Crunch Fitness is a gym (obviously) that seriously lives up to the “no judgment zone” and “PC” culture ideology. Positivity, inclusivity, and fun are the characteristics Crunch prides itself on, and it’s right there on its site!
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A great idea in the current fitness industry we find ourselves in, so let’s look at some Crunch franchise statistics.
- There are more than 400 Crunch Fitness gyms on the planet.
- You can find Crunch Fitness locations in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica, and Australia.
- With the massive range of equipment, there are more than 200 different classes at Crunch.
- The current Crunch Signature annual fee is $79 + tax.
- It’s estimated that Crunch Fitness has more than 2 million members.
Crunch Fitness Finances
- Crunch Fitness offers incredible value — based on the fact that it’s $9.99 per month (plus tax) (1).
- On average, a Crunch Fitness franchise has a turnover of $1,864,000 per year (2).
- It’s estimated that joining the Crunch Fitness franchise network would cost between $304,500 and $2,129,500, excluding real estate costs (3).
- “Most franchise owners take home around $50,000 per year, but about 7% of franchise owners earn more than $250,000 per year” (4).
- In August 2021, Crunch finally exceeded its pre-pandemic levels of members (5).
Crunch Fitness Is an Extremely Profitable Company
When looking at the current fitness industry, there are numerous companies that offer what all other companies do. This makes it easy to stand out but also quite wide. With many companies offering something “new” based on market trends, how do you stand out?
When looking at the statistics, it would seem that the Crunch franchise is making a lot of money. In fact, reported revenue sits somewhere between $1.8 – $1.9 million per year. This is on trend with other gyms, but it seems to be a bit higher.
Crunch began franchising early on, and today, there are more than 400 different franchises on the planet. With members pouring in to make use of its services, they’re on track to become a very affluent company.
There’s even an option for “Open your own Gym” on its homepage. This is one of the many different ways they’re using marketing and other methods to improve member numbers and franchisees.
The Crunch Franchise Offers Great Value
Unlike other gyms, Crunch Fitness offers some serious exercise fun. How? Well, they offer some interesting and high-value options you won’t find in other gyms in the industry. Perhaps, this is what allows the growth we spoke about earlier.
As of early 2023, membership options include “Peak Results” ($31.99), “Peak” ($21.99), and “Base” ($14.99). Each of these offers something that the next wouldn’t, but each also keeps the members engaged in a specific way. Exercising needs to be specifically optimized for the person, which Crunch Fitness allows for.
As you might imagine, the more expensive options will offer more exercise fun. For instance, the most expensive option offers infrared saunas, whereas the others do not.
With the vast amount of group fitness classes and entertainment they offer in (most of) its facilities, it creates the ideal environment to get fit and enjoy life simultaneously.
Crunch Fitness Is Growing
The company opened its doors for franchising in 2010 and has had a 42% compound annual growth rate in members. This is slightly under some other big gyms, like LA Fitness and Planet Fitness.
Keeping up with the competition is key in any industry. But they’re on the way up!
Crunch saw a 77% compound annual growth rate in clubs. As you might expect, the pandemic did hit almost every single club. A massive 17% of all fitness clubs (including Crunch Fitness) closed their doors during the pandemic.
An article published by Global-Franchise suggests that even during the COVID fiasco, Crunch Fitness managed to grow its membership numbers by up to over 5.6%. And in mid-2022, Crunch Fitness reported its two-millionth member. Julia Dever signed up at Crunch Norwalk in Connecticut and won $2,000 worth of prizes.
After 2020, the company reported a growth rate of 30%, which far exceeds its rate from before COVID. Perhaps, people like the different ways Crunch offers group classes or its philosophy. Whatever the case may be, the franchisees are happy, the company is growing, and the community claims its services are some of the best.
Or so it may seem.
Recent reviews on sites like Trustpilot would show that even though the company has widely diverse members, they aren’t that happy. It has a rating of merely 1.8 stars, with 81% of reviews only being 1-star.
Most of the complaints seem to be exactly the same as others in the health industry — money. No refunds, taking money when none should have been taken out, and poor marketing all add to the poor reviews.
Nonetheless, Crunch maintains its services are top-quality and aim to please each and every client that walks through its doors.
General Crunch Fitness statistics
- Crunch Fitness has been put on the list of the “Top 50 of the Entrepreneur 500 ranking” (6).
- “The U.S. Retail National Report has identified Crunch as one of the top 10 retailers in the nation for new retail space signed in 2021” (6).
- Crunch Fitness is one of the few industries to offer corporate memberships (7)
- While the company is prosperous today, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States in May 2009 (8).
The Crunch Franchise Is Famous for a Reason
While many companies are struggling to find an identity, Crunch has already established this years ago. We can’t deny that the world is moving to a “softer” and friendlier environment. This is possibly why we’ve seen massive growth in Crunch members.
There are specific gyms for specific demographics. And since more than 40% of members report being anxious about attending a gym or gymming in the same place as someone more developed as they are, it makes sense that Crunch is the natural option for them.
That said, Crunch franchising is also on a growth trend. More people see it wise to invest in this kind of fitness community because, well, it works. It sells. That’s why the Crunch franchise will continue to grow as one of the leading gyms on the market.
Crunch Franchisees Do Not Always See a Return
In 2009, Crunch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Back in 2009, the company merely had 20 – 30 locations with a little over 70,000 members. The company was still starting out and finding its feet in the health industry back then.
After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber approved. Crunch received funds to the value of $1 million on an interim basis.
The reason for this is possibly because Crunch had reported $84.5 million in sales with operating losses of $11.2 million back in 2008. Until May 2009, Crunch reported $2.8 million in losses.
The losses are made even more apparent when you look at the fact that Bally Total Fitness purchased Crunch for $90 million in 2001. They ended up selling it for merely $45 million in 2005.
Since then, the company has doubled down on offering more classes, better marketing, and finding other like-minded entrepreneurs to invest in the company.
Crunch Statistics FAQ
What Is the Difference Between Planet Fitness and Crunch?
Besides the fact that they’re two very different companies, Planet Fitness and Crunch also have two different ways of going about group fitness classes.
The former is definitely a more generalized approach, whereas the latter is more proprietary group fitness, where your specific needs might be met. The latter would also be even more focused on creating a judgment-free zone, making it the better option for those who are very shy.
Is Crunch Beginner Friendly?
While having serious exercise fun might be what everyone in the fitness community wants, being “beginner friendly” means the gym not only has to have classes made for beginners but also personnel to help those individuals.
Crunch franchises have both, seeing as they offer an unbeatable price with unique programming for each individual. The wide array of different memberships makes it hard to beat what they offer for beginners.
Crunch Fitness Hours
Crunch franchises will have individual hours based on where they’re located and may be dependent on the staff. There are a few locations that do offer 24/7 facilities, but you might need to pay a premium to get access to these facilities compared to other facilities.
