Fitness franchisors want in on wellness.
What’s happening: After merging earlier this year, Orangetheory Fitness and Self Esteem Brands rebranded as Purpose Brands — pushing international growth while expanding further into wellness.
Why it matters: Operating Anytime Fitness, Orangetheory, The Bar Method, and other brands, Purpose serves 6M members across 7K+ franchise locations worldwide.
Emphasizing wellness over fitness, it’ll leverage regional footholds and its portfolio—including Waxing the City and nutrition app Stronger U—to improve holistic well-being.
Fueling future growth, adopting fitness tech and improving medical outcomes are on the roadmap.
Brand Building
Global supergroups are trying to find the optimal franchise mix.
- Xponential Fitness is shifting focus to Club Pilates, StretchLab, BFT, and YogaSix while opening 50+ Lindora weight loss clinics this year.
- Extraordinary Brands acquired Row House (from XPOF), Eat the Frog Fitness, and Neighborhood Barre.
- Reworking the budget, Equinox Group sold bankrupt Blink Fitness to the UK’s PureGym, while Germany’s RSG Group is modernizing all 230 McFIT locations.
Punchline: With holistic-minded consumers blurring the lines, Purpose Brands and others see fitness-adjacent services as multipliers in the $6.3T wellness industry.
