Boutique fitness has never been more competitive. Consumers have more choices than ever, from high-intensity concepts and luxury gyms to at-home platforms and niche wellness routines. But as the $40 billion category becomes more crowded, Neighborhood Barre is leaning into what has always made it different: putting modality before trend, a deeply rooted community, and a grassroots brand story built by a female founder.
Now, under the Extraordinary Brands umbrella, Neighborhood Barre is entering a new stage of growth. The brand is investing in a more emotionally resonant identity, stronger franchisee support, enhanced marketing, clearer systems and long-term strategies designed to help owners build profitable, community-centered studios.
“Today is always a better time to invest in Neighborhood Barre than yesterday because of the resources going into the system, especially under Extraordinary Brands,” said Katy Richardson, founder of Neighborhood Barre and chief operating officer of Extraordinary Brands. “There is more support, not only in the new branding, which is amazing, but there is also additional support that is being laid into Neighborhood Barre for new franchisees. Better yet, the cost to get into the system is relatively the same. And we are continuing to look at what franchisees need to be successful and making changes to benefit them.”
Founded in 2011 by Richardson in Knoxville, Tennessee, Neighborhood Barre was built around a simple but powerful idea: create a welcoming, female-forward fitness space where clients could feel challenged, supported and seen.
The workout itself combines low-impact, high-result movement with the precision and control of barre. Through small, intentional movements, clients build strength, improve posture and gain confidence without the wear and tear of higher-impact formats.
“Neighborhood Barre’s main branding word is ‘Control,’” Richardson said. “These are micro-movements that help you control your body.”
That message is becoming increasingly relevant as more consumers look for sustainable fitness routines that support longevity, strength and overall wellness. While some boutique fitness brands have tried to broaden their appeal by adding more formats or watering down their core offering, Neighborhood Barre is moving in the opposite direction. The brand is getting more focused.
“No one has really done a good job at explaining why barre is so difficult and accessible, but worth its weight,” Richardson said. “It’s a very challenging and wonderful modality. It’s about focusing on that messaging.”
That focus is resonating with franchisees like Sarah Smith, a former corporate chief of staff opening Neighborhood Barre in Apex, North Carolina.
“What drew me to Neighborhood Barre was the method itself and how aligned it is with where fitness is heading,” Smith said. “There’s a clear shift toward low-impact, strength-based training that supports longevity, not just intensity, and barre sits right in that space.”
As Neighborhood Barre scales, Richardson says the challenge is to grow without losing the emotional connection that made the brand work in the first place.
“Scale is the enemy of brand,” she said. “You can make the mistake of either holding on to a brand that appeals at a certain level, but frays in a franchise business model. The more people you are bringing in to steward it, the more opinions start to fray as well.”
That is why Extraordinary Brands is helping Neighborhood Barre “dress for the job it wants” without compromising its identity. The work includes a more emotionally forward brand position, clearer messaging, sharper targeting, and a stronger focus on the brand's worldview.
For Richardson, the opportunity is clear. In a market filled with private equity-backed fitness concepts and brands chasing the same trends, consumers are still looking for authenticity.
That local, community-first appeal is what drew Jenna Fisher to Neighborhood Barre, for example. Fisher purchased an existing studio in Concord, North Carolina, and has already signed franchise rights for a second location in Charlotte.
“The atmosphere is contagious,” Fisher said. “It is very accepting of all different fitness levels and body types. And I think the name for Neighborhood Barre is so fitting, because it did feel like a community in a neighborhood right out of the gate. I walked out of the studio after only one class saying, ‘This is the franchise I want to buy.’”
The evolution of Neighborhood Barre is about more than marketing. Extraordinary Brands is bringing added structure, operational clarity and support to help franchisees run stronger businesses.
Richardson said the platform is investing heavily in the brand, including additional support, digital advertising and strategic brand work. The goal is to bring resources to Neighborhood Barre that the system did not have before, while keeping franchisees at the center of the conversation.
That support is especially valuable for franchisees who want to own a business without building everything from scratch.
“For me, it was a secondary business and I really wanted the help,” said Jaclyn Haddow, who is opening Neighborhood Barre in Melbourne, Florida. “Even though royalties sometimes scare people away, the benefit of having that whole team behind you as a small business owner was worth it.”
Smith said the franchise model gave her a practical path into business ownership after 15 years in corporate America. “I realized it’s really more of a framework,” she said. “You’re not giving up ownership, you’re getting structure, systems and support that help you move a lot faster and avoid doing everything from scratch.”
Fisher echoed that point, noting that Neighborhood Barre gives owners both structure and room to lead.
