Project LeanNationFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Project LeanNation franchise requires a total initial investment of $260K – $397K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $643K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $260K – $397K
- 28th pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- $643K
- 6th pct Retail
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 24th pct Retail
- Units
- 34
- 14th pct Retail
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Retail · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Retail avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Started franchising in 2023. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Franchised units fell from 33 to 21 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
130% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $260K – $397K including a $60K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $643K/year (median $517K), with an estimated 130% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 28/100.
- System growing at 57.1% CAGR over 3 years with 34 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Project Lean Nation Franchising, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- NY
- HQ
- 14 Franklin Street, Suite 1403, Rochester, New York 14604
- Auditor
- Nacca & Capizzi, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.5M
- vs $2.1M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Independent Franchisee Association
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Project LeanNation franchisees operate fitness/wellness centers focused on lean body transformation and nutrition coaching. Day-to-day operations include leading group fitness classes, conducting one-on-one coaching sessions, managing member billing and retention, and coordinating with corporate on marketing/nutrition protocols. Revenue streams typically include membership dues, personal training, and supplemental nutrition/product sales.
- CEO
- Tim Dougherty
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 13
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 20 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (single location)not refundable | $60K | $60K | |
| Real Estate Rent - 1st Monthnot refundable | $3K | $7K | |
| Security Deposit(s)not refundable | $0 | $7K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (net amount)not refundable | $60K | $125K | |
| Site Development Feenot refundable | $18K | $18K | |
| Furnishings, Fixtures, and Decoratingnot refundable | $3K | $6K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Equipment and supplies acquired locallynot refundable | $47K | $62K | |
| Computer System/POSnot refundable | $1K | $1K | |
| Initial Inventory, supplies, packaging, uniforms and corporate identity materialsnot refundable | $500 | $1K | |
| Initial inventory of products for resalenot refundable | $10K | $14K | |
| SBA fees and other financing costsnot refundable | $0 | $10K | |
| Additional Operating funds/Working Capital - 3 monthsnot refundable | $25K | $35K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $6K | $15K | |
| Pre-Opening Marketingnot refundable | $18K | $18K | |
| Business Licenses/Permitsnot refundable | $500 | $2K | |
| Technology Fee (PLN Storefront and Square POS licensing)not refundable | $350 | $350 | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee under Area Development Agreementnot refundable | $135K | $350K | |
| Total initial investment | $395K | $747K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$39K
6.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
11%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
9.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $260K – $397K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $60K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 0.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $350 |
| Training fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $8K – $11K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $643K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $517K
- Avg ebitda
- $427K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 130.2%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Full Year Operations and Ramp-up Data
- Sample size
- 25 units
- vs category median 49
- Range (low → high)
- $179K→$1.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $339K→$1.5M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Compared against 304 Retail brands
vs Retail averages
How Project LeanNation Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 34
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 8.8%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +17.9%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +57.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 7
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Termination rate
- 5.9%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 8.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Indiana
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 9 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 9
- Loan volume
- $1.9M
- Median loan
- $236K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Moderate-to-cautionary risk profile: recent regulatory violation, lack of Item 19 transparency, modest growth rate, and small system size offset by strong unit economics and protected territories.
Litigation (Item 3)
Commonwealth of Virginia, ex rel. State Corporation Commission v. Project Lean Nation Franchising, Inc. Case No. SEC-2025-00025. Allegation of selling franchise location prior to Virginia registration completion and failure to provide cleared FDD. Settled September 26, 2025 with $5,000 penalty and $1,000 in fees. Franchisor neither admitted nor denied allegations.
Largest disclosed settlement: $6,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Nacca & Capizzi, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 28 / 100 rating
- 01MINORRegulatory violation in Virginia (2025) involving FDD non-compliance and premature unit sale suggests franchisor compliance gaps
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations limits ability to validate the $414,148 avg net income claim across all units
- 03MINOR17.9% YoY unit growth is solid but relatively modest for a fitness/wellness concept; retention rate unknown
- 04MINORHigh franchise fee ($60k) + startup investment ceiling ($396.6k) with 7% royalty creates significant breakeven pressure on stated $643k avg revenue
- 05MEDUnit count (34) indicates small system with limited support infrastructure and higher vulnerability to individual unit failures
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New York |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Commonwealth of Virginia, ex rel. State Corporation Commission v. Project Lean Nation Franchising, Inc. Case No. SEC-2025-00025. Allegation of selling franchise location prior to Virginia registration completion and failure to provide cleared FDD. Settled September 26, 2025 with $5,000 penalty and $1,000 in fees. Franchisor neither admitted nor denied allegations.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 39 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 24 hrs
- Training location
- Project LeanNation headquarters or another location chosen by franchisor
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- Square POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
16 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Project LeanNation · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Project LeanNation franchise?
The total investment to open a Project LeanNation franchise ranges from $260K – $397K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Project LeanNation franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Project LeanNation FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $643K. The median is $517K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Project LeanNation's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Project LeanNation (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Project LeanNation franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Project LeanNation has 34 total units in the United States, including 33 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Project LeanNation a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Project LeanNation as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 28 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.