The gym with ‘no judgment’ drive

Renowned for its immersive environment, Crunch Fitness is on a mission to help members reach their goals all around the globe

Crunch is a gym that believes in making serious exercise fun by fusing fitness with entertainment and pioneering a philosophy of ‘No Judgments.’ The innovative brand has gone from a single basement studio in New York City’s Greenwich Village to a franchise network of state-of-the-art gyms in over 420 locations. Crunch boasts two million members spread across 36 states and six countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.

Standing out from the competition

Crunch serves as a fitness community for all kinds of people, with all types of goals, exercising all different ways, working it out at the same place together. Today, Crunch is renowned for its energetic, immersive environment, one-of-a-kind group fitness classes, rockstar personal trainers, advanced HIIT workouts, Relax & Recover™ services, and wildly diverse members. The brand builds its reputation on a knack for innovation and for being the original No Judgments Gym since 1989.

Crunch has created a powerhouse brand made up of three complementary consumer offerings: the high-value, low-price leader, Crunch Fitness; the metropolitan model, Crunch Signature, and the smaller market boutique style offering, Crunch Sport. These three models make it easy to bring Crunch to a community near you and match its needs precisely.

Strong in the face of adversity

The Covid shutdowns and mass gym closures have been major obstacles to the gym sector in the past three years. Industry statistics show that over 20 per cent of the fitness industry closed and many gym brands lost 10, 20, 30 or over 50 per cent of their members – but not Crunch.

Crunch Fitness was the only major gym brand to grow during the Covid shutdowns, with memberships up over 5.6 per cent, showing how loyal the Crunch customer base truly is. Now, the Crunch network membership is over almost 40 per cent from pre-Covid levels, outpacing the industry at large.

How crunch hacked the pandemic

When the shutdowns occurred, Crunch made the decision to stop billing its members to make sure they felt good about their relationship with the brand even during hard times. The gym gave its Crunch Plus ™ digital workout platform to all its members for free to help them keep up with their exercise routine. Crunch’s over 6,000 group fitness instructors and personal trainers immediately went to Facebook Live and continued running their normally scheduled classes with all of their regular attendees. Personal trainers also continued with sessions on Facebook, which helped keep members engaged – and the Crunch community alive.

Crunch communicated with members at all times, making sure everyone knew the status of their gym when they could expect it to open, and tips and resources on how to stay healthy in the meantime. Even during those uncertain times, Crunch members remained loyal to the brand, with only two per cent cancelling their memberships. Then, as the clubs re-opened, sales rebounded at three times the normal levels, offsetting the slight dip in existing members.

Crunch also had a Re-Opening Readiness plan out to all its franchisees within three weeks of the closures, well ahead of the industry curve. The franchisees did an amazing job the entire time, especially in taking care of the re-opening when they made sure every member felt safe and comfortable being in the clubs again.

Why join the network?

Working through the pandemic and coming out the other side even stronger is a huge testament to the Crunch business model, the members, and the relationship and cooperation between the franchisor and franchisees. It truly speaks to what is different about Crunch.

Besides the opportunity for healthy profits, owning a Crunch franchise means you are in a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who are all about sharing how to succeed. Joining Crunch means you will be working with a team and system at the top of the industry, and you will be doing something with a purpose – helping people build better lifestyles.

Crunch franchisees present their community with incredible value – from no judgments, proprietary group fitness and HITT classes, to personal and small group training. Crunch has more to offer than the competition, with its pressure-free enrollment and Relax & Recover™ services, all at an unbeatable price.

As the mission statement highlights: Crunch members are nurturers who always keep open minds. There are no judgments here — no ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’, no glares of disapproval. The brand’s number one goal is to encourage, empower and entertain. There is no one type, no one reason and no one way. Instead, Crunch is a diverse community that encourages a culture of fun and there is always room for everyone – for all kinds of people with all kinds of goals who’ve chosen to reach them with Crunch.

At a glance

Year established:

1989

Number of franchised outlets:

420

Location of units:

U.S., Canada, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico

Investment range:

$450,000–$3,500,000

Minimum required capital:

$2,000,000 net with $500,000 liquid

Contact:

John@crunchfranchise.com