“The thing I’ve liked about Neighborhood Barre is, if you have an idea, you bring it to them and they want to hear from owners regarding what we want and what our needs are,” Fisher said. “They’re very open to hearing it and allowing you to continue to sort of have that autonomy and complete ownership over your studio.”
For prospective franchisees, the timing is especially compelling. Neighborhood Barre is benefiting from several forces at once: growing consumer interest in wellness, demand for low-impact strength training, a desire for authentic local community and the added resources of Extraordinary Brands.
“Given where the competitors are and the fact that they haven’t made any sharp turns, nobody in this niche modality is doing what we are doing,” Richardson said. “We have multiple studios in pre-opening, so we are sitting in this unique opportunity.”
As the brand is building momentum, franchisees are encouraged to connect, share feedback and engage more deeply with the entire system and Extraordinary Brands leaders. That kind of productive networking is part of the broader system Extraordinary Brands is building: one where owners are not operating in isolation, but are part of a portfolio focused on shared learning, support and performance.
For Haddow, the timing was right because the model allowed her to combine a passion for wellness with a business that fit her life. “I just created this life by design,” she said. “I thought about how I wanted to spend my days, and asked myself what I could do to make a living, have fun and be successful doing what I like to do.”
For Fisher, the brand offered more than a business opportunity. It gave her purpose during one of the most difficult seasons of her life. “I think Neighborhood Barre, fitness as a whole, community as a whole, shows up for people in more ways than one,” Fisher said. “It’s not just about meeting fitness goals or getting physically stronger, but it’s also about having that community for when times are hard or when times are great.”
Neighborhood Barre is not trying to become everything to everyone. Instead, the brand is becoming more of what it already is: a focused, accessible, results-driven barre concept with a powerful emotional connection to the communities it serves.
With Extraordinary Brands behind it, the company is pairing that identity with stronger infrastructure, efficient systems, more intentional marketing and a system-wide commitment to franchisee profitability.
“The riskiest thing a brand can do right now is play it safe,” Richardson said.
For franchisees looking to enter boutique fitness, that mindset matters. As Neighborhood Barre evolves, Extraordinary Brands is giving owners the tools, support and clarity to build studios that are not just part of the fitness industry, but part of the neighborhood.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/extraordinary-brands.
Extraordinary Brands
SPONSORED
Neighborhood Barre is sharpening its brand strategy and franchisee support under Extraordinary Brands as it works to stand out in the $40 billion boutique fitness space.
Boutique fitness has never been more competitive. Consumers have more choices than ever, from high-intensity concepts and luxury gyms to at-home platforms and niche wellness routines. But as the $40 billion category becomes more crowded, Neighborhood Barre is leaning into what has always made it different: putting modality before trend, a deeply rooted community, and a grassroots brand story built by a female founder.
Now, under the Extraordinary Brands umbrella, Neighborhood Barre is entering a new stage of growth. The brand is investing in a more emotionally resonant identity, stronger franchisee support, enhanced marketing, clearer systems and long-term strategies designed to help owners build profitable, community-centered studios.
“Today is always a better time to invest in Neighborhood Barre than yesterday because of the resources going into the system, especially under Extraordinary Brands,” said Katy Richardson, founder of Neighborhood Barre and chief operating officer of Extraordinary Brands. “There is more support, not only in the new branding, which is amazing, but there is also additional support that is being laid into Neighborhood Barre for new franchisees. Better yet, the cost to get into the system is relatively the same. And we are continuing to look at what franchisees need to be successful and making changes to benefit them.”
Founded in 2011 by Richardson in Knoxville, Tennessee, Neighborhood Barre was built around a simple but powerful idea: create a welcoming, female-forward fitness space where clients could feel challenged, supported and seen.
The workout itself combines low-impact, high-result movement with the precision and control of barre. Through small, intentional movements, clients build strength, improve posture and gain confidence without the wear and tear of higher-impact formats.
“Neighborhood Barre’s main branding word is ‘Control,’” Richardson said. “These are micro-movements that help you control your body.”
That message is becoming increasingly relevant as more consumers look for sustainable fitness routines that support longevity, strength and overall wellness. While some boutique fitness brands have tried to broaden their appeal by adding more formats or watering down their core offering, Neighborhood Barre is moving in the opposite direction. The brand is getting more focused.
“No one has really done a good job at explaining why barre is so difficult and accessible, but worth its weight,” Richardson said. “It’s a very challenging and wonderful modality. It’s about focusing on that messaging.”
That focus is resonating with franchisees like Sarah Smith, a former corporate chief of staff opening Neighborhood Barre in Apex, North Carolina.
