Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S8067 since 2025
goGLOW
Other · independent · est. —
goGLOW is a sunless (spray) tanning brand offering professional airbrush tans and related skincare products. Customers get a custom-applied bronzing tan without UV exposure. A franchisee operates a tanning studio with trained spray-tan technicians, selling sessions, packages, and products.
goGLOW net unit count grew +233.3% from 2019–2024 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Too new to judge
Distress
7 franchised units over 6 disclosed years is not a track record — systems this early have realized only a fraction of their eventual failures. Judge the disclosures, not a verdict.
Exit rate · latest year
Not disclosed
Cost to open
$283K–$497K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
Too few resolved
12 loans exist; too few resolved to rate
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2019–2024
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2024, 0 of 0 franchised outlets left the system. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Opened | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Net change | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +7 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 12 SBA-backed loans to goGLOW franchisees since 2025. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.
—
0 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$354,266
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
—
distinct banks lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO GOGLOW BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $60K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $283K–$497K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$283K–$497K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$60K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
8%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$80K
8% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$800K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for goGLOW with an independent CPADistress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
Franchise litigation docket: GP MBM, LLC v. GoGlow Enterprises, LLC (District Court, D. Colorado)
CourtListener/RECAP · 31mo ago
Franchise litigation docket: goGLOW Enterprises, LLC v. GP MBM, LLC (District Court, D. Minnesota)
CourtListener/RECAP · 35mo ago
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing goGLOW's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →goGLOW franchise questions, answered from the filings
How much does a goGLOW franchise cost?
Per goGLOW's 2025 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $60K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $283K–$497K (Item 7).
What royalty does goGLOW charge?
goGLOW charges an ongoing royalty of 8.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2025 FDD.
Does goGLOW disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — goGLOW makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2025 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.