The Vitamin ShoppeFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
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]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $484K – $985K
- 37th pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- 17th pct Retail
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 6th pct Retail
- Units
- 671
- 38th pct Retail
- SBA default
- N/A
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
21% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $484K – $985K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.5M/year (median $1.4M), with an estimated 21% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 21/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Vitamin Shoppe Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Vitamin Shoppe Industries LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Freedom VCM (formerly Franchise Group, Inc.)
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Lee A. Wright
- Incorporated in
- DE
- 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
Franchisees operate retail health supplement and vitamin stores, managing inventory, customer service, point-of-sale operations, and local marketing. Day-to-day responsibilities include staff supervision, product merchandising, compliance with franchisor protocols, and driving foot traffic in a competitive nutritional products market.
- CEO
- Lee A. Wright
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 1977
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 10
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.
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
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $484K – $985K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $51K – $139K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $40K
- Better than avg 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
- Payback period
- 4.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
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 |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.4M
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $153K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 20.8%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Average and Median Revenue and Expenses
- Sample size
- 518 units
- vs category median 49 · 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
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Compared against 304 Retail brands
vs Retail averages
How The Vitamin Shoppe Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 671
- Opened
- 11
- 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
- 658
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 2%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 5.3%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Ceased ops
- 2.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
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.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Rapidly expanding vitamin retail franchise with regulatory history and pending litigation creates moderate-to-high risk despite strong unit growth, warranting careful validation of franchisee profitability claims and renewal practices.
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)
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 21 / 100 rating
- 01MINORExtreme unit growth of 550% YoY suggests either aggressive recent acquisition/rebranding or unsustainable expansion that may indicate instability
- 02MINORPending arbitration from MMS Group regarding breach of contract and non-renewal creates precedent risk for franchisee renewal negotiations
- 03MINORFTC settlement regarding reciprocal purchase agreements signals regulatory scrutiny of franchisor's business practices and potential conflicts of interest
- 04MINORNet income of $153,070 against $483,900-$984,900 investment yields only 15-32% annual return, below typical franchise benchmarks, with high royalty drag at 5%
- 05MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations limits ability to validate claimed average revenue figures independently
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 | 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
32 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. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
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 0 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 risk score of 21 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.