“What drew me to Neighborhood Barre was the method itself and how aligned it is with where fitness is heading,” Smith said. “There’s a clear shift toward low-impact, strength-based training that supports longevity, not just intensity, and barre sits right in that space.”
As Neighborhood Barre scales, Richardson says the challenge is to grow without losing the emotional connection that made the brand work in the first place.
“Scale is the enemy of brand,” she said. “You can make the mistake of either holding on to a brand that appeals at a certain level, but frays in a franchise business model. The more people you are bringing in to steward it, the more opinions start to fray as well.”
That is why Extraordinary Brands is helping Neighborhood Barre “dress for the job it wants” without compromising its identity. The work includes a more emotionally forward brand position, clearer messaging, sharper targeting, and a stronger focus on the brand's worldview.
For Richardson, the opportunity is clear. In a market filled with private equity-backed fitness concepts and brands chasing the same trends, consumers are still looking for authenticity.
That local, community-first appeal is what drew Jenna Fisher to Neighborhood Barre, for example. Fisher purchased an existing studio in Concord, North Carolina, and has already signed franchise rights for a second location in Charlotte.
“The atmosphere is contagious,” Fisher said. “It is very accepting of all different fitness levels and body types. And I think the name for Neighborhood Barre is so fitting, because it did feel like a community in a neighborhood right out of the gate. I walked out of the studio after only one class saying, ‘This is the franchise I want to buy.’”
The evolution of Neighborhood Barre is about more than marketing. Extraordinary Brands is bringing added structure, operational clarity and support to help franchisees run stronger businesses.
Richardson said the platform is investing heavily in the brand, including additional support, digital advertising and strategic brand work. The goal is to bring resources to Neighborhood Barre that the system did not have before, while keeping franchisees at the center of the conversation.
That support is especially valuable for franchisees who want to own a business without building everything from scratch.
“For me, it was a secondary business and I really wanted the help,” said Jaclyn Haddow, who is opening Neighborhood Barre in Melbourne, Florida. “Even though royalties sometimes scare people away, the benefit of having that whole team behind you as a small business owner was worth it.”
Smith said the franchise model gave her a practical path into business ownership after 15 years in corporate America. “I realized it’s really more of a framework,” she said. “You’re not giving up ownership, you’re getting structure, systems and support that help you move a lot faster and avoid doing everything from scratch.”
Fisher echoed that point, noting that Neighborhood Barre gives owners both structure and room to lead.
“The thing I’ve liked about Neighborhood Barre is, if you have an idea, you bring it to them and they want to hear from owners regarding what we want and what our needs are,” Fisher said. “They’re very open to hearing it and allowing you to continue to sort of have that autonomy and complete ownership over your studio.”
For prospective franchisees, the timing is especially compelling. Neighborhood Barre is benefiting from several forces at once: growing consumer interest in wellness, demand for low-impact strength training, a desire for authentic local community and the added resources of Extraordinary Brands.
“Given where the competitors are and the fact that they haven’t made any sharp turns, nobody in this niche modality is doing what we are doing,” Richardson said. “We have multiple studios in pre-opening, so we are sitting in this unique opportunity.”
As the brand is building momentum, franchisees are encouraged to connect, share feedback and engage more deeply with the entire system and Extraordinary Brands leaders. That kind of productive networking is part of the broader system Extraordinary Brands is building: one where owners are not operating in isolation, but are part of a portfolio focused on shared learning, support and performance.
For Haddow, the timing was right because the model allowed her to combine a passion for wellness with a business that fit her life. “I just created this life by design,” she said. “I thought about how I wanted to spend my days, and asked myself what I could do to make a living, have fun and be successful doing what I like to do.”
For Fisher, the brand offered more than a business opportunity. It gave her purpose during one of the most difficult seasons of her life. “I think Neighborhood Barre, fitness as a whole, community as a whole, shows up for people in more ways than one,” Fisher said. “It’s not just about meeting fitness goals or getting physically stronger, but it’s also about having that community for when times are hard or when times are great.”
Neighborhood Barre is not trying to become everything to everyone. Instead, the brand is becoming more of what it already is: a focused, accessible, results-driven barre concept with a powerful emotional connection to the communities it serves.
With Extraordinary Brands behind it, the company is pairing that identity with stronger infrastructure, efficient systems, more intentional marketing and a system-wide commitment to franchisee profitability.
“The riskiest thing a brand can do right now is play it safe,” Richardson said.
For franchisees looking to enter boutique fitness, that mindset matters. As Neighborhood Barre evolves, Extraordinary Brands is giving owners the tools, support and clarity to build studios that are not just part of the fitness industry, but part of the neighborhood.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/extraordinary-brands.
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