Julie Cartwright sits down with ATN to discuss fitness trends, Pvolve’s partnership with Jennifer Aniston and the brand’s expansion plans
Pvolve enters 2025 as one of the fitness industry’s standout brands, with a booming franchise pipeline, a high-profile collaboration with Jennifer Aniston and a thriving online streaming business.
In 2024 alone, Pvolve signed franchise agreements to open studios in cities including Boston, Atlanta and San Francisco as demand grows for the brand’s signature “Pvolve Method,” which features low-impact, functional fitness movements that combine elements of weight training, mobility work and cardio.
Pvolve president Julie Cartwright sat down with Athletech News to discuss the fitness trends poised to dominate in 2025, Pvolve’s partnership with Jennifer Aniston and the brand’s franchise expansion plans.
2025 Trends: Strength Training, Longevity Lead the Way
Cartwright pointed to the rise of strength training and a growing interest in longevity as two trends that will define 2025. Strength training and longevity are “tightly connected,” Pvolve’s president says, noting the proliferation of research pointing to the benefits of building muscle for living a longer, healthier life.
“I really do think it’s education in the marketplace,” Cartwright says of why fitness enthusiasts have embraced strength training and longevity. “Post-COVID, we’re all taking a more active role in our own self-care, in living better, longer. There’s (more) messaging about the importance of muscle mass and what it does for your longevity and health span.”
Women and older people – two groups that have traditionally been left out of the resistance training conversation– are increasingly engaging in strength training, whether that’s at their local big-box gym or in boutique fitness studios.
“Our most popular class type with our 40-plus members is Progressive Weight Training, where we combine flexibility and mobility movements with lifting progressively heavy weights,” Cartwright notes.
Show Me the Science
Science-backed fitness programming might be another trend set to take hold in 2025. As strength training and longevity take center stage, Cartwright expects to see fitness brands place a bigger emphasis on explaining the science behind why their workouts are effective for building muscle and improving health outcomes.
Last year, Pvolve collaborated with the University of Exeter to release a study showing that the Pvolve Method can improve strength, balance and flexibility for women between the ages of 40 and 60. Pvolve is involved in other studies, and the brand maintains an active Clinical Advisory Board of certified experts, including doctors.
“I think you’re going to see more (brands) running clinical studies,” Cartwright believes. “Consumers need to have proof behind what they’re hearing, because there’s a growing intelligence around the BS in the marketplace. We want to know there’s real facts behind the claims we’re hearing.”
The Jennifer Aniston Effect
Pvolve was already on a healthy growth trajectory in the early days of 2023, but the brand got a major boost when it partnered with Jennifer Aniston in the summer of that year. The former “Friends” star had been secretly streaming Pvolve’s online workouts before approaching the brand to discuss a formal partnership.
Since then, Aniston has advised on Pvolve’s strategy, starred in ad campaigns and collaborated on an equipment launch and workout collection.
“Jen doesn’t join companies that she doesn’t firmly believe in – or consume in her daily life,” Cartwright says. “Jen works out with us three times a week, and has since she joined. Before that, she was streaming with us for a year straight. She actually asked to join the company; we didn’t ask her to join.”
Aniston’s impact on a young brand like Pvolve is hard to overstate – soon after she joined the brand, Pvolve reported a 650% increase in branded search.
“We needed that because we were a new-to-market modality,” Cartwright says. “She’s really helped to amplify and add credibility to what we were saying.”
Franchise Expansion Plans
Pvolve initially rose to prominence thanks to its online workouts, and while streaming is still a key focus for the brand, it’s also set its sights on brick-and-mortar expansion. Pvolve began franchising in early 2023, and since then, it’s sold franchise licenses in major cities across the country. The functional fitness brand currently has 18 open studios with another 60-plus locations awarded.
Cartwright believes Pvolve occupies a unique space in the industry thanks to its proprietary workout Method and science-backed approach to functional fitness.
“This is a white space that is fitting in very nicely with where the fitness industry is, and where it’s headed,” she says of Pvolve’s place in the market. “There are a lot of Pilates, Barre and cycling options, but right now, we’re standing alone in terms of what we’re offering.”
Pvolve will continue to pursue expansion in the year ahead, focusing on signing franchise agreements and opening new studios throughout North America.
“We’re going to be focused in 2025 on growing in Canada in addition to the United States,” Cartwright shares. “We really believe in (the Canadian) market. We’ve got huge pent-up demand there.”
That said, Cartwright doesn’t have her sights set on a specific number of locations. Instead, Pvolve will prioritize responsible growth and strong unit economics.
“We’re continuing to stay focused on the profitability of our early-stage franchisees rather than a number that we need to get to,” she says.
