According to the Center for Disease Control, America is currently the world's 12th most obese country (out of 200 countries). Around 37% of American adults aged over 20 are considered clinically obese - that's approximately 38% of men and 41% of women.
Worryingly, those rates have doubled in the last thirty years, showing no signs of declining.
Partly, the obesity epidemic results from poor diet choices following the sustained popularity of high-calorie/low nutrition convenience- and fast foods. To make things worse, most high-calorie fast- and pre-packaged foods are less filling than healthier, higher-nutritional alternatives - causing people to consume more calories than they need.
Obesity is associated with various health implications, such as Type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, nerve damage, and a range of cardiac disorders such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. In fact, obesity is the second most prevalent cause of preventable death after tobacco.
Once in a cycle of over-eating or poor diet choices, it becomes progressively more difficult for people to lose weight independently. Over 66% of obese Americans have tried to lose weight, along with 49% of overweight Americans.
This is where weight loss franchises become a valuable, potentially life-saving service - helping people regain control over their consumption while improving their lifestyles for healthier living.
Weight loss franchises include a range of approaches, including:
- Dietary advice
- Fitness training
- Psychological retraining
- Medications and supplements
Losing weight can help reduce blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol while increasing life expectancy.
So, for anyone passionate about helping others regain control over their lives, a weight loss franchise could offer a fantastic opportunity to help save lives!
Franchising
Franchising represents an almost unique business opportunity: a fully-formed, tried-and-tested, off-the-shelf business operation with an established customer base and instantly recognizable branding.
Many people consider franchising THE common sense approach to going into business for themselves - negating many of the pitfalls that independent companies experience when they first open their doors to the public.
When you invest in a weight loss franchise, you inherit an effective program that works - with customer testimonials, a raft of success stories, and evidence that your adopted approach
gets results.
However, many independent companies struggle to penetrate the marketplace because they lack a reputation. Indies who startup without the support of an established partner often find it challenging to build a following - and, in the weight loss sector, reputation is everything.
Most weight loss franchises come with excellent training opportunities to ensure you can deliver the program to your future customers. And, along with training, most parent companies provide a range of HR functions, helping with employment- and financial regulations.
Franchising offers:
- Access to an established supply chain
- An incorporated customer base
- A reputation of excellence, reinforced by customer commendation
- Training and HR support
- Ongoing business support
Facts About Weight Loss Franchises
Unsurprisingly (bearing in mind the extent of the obesity problem), weight loss services are big business in the US. According to IBISWorld, the weight-loss sector saw a market growth of 4.2% in 2021, with a value of $2.7bn.
Weight loss franchises include:
- Commercial chains offering holistic approaches to weight loss, including fitness and dietary regimes
- Meal replacement products
- Food supplements
- Medical weight loss programs, offering surgical solutions to tackle obesity
- Weight loss medications and drugs
- Low-cal frozen meals
- Fitness regimes
- Therapeutic approaches
The way you approach your weight loss business should vary according to your target market. For example, Millennials prefer apps offering virtual weight loss resources and digital peer support programs rather than brick-and-mortar weight loss centers. At the same time, Baby Boomers are more likely to attend physical locations.
Meal replacement shakes and nutrition bars are particularly popular, offering an easy way to manage calorie intake. Sales of meal replacement products are predicted to exceed over-the-counter diet medications by 2023.
There were around 239,000 bariatric (surgical weight loss) procedures in the US back in 2018, making the surgical sector worth a whopping $5.98bn. Surgery typically costs the consumer around $25,000 - the surgical solution is growing at a yearly rate of 5%.
The "clean eating" movement has driven a significant trend in weight loss franchises, offering healthy, organic produce that avoids preservatives, GMOs, sweeteners, and artificial flavorings. This move is influencing the weight loss franchise sector as a whole, with diet-ready-meal producers turning to more natural ingredients and alternatives.
This move towards clean eating has driven a distinct decline in the diet soda sector, with sales of these artificially sweetened products regularly falling since 2018.
Franchising Vs. Independent
Franchising is often considered a safer means to self-employment, offering a tried-and-tested approach to going into business. If you've never run a business before, franchising is the ideal way to overcome the problems that befall all new companies when they start up independently.
Independent companies often find it difficult to penetrate the marketplace, especially when so many established competitors work in the same retail space. It can take years to develop authority and a reputation as a sole trader - why not inherit a ready-made reputation with a weight loss franchise opportunity?
Franchise businesses tend to thrive as soon as they begin operation, benefitting from instantly recognizable branding that provides immediate curb appeal. Weight loss franchises run a ready-to-go weight loss program that's been tested by many thousands of prior customers, which helps reassure future customers of the trustworthiness of your new franchise.
Unfortunately, almost half of all US indies go bankrupt within their first five years of operation because they struggle to penetrate the overcrowded marketplace.
Additionally, moneylenders and banks tend to favor franchise businesses as they have a reputation and history of growth, sustainability, and profit. Independent businesses seeking out collateral funding often fail to convince lenders of the viability of their business idea, making it difficult to get off the ground right from the start.
On the other hand, banks and moneylenders tend to consider franchises a safer bet because the parent company has already proven the concept and market viability of the product.
Weight loss Franchises
Check out Franchise Direct's exciting selection of weight loss franchises, and help Americans make that much-needed move to alter their diets and get fit.
Find your brand new start with Franchise Direct.