By Carlo Versano

Pure Barre, the boutique fitness brand with the cult following, was acquired last year by Xponential Fitness. It joined other trendy fitness concepts like Club Pilates, StretchLab and Row House in Xponential's portfolio, which is growing along with the boutique gym industry.

Pure Barre ー which is now the largest barre-focused chain in North America ー started as a dance studio in 2001 before expanding to more than 500 locations in North America, according to its president, Sarah Luna. She told Cheddar the brand will have 560 brick-and-mortar studios by the end of 2019. That expansion is thanks to Pure Barre's franchisee model. Luna, who herself started as a Jazzercise franchisee, said Pure Barre supports its franchisees doing everything from site selection to memberships to retail and marketing. "You name it and we provide support," she said.

Her advice to fitness buffs considering becoming a franchisee in the growing space of boutique fitness: a passion for fitness is more important than calculating an ROI. "You want to enjoy what you're doing every single day."

Pure Barre's franchise development program is rigorous, she said: potential franchisees must go through a six-week interview process, followed by a two-day in-person meeting.

Pure Barre's success in such a competitive space is also a product of its changing workouts, Luna said. Acknowledging that fitness trends wax and wane as people grow bored of doing the same workouts, Pure Barre changes up its choreography every 90 days, with slight tweaks in between. "No two workouts are exactly the same," she said.