How Barre3 Scaled to 200+ Studios Without Losing Culture, Community, or Consistency

Scaling a boutique fitness studio is never just about opening more doors. It's about replicating excellence. And as many multi-location studio owners know, that's the hard part.

In the recent episode of Multi-Studio Mastery, Tessa sat down with Anna Martens, Chief Operating Officer at Barre3, to unpack how the beloved fitness brand has grown to over 200 studios without sacrificing what makes it special. Here's what we learned.

Growth Starts With Deep Brand Clarity

Barre3 was never about chasing fitness trends. From the beginning, its founders, Sadie and Chris Lincoln, set out to redefine what success in fitness looks like. Their goal? Help clients fall in love with who they are today.

That clarity shapes everything—from the workout itself (a blend of strength, cardio, and mindfulness) to franchisee selection and client communication.

"We don’t chase trends. We chase the needs of our client."

Local Studio, Global Standards

Balancing local nuance with global brand consistency is one of the hardest parts of franchise operations. According to Anna, the secret lies in building clear, scalable systems without stifling personality.

"There are so many people in the value stream: owners, trainers, front desk teams. We have to simplify the message at every level."

From robust certification processes to scalable LMS (learning management systems) and tight training loops, Barre3 has built operational rhythms that make scale feel seamless.

Empowering Franchisees as Leaders

Unlike many other franchises, Barre3's studio network is entirely women-owned. And that matters.

Anna emphasizes the importance of leadership development at every level. Barre3 doesn’t just hand off systems and branding guidelines. They coach their owners to grow as entrepreneurs, not just operators.

"We’re passionate about supporting women to become strong business leaders."

The KPI That Matters Most

With so many data points to choose from, which metrics actually move the needle?

For Barre3, it boils down to this: "How many new clients visited this week? And how many converted to unlimited?"

Instead of overwhelming owners with dashboards, the Barre3 team simplifies decision-making down to the most actionable insights. They’re now leaning into more transparency across the franchise network—encouraging owners to learn from each other, not compete.

Scaling Without Overcomplicating

More offerings = more complexity. And more complexity = more opportunities to break.

So as Barre3 expanded from a single signature class to four distinct formats, they set a clear boundary: no more classes. Prop variations, sure. But the complexity ends there.

This operational restraint is part of what keeps the brand consistent and studios focused.

What Doesn't Scale Well? Trend-Chasing

Anna shares that one of the biggest mistakes she's seen is letting studios localize too much, like shifting colors, logos, or even class style to fit local preferences.

That might feel right in the short term, but in the long run, it dilutes the brand and complicates scale.

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Building for Long-Term Impact

From day one, Barre3's mission has been clear: empower people to feel strong in their bodies and confident in their lives. That mission starts with the client—but extends to the owner, too.

Barre3 is now laser-focused on helping franchisees grow not just as brand ambassadors, but as highly successful, data-driven businesswomen.

"We want them to be excited about their work and feel wildly successful as owners."

Want More? Catch the full conversation with Anna Martens on Multi-Studio Mastery, hosted by Tessa. It's an energizing deep dive into scaling with integrity, simplifying ops, and building community at scale.

Don’t forget to grab our free Studio Ops Toolkit!

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