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Updated RecentlyContours Express vs Hungry Heart Franchise Comparison
Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Contours Express vs Hungry Heart including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
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| Investment | $35,000 - $50,000 | $43,000 - $57,000 |
| Franchise Fee | $12,500 | $24,500 |
| Royalty Fee | $395/mo. | 6% |
| Advertising Fee | - | - |
| Year Founded | 1998 | 1996 |
| Year Franchised | 1998 | 2006 |
| Term Of Agreement | 10 years | 7 years |
| Term Of Agreement | 10 years | 7 years |
| Renewal Fee | - | $500 |
Business Experience Requirements |
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| Experience | - | - |
Financing Options |
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| In-House/3rd Party | In-House/3rd Party | |
| Franchise Fees | No/No | No/No |
| Start-up Costs | No/No | No/No |
| Equipment | No/Yes | No/No |
| Inventory | No/No | No/No |
| Receivables | No/No | No/No |
| Payroll | No/No | No/No |
Training & Support |
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| Training | - | - |
| Support | Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet
# Protected Territory # 5 days of Training at Contours Express University # 3-Day Training at your gym # Adjustable Weight Stack Equipment # 16 Stations - 4 extra stations optional # Butt-n-Gut cd # Preferred Vendor Discounts # Unlimited Ongoing Training # Advertising and Marketing Advice # 24/7 Online Marketing Materials Library # Personal Gym Website # Prepared PowerPoint Marketing Presentations # Nutritional Counseling Program - C.O.R.E. # Site Selection Assistance | - |
| Marketing | Ad slicks | - |
| Operations |
50% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 2 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (50% of current franchisees are owner/operators) | - |
Expansion Plans |
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| US Expansion | - | - |
| Canada Expansion | No | - |
| International Expansion | Yes | - |
Company Overviews
About Contours Express
After operating coed clubs, working as consultants and working in other areas of the fitness industry, Daren Carter, Mike Widener and Charlie Woodward joined forces to create a fitness center just for women. In 1998, the partners founded Contours Express, a women-only center catering to towns with populations too small to support a full-scale, coed gym.
Contours Express members follow a 29-minute cue tape that keeps them moving through aerobic stations and strength training machines. A fitness trainer (the franchisee or an employee) works with the members during their workouts, providing motivation and other services.
Clubs, which are usually located in strip centers, are about 1,200 square feet in size and can accommodate up to 20 members at a time.
About Hungry Heart
By the time many of our clients have reached The Hungry Heart, they feel like they have tried everything and they’ve had it. The same behaviors that drive us to be successful in parts of our
personal and professional life also lead us to having problems with
food. Why? When there is a problem we will give 150% to resolve it. If
we don’t know how to fix it and don’t accept that we can’t resolve it on
our own, we feel frustrated and stuck. When we feel stuck, we will
often use food to temporarily block out the pain and frustration of not
knowing how to fix the situation. As long as we need food to help us deal with what is emotionally
going on in our lives, it doesn’t matter what diet or program we try
because eventually we will go back to the food. We have to learn to
process our feelings and emotions so we don’t turn to food and use it as
a tool to deal with what is going on in our lives.