This article is part of “Where Are They Now?”—an ongoing series in which Franchise Times reporters Megan Glenn and Emilee Wentland catch up with emerging brands.
Lenders aren’t interested in financing a franchise that specializes in preparing for the collapse of society. At least that’s the issue Fortitude Ranch franchisees keep running into, CEO and founder Drew Miller said.
“No one takes the industry seriously,” said Miller, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. “That is the biggest barrier we’ve had to get any more franchisees going.”
Fortitude Ranch is a survival concept in which members pay a monthly fee for a spot in a compound meant to survive the end of the world. There are companies that offer survival shelters and supplies, but no others offering franchises.
Fortitude Ranch has seven ranches nationwide, in undisclosed rural locations in Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Colorado and Texas. Two of the seven are franchised.
That’s up from five corporate locations in 2022, and Miller said there would be more if operators could secure loans. Fortitude Ranch is trying to take matters into its own hands by raising funds to offer loans to franchisees, so they don’t need to go through banks.
“If we did that, I could have another dozen Fortitude Ranch locations open up,” Miller said. “Until we get better financing, it’s going to be two-a-year kind of growth, versus dozens per year.”
Franchise Times first reported on Fortitude Ranch in 2022, when former senior editor Beth Ewen visited a compound in Wisconsin. Under construction at the time, Eric Parker, the ranch manager, detailed plans for features such as a root cellar and a two-story building complete with an atrium.
“The key for long-term survivability is to create your own ecosystem,” Parker said in 2022. “There are too few people that know how to be self-sufficient.”
Chief Operating Officer Steve Rene, meanwhile, said at the time that construction was underway to build a concrete shelter at another location that could survive a nuclear blast.
The first rule for disaster preparation is to not tell anyone you’re a prepper, Miller said. That’s one reason why there’s no official count of the number of people getting ready to survive a doomsday scenario. The brand’s franchise disclosure document estimates between 10 to 20 million preppers in the United States, as of 2021.
That’s a lot of potential customers—assuming a ranch finds its way near them.
People are interested in opening their own ranch, Miller said, especially in Montana, Florida, Texas and the Ozarks. The number of Americans undertaking their own form of survival preparation is increasing, Miller said, following the COVID-19 pandemic, wars across the world and riots around the country.
Many of those potential franchisees have land already, which cuts down on the initial investment. Miller said the company targets RV parks, given the land that comes with it.
Preppers have been around for decades and elaborate survival bunkers aren’t a new concept either—they’re featured in video games and movies and, in the real world, are probably reserved for the ultra-wealthy and elite.
Fortitude Ranch, though, says it’s survival for the middle class. A private room for one requires a $4,400 down payment and runs $499 per quarter with an additional $300 annual fee. The prices differ depending on the number of people and whether members want a private or shared space.
In theory, Fortitude Ranch is prepared for almost any scenario. Members can stay spread out, in the case of another viral pandemic, and there’s enough land and defense to deter attacks from marauders—groups of other people. There’s space for growing crops and raising livestock, too, to keep members fed. The Wisconsin location even has fishing.
Members are vetted before they sign a contract, but it’s “very rare” for Fortitude Ranch to deny someone.
“If someone had a criminal record that was bad, or just to our staff look like, ‘Hey, this doesn’t look like a good person,’ we would just not pursue membership,” Miller said.
Fortitude Ranch doesn’t allow signage outside the ranches to ensure privacy. Marketing, for the most part, comes from media coverage and its newly launched app called “Collapse Survivor.”
The initial investment required to open a Fortitude Ranch ranges from $404,500 to $1.39 million, depending on if a franchisee already owns land.
Rather than financial information, the company’s Item 19 includes a rather sassy explanation of why it cannot release its financial data. “Please do not ask us for any help estimating your financial results as a franchisee,” the document states. “We would like to help you, but cannot due to the high risk of lawsuits due to horrible regulations and our legal system.”