The Youth Fitness Industry Checks All the Boxes for Big Business

For those researching possible small business or franchising investment opportunities, one should be sure to add to their list any business model that caters to enriching the lives of kids. Children’s activities are big business in the U.S., especially when it comes to health, wellness, and fitness. These are growing industries that don’t appear to be slowing down.

The market catering to kids’ recreational services in the U.S. is a $1.47 trillion industry expected to grow an impressive 53% over the next decade. Several factors are in play with this estimate. The fact that there is a general shift in consumer preference toward better health and wellness leads the way, but also rising disposable income among targeted demographics, as well as government support for community health and fitness.

Just about any parent will tell you they will spend money on their kids before they spend money on themselves. On average, parents spend between $731 and $1,033 per child, per year on activities outside of school. Forty-two percent of them will take on debt if it means providing the right sport or activity to enrich their children’s lives, especially if there is a strong belief that the activity could lead to a future career.

When it comes to youth sports, families spend an average of $883 for one child’s primary sport, not including multiple sports, or sport activities during the off-season. If parents aren’t aware at first of the benefits that come with youth sports, they soon find out.

Youth sports provide much of what parents want for their kids. Team sports provide a sense of community with friendships and connections that can last an entire scholastic career and beyond. Good coaches and parents together help a young athlete build character on and off the field. And of course, the physical and mental health benefits that come from participating in sports are what parents want for their children.

The bottom line is that the state of the industry for kids’ recreational services appears to be here to stay. This is a growth market, in high demand, with a consumer that will continue to show up if people continue to have children. Business owners in this industry are providing services for every new generation. How many industries can demonstrate the same?

Once you decide on an avenue to take, like kids’ recreational services, it’s easier to narrow your lane. The kids’ fitness industry falls within both the parameters of the booming kids’ recreational sector ($1.47 trillion industry) and humongous youth sports industries ($15.3 billion).

Better yet, if we were to draw a Venn diagram, we would see an overlap of the kids’ recreation and youth sports industries with both the fitness industry and health and wellness industry, two more behemoths in the market.

Fitness: $33 billion and growing

Health and Wellness: $1.2 trillion making up 28% of the global market

Then, add the opportunity for multiple revenue streams from the kids fitness industry and your lane on the avenue gets even more enticing. With a kids’ fitness business, you can benefit from:

• In season and off-season programming

• Summer camps (20 million kids in the U.S. attend some kind of camp each summer)

• Public and private school relationships

• Church leagues

• Community education opportunities

• Parents – maybe they want to get fit too!

• Miscellaneous events

Owning a business or franchise in the youth fitness industry is a way to check all the boxes for growth and opportunity. As you explore which opportunities are a good fit for you, youth fitness should definitely take space on your due diligence to-do list.