The Wellness Way Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Wellness Way is a health clinic franchise using lab testing and functional-medicine protocols to address chronic health issues. Franchisees run the clinics, managing practitioners, patient consultations, testing, and supplement sales.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Wellness Way franchise requires a total initial investment of $77K – $247K, including a $15K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $961K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $77K – $247K
- 12th pct Healthcare
- Avg gross sales
- $961K
- 19th pct Healthcare
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 49
- 56th pct Healthcare
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Healthcare · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Healthcare 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 $77K – $247K including a $15K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $961K/year (median $668K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 68/100 (higher is better).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Wellness Way Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- The Wellness Way, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Nicole Seidel
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Wisconsin
- HQ
- 2525 W Mason Street, Green Bay, WI 54303
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.4M
- vs $2.0M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- WWE
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Nicole Seidel
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 19
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 61% below the typical healthcare franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $15K | $15K | |
| Real Estate | $3K | $10K | |
| Utility Deposits | $2K | $4K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $5K | $50K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $4K | |
| Furniture, Equipment, Computers, and Supplies | $20K | $89K | |
| Costs of Attending Initial Training | $3K | $5K | |
| Signage | $5K | $9K | |
| Initial Inventory and Start-Up Package | $8K | $20K | |
| Opening Marketing | $2K | $10K | |
| Licenses & Permits | $750 | $4K | |
| Legal & Accounting | $3K | $7K | |
| Administrative Services | $2K | $2K | |
| IT Support Services | $0 | $600 | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $10K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $79K | $248K |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $77K – $247K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $15K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- the higher of 5% of weekly Gross Revenues or 5% of Minimu…
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | The higher of 5% of weekly Gross Revenues or Minimum Performance Requirements |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $7K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $8K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 32% below the healthcare norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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
$173K
18.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
98%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12 mo
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 Wellness Way unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
98%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
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 Wellness Way units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
46.4%
6.73× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.95×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$2.4M
on $10.6M purchase
Total debt
$8.2M
SBA $5.0M + 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $961K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $668K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 34
- vs category median 20
- Range (low → high)
- $181K→$4.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 162 Healthcare brands
Revenue is 5.9x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $961K/year in gross sales. Median is $668K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 5.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Healthcare average of 8.8%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +34.5% over 3 years (13 opened, 2 closed).
Multi-unit rate
33% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
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 Healthcare averages
How The Wellness Way Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 49
- Opened
- 13
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.1%
- Company-owned
- 10
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 80%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 33.3%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +34.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 13
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 21 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
- California
- Indiana
- Maryland
- New York
- Rhode Island
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
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 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
Financial distress flagged as early-stage: franchisor since 2022 with negative net worth -$125,717 but positive net income $1.18M on $2.02M revenue and no auditor going-concern note. 49 units (39 franchised) with $960,774 avg gross sales. No litigation or bankruptcy; Item 19 disclosed with audited financials.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $20,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen 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 68 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative net worth -$125,717 (early-stage)
- 02MINORPositive net income $1,182,063, no going-concern note
- 03MINOR49 units, avg gross sales $960,774
- 04MINORNo litigation/bankruptcy
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 7 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 45 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Green Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Wisconsin |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 8 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- The Wellness Way System Software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: The Wellness Way System Software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
56 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Wellness Way · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Wellness Way franchise?
The total investment to open a The Wellness Way franchise ranges from $77K – $247K, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Wellness Way franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Wellness Way FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $961K. The median is $668K. 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 Wellness Way 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 Wellness Way FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Wellness Way's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Wellness Way (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 Wellness Way franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Wellness Way has 49 total units in the United States, including 39 franchised units and 10 company-owned units. 13 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Wellness Way a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Wellness Way as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 68 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.