The fastest way to open new fitness franchise locations efficiently

The fastest way to scale isn’t obvious unless you know what you’re looking for. Fortunately, it can be summed up in a phrase: stay plugged in. 

Staying “plugged in” is the secret behind the unbelievable expansion of winners like Orangetheory, Vive Activ (now VAURA), and Fitstop, which was the only fitness company to make the top 500 fastest growing companies (coming in at an unreal #33). 

So how did they stay plugged in? And how did that keep them efficient as they opened studio after studio across the globe? Let's take a look.

How Orangetheory Fitness stay plugged in 

Orangetheory started as a single studio in 2010. Fourteen years later, they have grown to over a million members with 1,500 studios across 25 countries. This rapid expansion is partly due to their CEO’s commitment to staying connected with the market. As their CEO, Dave Long, once said, “I respond to every single inquiry that comes in.” This direct engagement helps keep OrangeTheory in tune with their customers' needs, right at the top.

Another growth strategy for Orangetheory has been their focus on fitness challenges. They have a serious round up of challenges, including the Transformation Challenge, Dri-Tri, Marathon, All Out Mayhem, Hell Week, Orange Voyage, Catch Me If You Can, Inferno, Capture the Flag, and 12 Days of Fitness. These challenges offer members themed workouts and incentives like t-shirts, hats, or socks for completing certain milestones. This is partly how Orangetheory members stay motivated and engaged. When you plug in to what your membership base needs, they reciprocate.

This engagement creates market momentum, and that - more than anything - enables rapid expansion.

And to keep it all smooth, Orangetheory consolidates all their information into a detailed operations playbook covering everything from site selection criteria to facility design, staffing, pre-opening marketing, and launch procedures. This standardized system ensures they can replicate their successful model consistently across all locations.

How Vive Active stay plugged in 

Vive Active started as one studio in Australia in 2017, and expanded to multiple studios across Singapore and the USA (yes, they expanded during the pandemic). Despite the challenges of maintaining consistent quality across locations and efficiently managing operational logistics, they thrived with the help of Hapana’s platform.

“During our expansion, we faced challenges such as maintaining consistent quality across locations and efficiently managing operational logistics. Hapana helped us overcome these obstacles by providing a comprehensive platform that integrates all aspects of our studio management, from scheduling to client engagement, ensuring smooth operations and a uniform client experience.”

“Hapana’s integrated CORE scheduling and client management tools have been pivotal for VAURA's growth, allowing us to streamline operations and enhance the client experience seamlessly.”

Their innovative approach and rapid expansion caught the eye of fitness giant F45, leading to their acquisition and rebranding as VAURA in 2024. This acquisition not only validated their success but also positioned them for further growth and innovation under a well-established brand.

Interested in making your expansion plans easy and efficient? Chat with Hapana’s friendly team for a ten-minute demo.‍

How Fitstop stay plugged in 

Fitstop won its spot in the Financial Times Fastest Growing Companies List for APAC this year. That’s right, not a list of the fastest-growing fitness franchises - the fastest-growing companies, full stop. 

How did Fitstop become the only fitness company to even make it on the list? Let alone 33rd on a list of 500? The answer lies in their strategic pivot and relentless focus on community engagement through fitness challenges.

Initially, Fitstop experimented with fitness challenges like the “Refine You” challenge, but by 2022, they shifted to promoting long-term, sustainable workout series. However, they soon realized the power of short-term, engaging challenges. In 2024, they launched the “Move More Challenge,” which became their top keyword driving organic traffic. This pivot to challenges, combined with gamification elements like referral systems and streaks, significantly boosted their member engagement and retention, contributing to their rapid growth and recognition in the industry.

Fitness challenges are powerful tools for creating the kind of growth and demand that makes expanding easy. That’s why we added the fitness challenge app feature to our software platform (that, and several of our clients said pretty-please). 

Check out all the features of the fitness challenge app.  

How Hapana can make expansion fast and easy with fitness software for scaling

Hapana’s gym automation software is purpose-built for fitness studios looking to scale and open new locations efficiently. Scaling doesn’t have to be a headache. Opening new fitness studio locations can be easy, clear, and quick. As long as your fitness business is plugged into the market, and paired with an efficient software system, you can ace expansion.