Oct. 21, 2024

Less than three years after selling to a private equity group, the business that was Profile by Sanford has merged with another weight-management organization, and former franchisees are bringing their own concept to Sioux Falls.

Sanford Health opened the first Profile store in Sioux Falls in 2012. In the following decade, the business grew to 150 locations nationwide with 70 franchisee owners. Its website showed 98 locations when an acquisition by North Carolina-based Ten Oaks Group, a family office investment firm, was announced in early 2021.

The business model largely focused on a science-based approach to weight loss and management with an emphasis on health coaching; a line of meal-replacement shakes, bars and foods; and a delivery service offering freshly made meals.

Following the sale to Ten Oaks Group, the brand was changed to Profile Plan Nutrition + Wellness, then shortened to Profile Plan.

Dr. Mark and Michelle Lounsbery became franchisees when Profile was part of Sanford Health and had seven locations. Last year, Michelle Lounsbery said they were told all locations would be closing. They could either close their locations or keep them open but as their own concept.

“But it can’t be Profile,” she said. “So that’s kind of where we went.”

They’d evaluated their stores, which included two that were profitable and others close to breaking even, but they were scattered throughout the U.S., so they opted to take over the location in Sioux Falls from corporate at 1900 S. Minnesota Ave., rebranding it as most Fit to be Well. they said.

They’ve invested in the endeavor and believe in the concept and methodology, so it made sense to try their own hand at ownership, they said.

“We have experience in the market and … with distributors of products, so we can turn it around,” said Mark Lounsbery, who is an internal medicine physician at Sanford.

“From our standpoint, there were a lot of Profile places that did quite well. It was very successful and grew and was a huge franchise, and then a lot of things hit at once.”

At one point, Profile by Sanford was ranked the No. 1 weight-loss franchise by Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500, which named Profile the best in its field for 2021, recognizing its “outstanding performance in areas including unit growth, financial strength and stability, and brand power,” according to a report at the time.

It ranked No. 39 overall that year, putting it in the company of businesses such as Anytime Fitness, Pearle Vision, Cinnabon and Baskin-Robbins, and just ahead of major national brands such as Dairy Queen and Arby’s.

In September, the group that bought Profile merged it with HMR Plan, which has been providing weight-loss services since 1983.

The combined organization operates out of HMR clinic locations nationwide and has an at-home program, which now includes one-on-one coaching, group coaching and self-directed weight-loss and long-term maintenance programs. The at-home program available on HMR’s website also provides access to GLP-1 weight-loss medications.

“By joining forces, we have created a truly comprehensive offering by integrating the best practices and programs of both companies,” Renee James, vice president of consumer services at HMR, said in a statement.

“We now offer a wider range of treatment options, a more personalized approach and an unwavering commitment to helping our members achieve their health and weight-loss goals.”

While HMR lists its headquarters as a post office box in Sioux Falls, there are no clinics in the city listed on its website.

“The need hasn’t gone away,” Mark Lounsbery said. “We feel like we can run our own model of a similar-type business.”

Similar, but not identical. The Lounsberys are in the process of relaunching the business as Livwell, which includes an expanded range of services, including personalized nutrition coaching, weight-loss coaching and weight-loss medications.

They also have partners, Will and McKenzie Ratelle, who are running stores in Fargo and Grand Forks.

The weight-loss market “has changed considerably in the last year,” Michelle Lounsbery said. “We have a different road map for our members.”

The business still offers a menu of shakes, bars, food supplements and plans similar to when it was Profile, but there’s added access to the class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1RAs.

“We have a really good partnership with a company that has a network of pharmacies and a network of physicians, and we’re able to basically hold our members’ hands through the process of getting with the physician and getting a prescription based on their needs,” Michelle Lounsbery said.

The partnership gives access to name brands such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, “and we get it for a reduced rate,” she said.

In his practice, Mark Lounsbery regularly is asked about the medications.

“The guidelines are that you stay on it, but the goal is you’re going to change your diet,” he said. “That’s why people lose weight, so we are there to provide medication assistance but also the nutrition to get a weight they want to be.”

There’s also an enhanced approach to nutrition and personal training, plus virtual coaching that they’re using to serve customers at former Profile locations, they said.

Once the initial Livwell stores are open, the hope is to franchise the model, Michelle Lounsbery said.

“Kind of a business-in-a-box for health and wellness coaches across the U.S. who don’t have the type of connections we have in terms of distributors,” she said.

The shakes, meal replacement bars and other foods and snacks Profile members will remember are offered through Livwell with a similar menu.

In Sioux Falls, “we even have members that come in and don’t know any of the Profile story. They’re just interested. They like the products and the coaching, and that was one of the perks that drove us to work with Profile corporate to take that location.”

The Sioux Falls market would support multiple locations, she predicted.

“The weight-loss industry is so volatile right now given all the GLP-1 stuff, so we are working to get the store up and running and get our brand out there with all the things we’re able to bring to the table,” she said. “The goal would be to have more locations.”

It’s likely not an interest issue, Mark Lounsbery added, noting that at one point Profile had about 4,000 members in Sioux Falls.

“Thousands of people in the area knew it was a very successful program when they followed it,” he said.

Livwell products are sold through an online store as well as the physical location in Sioux Falls. Hours for that are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.

To learn more about Livwell, click here.