Lean Kitchen franchise
2024 filing · April 30, 2024GrowingShares sales figures
Lean Kitchen at a glance
A store selling healthy prepared meals to go and nutritional supplements. At the end of 2023 there were 32 Lean Kitchen locations in the US, 30 franchised and 2 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2018
- 6 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- St. Joseph, Missouri
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $151K–$442K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of adjusted gross sales, paid monthly, plus 3% to the marketing fund
- Brand fund
- 3%
- 3% of gross sales, paid monthly
- Renewal fee
- $12,500
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 32
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 30
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 2 years
- +11
- Franchised locations, 2021–2023
- States
- 9
- Most in South Carolina, Missouri and Colorado
From Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC’s 2024 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Lean Kitchen among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Lean Kitchen | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $296,600 | Costs less than 57% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 32 | More than 57% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $403,924 | Lower than 81% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.4× | Lower than 59% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Lean Kitchen franchise costs
Opening one Lean Kitchen costs an estimated $151,450 to $441,750. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC, 2024 filing, page 16
Lean Kitchen franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC, 2024 filing, page 10
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of adjusted gross sales, paid monthly, plus 3% to the marketing fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 3% of gross sales, paid monthly. |
| Point of sale and loyalty software subscription | Currently, $310 per month |
| Renewal fee | $12,500 |
| Replacement/Additional Training fee | Currently, $500 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC, 2024 filing, page 11
Other fees as filed, from pages 11–13. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Lean Kitchen publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $403,924
Yearly figures for 2023, covering franchised full and satellite stores open all of 2023 (eight of each) (16 locations). The filing gives an average for each format rather than one overall figure; this is the overall average worked out from those and each one's number of locations. The average is about 1.4 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC, 2024 filing, page 38
SBA loans to Lean Kitchen franchisees
Lenders approved 16 SBA 7(a) loans for Lean Kitchen franchisees from 2019 to 2026, $3.71M in all. All 2 that have ended were paid in full; none was charged off. The other 14 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Lean Kitchen compares
Of the 199 health and wellness franchises on this site, Lean Kitchen is the 52nd cheapest to open and the 57th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Lean Kitchen | Typical health and wellness brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $151K | $224K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $442K | $498K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $45K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 3% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $404K | $711K | $794K |
| US locations | 32 | 10 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 4% | 5.3% | – |
| Change in franchised locations, 2 yrs | +57.9% | +23.8% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 125 of 199 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 199 brands in health and wellness franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 (+6) | 3 | +6 | 0 |
| 2022 | 32 (+7) | 2 | +9 | −2 |
| 2023 | 30 (−2) | 2 | – | – |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Source: Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC, 2024 filing, page 39
Where Lean Kitchen locations are
At the end of 2023, Lean Kitchen had locations in 9 states. The most are in South Carolina, Missouri and Colorado.
- South Carolina8
- Missouri7
- Colorado5
- Kansas5
- Alabama2
- Indiana2
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Missouri | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Colorado | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Kansas | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Alabama | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Indiana | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Georgia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Idaho | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Maryland | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC, 2024 filing, page 40
Who owns Lean Kitchen?
Lean Kitchen franchises are sold by Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC. Its filing names no parent company.
From Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC’s 2024 filing, page 8.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC, 2024 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Lean Kitchen filings
The figures on this page come from Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC’s 2024 filing, issued April 30, 2024, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | April 30, 2024 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other health and wellness franchises
All health and wellness franchises
Lean Kitchen is also on these lists: retail franchises, food franchises.