The Vital StretchFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Vital Stretch franchise requires a total initial investment of $97K – $278K, including a $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $76K[2]. Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $97K – $278K
- 16th pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- $76K
- 2nd pct Health & Fitn…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 28th pct Health & Fitn…
- Units
- 5
- 26th pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Health & Fitness 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
At 0.4x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $97K – $278K including a $55K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $76K/year (median $76K).
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 70/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- THE VITAL STRETCH FRANCHISING, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- None
- Predecessor
- and Affiliates
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Co-Founder CEO
- Melissa Goldring
- CEO experience
- 26 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- CT
- HQ
- 112 Main St., Norwalk, CT 06851
- Auditor
- DA Advisory Group PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $204K
- vs $67K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Affiliated brands
- The Vital Stretch
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
The Vital Stretch operates stretch/flexibility-based wellness studios offering assisted stretching services, personal training, and mobility coaching to clients. Franchisees manage studio operations including staff scheduling, client acquisition, class/session delivery, and facility maintenance in their protected territories.
- CEO
- Melissa Goldring
- Headquarters
- CT
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 32 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee (VS Standard)not refundable | $55K | $55K | |
| Pre-opening Travel Expense (VS Standard) | $500 | $6K | |
| Rent (2 months) (VS Standard) | $5K | $14K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (VS Standard) | $5K | $65K | |
| Test Fit (VS Standard) | $1K | $2K | |
| Signage (VS Standard) | $4K | $12K | |
| Management and Technology System (VS Standard) | $3K | $4K | |
| Opening Retail Supplies (VS Standard) | $3K | $3K | |
| Furniture and Equipment (VS Standard) | $42K | $46K | |
| Utility Deposits (VS Standard) | $0 | $800 | |
| Insurance (VS Standard) | $1K | $3K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing (VS Standard) | $15K | $15K | |
| Certification Training (VS Standard) | $1K | $1K | |
| Professional Fees (VS Standard) | $3K | $4K | |
| Business Permits and Licenses (VS Standard) | $200 | $1K | |
| Additional funds - 3 Months (VS Standard) | $10K | $30K | |
| Franchise Fee (VS Lite)not refundable | $55K | $55K | |
| Pre-opening Travel Expense (VS Lite) | $500 | $6K | |
| Rent (2 months) (VS Lite) | $3K | $8K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (VS Lite) | $0 | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $244K | $442K |
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
$22K
29.0% 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
- $97K – $278K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $55K – $55K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
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 | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $76K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $76K
- Item 19 type
- Historical Revenues
- Sample size
- 5 units
- vs category median 11 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $51K→$101K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 8 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 180 Health & Fitness brands
Revenue is only 0.4x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Health & Fitness averages
How The Vital Stretch Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 4
- 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
- 80%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 20.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 3 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.
3
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 5 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 5
- Loan volume
- $1.2M
- Median loan
- $270K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
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
- 4
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into The Vital Stretch's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 4 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 4 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 2-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Very small system with critical financial data inconsistencies and unclear growth viability makes this a speculative investment requiring extensive validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $199,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DA Advisory Group PLLC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
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 70 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 5 units system-wide with unknown/stagnant growth trajectory raises scalability concerns
- 02MINORNet income ($84,295) significantly exceeds reported average revenue ($75,724) — mathematically impossible and suggests unreliable financial data or accounting issues
- 03MINORHigh franchise fee ($54,500) represents 56% of average annual net income, creating substantial payback period risk
- 04MINOR7% royalty on gross revenue lacks transparency on what support/services justify this ongoing cost for micro-system
- 05MINORItem 19 financial performance representations appear unreliable given the revenue/income discrepancy, limiting ability to validate ROI claims
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius/Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Connecticut |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 29 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- Management and Technology System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Management and Technology System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Vital Stretch · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Vital Stretch franchise?
The total investment to open a The Vital Stretch franchise ranges from $97K – $278K, with an initial franchise fee of $55K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Vital Stretch franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Vital Stretch FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $76K. The median is $76K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is The Vital Stretch's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Vital Stretch (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 Vital Stretch franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Vital Stretch has 5 total units in the United States, including 4 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Vital Stretch a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Vital Stretch as a D-grade franchise with a risk score of 70 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.