The Vitamin Shoppe Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Vitamin Shoppe is a retail franchise selling vitamins, supplements, and sports-nutrition and wellness products. Franchisees run stores managing merchandising, customer guidance, and inventory in a competitive nutrition market.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Vitamin Shoppe franchise requires a total initial investment of $484K – $985K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.5M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $484K – $985K
- 41st pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- Company-owned only14th pct Retail
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 6th pct Retail
- Units
- 671
- 41st 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 $484K – $985K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.5M/year (median $1.4M) (company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 78/100 (higher is better).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Vitamin Shoppe Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Vitamin Shoppe Industries LLC (VS Industries)
- Ultimate parent
- Franchise Group, Inc. (FRG)
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Lee A. Wright
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 300 Harmon Meadow Blvd., Secaucus, New Jersey 07094
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.5B
- vs $3.4B prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Lee A. Wright
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 10
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 78% above the typical retail franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $51K | $139K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $393K | $806K |
| Total initial investment | $484K | $985K |
Source: The Vitamin Shoppe 2024 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
- $484K – $985K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $51K – $139K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Net Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $875 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $2K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 53% above the retail norm.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
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
$118K
8.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
14%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one The Vitamin Shoppe unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
14%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 The Vitamin Shoppe units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$295K
on $1.5M purchase
Total debt
$1.2M
SBA $0.7M + senior + seller note
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.4M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Average and Median Revenue and Expenses
- Sample size
- 518
- vs category median 47 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $569K→$2.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.0M→$2.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 10 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
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.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.5M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.0x. Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% — below the Retail average of 8.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 10/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Multi-unit rate
Only 5% 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 Vitamin Shoppe Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 671
- Opened
- 11
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 18
- 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
- 658
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 2%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 5.3%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 11
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 2.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Last reporting year only, multi-year history not disclosed in this brand's FDD.
Item 20 · 15 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
Litigation involves an affiliate (Buddy's), not Vitamin Shoppe Franchising itself: 2 matters, an arbitration and dispute. Financials are parent-level (FRG: net worth $1.15B; net income -$138.6M reflects parent, not penalized). Predominantly company-owned (658 of 671 units) with only 13 franchised; no bankruptcy or going-concern.
Litigation (Item 3)
MMS Group, LLC v. Buddy's Franchising and Licensing LLC (pending arbitration) - franchisee alleges breach of franchise agreement, breach of good faith, FDUTPA violations; Buddy's counterclaims for breach of non-compete, Lanham Act and DTSA violations. FTC v. Buddy's Newco, LLC et al. (concluded) - settled allegations of reciprocal purchase agreements in violation of antitrust laws.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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 78 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGH2 affiliate (Buddy's) litigation matters, not the franchisor
- 02MINORParent-level financials, net income -$138.6M not brand-specific
- 03MINORMostly company-owned: 658 of 671 units
- 04MINORNo bankruptcy/going-concern
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Households |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 25,000 |
| 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 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
MMS Group, LLC v. Buddy's Franchising and Licensing LLC (pending arbitration) - franchisee alleges breach of franchise agreement, breach of good faith, FDUTPA violations; Buddy's counterclaims for breach of non-compete, Lanham Act and DTSA violations. FTC v. Buddy's Newco, LLC et al. (concluded) - settled allegations of reciprocal purchase agreements in violation of antitrust laws.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 19 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- Off-site and on-site
- POS system
- Computer System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Computer System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
26 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Vitamin Shoppe · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Vitamin Shoppe franchise?
The total investment to open a The Vitamin Shoppe franchise ranges from $484K – $985K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Vitamin Shoppe franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Vitamin Shoppe FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.5M. The median is $1.4M. Important context: Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the The Vitamin Shoppe 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 Vitamin Shoppe FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Vitamin Shoppe's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Vitamin Shoppe (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 Vitamin Shoppe franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Vitamin Shoppe has 671 total units in the United States, including 13 franchised units and 658 company-owned units. 11 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Vitamin Shoppe a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Vitamin Shoppe as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 78 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.