable aspects of boutiques is their premium price tag.

Small group personal training provides a more personalized approach for each person in a on-on-one or small group in a small facility (800 – 1200 sf). The one-on-one training experience is a higher price point with sessions usually around $80 – $100 per session. At Alloy, we have specialized in small group training with 6 people to one coach, but each person has their own personalized fitness prescription. This brings the cost for the client down ($60 for a session), while still delivering a one-on-one training experience). In addition, the small group provides extra motivation and accountability for clients. The unit economics are also higher, with higher client retention and customer lifetime values. All of these factors drive the higher ROI per square foot for franchisees.

What does this mean for fitness business owners? It means that 2023 is a good time to drill down into your value propositions and your target audience. The more focused, personalized and niche you can get with your offerings, the better equipped you’ll be to attract (and keep) new customers.

5. Increased Focus on Holistic Wellness

Gone are the days of people wanting meathead gyms that just help them build muscle. Today, clients want gyms that allow them to pursue functional fitness, learn how to eat right, and promote overall quality of life.

Holistic health is an approach to life that considers multidimensional aspects of wellness. It encourages individuals to recognize how everything affects your health from your physical, nutritional, mental, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual wellbeing.

Here at Alloy, we’ve harnessed this trend by focusing on personalized functional fitness with exercises that prepare people for the activities of daily living, from playing with the grandkids to getting ready for pickleball, group hikes or bike rides. We strive to live life to the fullest.

We don’t just focus on fitness, though. We also work with people to support healthy eating, healthy lifestyle habits, active lifestyles, and holistic wellness.

6. Focus on Unit Economics

If you want your franchise to thrive in 2023, it’s critical to hone your business formula. We recommend developing a dynamic, agile business formula capable of adapting to the fast-paced fitness industry.

One great way to do this is to focus on unit economics, which refers to your company’s costs and revenue and how they’re related to your individual production units. Unit economics of individual locations generate favorable cash-on-cash returns.

Want to know how to calculate your unit economics? Determine how much revenue each customer brings in and divide that number by the costs associated with each customer.

The more you can drill down into this number, the more prepared you’ll be to make agile business decisions in 2023 and beyond.

7. Growth of Personalized Training Experiences

Once, fitness was all about creating a body that looked good. Today, it’s about creating a body (and a life) that feels good. In many ways, fitness has become a way to support and enhance mental health, and there’s no space for needless injuries within that dynamic.

With this in mind, there’s an increased focus on form and technique in the small-group and personal training world.

Today’s trainers are focusing much more on functional fitness, holistic wellness, injury prevention, and fundamental technique. While this means more effective exercises for gym members, it also means safer workouts and lower injury risk for everyone involved.

Preparing Your Fitness Franchise to Thrive in 2023

In 2023, many of the fitness trends we’ve seen over the last few years will continue going strong. Some things, though, like the focus on form and technique and the increased importance of wearable technology and biometric screening, are more crucial than ever.

Fortunately, knowing these trends sets you up to create a thriving fitness franchise in 2023 and beyond.

Here at Alloy, we pride ourselves on predicting trends in the fitness industry, adapting accordingly, and providing our franchisees with a complete support system. For years, we’ve led the industry with a profitable business model based on functional fitness and small group personal training, and we look forward to carrying our legacy forward for both our clients and our franchise owners in 2023.

Are you interested in learning more about the Alloy opportunity or how you can open your own Alloy franchise in 2023? Request your information packet today.

Article by: Rick Mayo

Check out how Alloy’s success resulted in being named one of the Top Disruptive Franchises.