The Sweat Shack Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Sweat Shack is a wellness franchise offering infrared sauna bathing paired with cold plunge for recovery. Franchisees run the studios, managing equipment, appointments, and memberships.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Sweat Shack franchise requires a total initial investment of $288K – $564K, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $288K – $564K
- 34th pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outlets
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 18th pct Retail
- Units
- 3
- 3rd pct Retail
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Retail · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Retail avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $288K – $564K including a $45K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports individual location actual results (not a statistical cohort table) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 41/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports individual location actual results (not a statistical cohort table) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Sweat Shack Franchising LLC
- Predecessor
- The Sweat Shack Franchising LLC (California limited liability company, formed July 2019, dissolved January 6, 2022)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Founder, Chief Executive Officer
- Mark Felan
- Incorporated in
- Tennessee
- HQ
- 2012 Tollgate Boulevard, Thompson Station, Tennessee 37179
- Auditor
- Divine, Blalock, Martin & Sellari, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $79K
- vs $174K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Mark Felan
- Headquarters
- TN
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about average for a retail franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45K | $45K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $5K | $10K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $238K | $509K |
| Total initial investment | $288K | $564K |
Source: The Sweat Shack 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $288K – $564K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $10K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $14K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
The Sweat Shack did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one The Sweat Shack unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
12%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Includes company-owned outlets
- Item 19 type
- individual location actual results (not a statistical cohort table)
- Sample size
- 3
- vs category median 47 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $213K→$416K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · below
Compared against 278 Retail brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Retail average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports individual location actual results (not a statistical cohort table) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +100.0% over 3 years (0 opened, 0 closed).
Multi-unit rate
Only 15% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Retail averages
How The Sweat Shack Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 1%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 15.4%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +100.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 2
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 33.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $400K
- Median loan
- $400K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (1 loan) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Young franchisor (began 2022) with just 3 units (2 franchised, 1 company-owned) and modest total revenue of $173,919. No litigation, bankruptcy, or going-concern; Item 19 disclosed with audited financials and 0% turnover. Small system with limited history.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Divine, Blalock, Martin & Sellari, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORSmall system: 3 units total
- 02MINORLow revenue $173,919
- 03MINORNo litigation/bankruptcy/going-concern
- 04MED0% turnover, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius/Area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Williamson County, Tennessee |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Tennessee |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 20 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 32 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Sweat Shack · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Sweat Shack franchise?
The total investment to open a The Sweat Shack franchise ranges from $288K – $564K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Sweat Shack franchise owners earn?
The Sweat Shack does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the The Sweat Shack FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the The Sweat Shack FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Sweat Shack's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Sweat Shack (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 The Sweat Shack franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Sweat Shack has 3 total units in the United States, including 2 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is The Sweat Shack a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Sweat Shack as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 41 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
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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.