Story HighlightsProteinHouse, a fast-casual, health-forward restaurant concept, is finding success through multi-unit growth, building on its 31 units across the U.S., United Arab Emirates and Thailand.“We’ve always been in the forefront,” said ProteinHouse CEO, president and co-founder Andrew Bick, who sees additional growth opportunity despite the rise in competitors leaning into protein and healthy meal offerings.
When Andrew Bick and Larissa Reis developed ProteinHouse in 2012, they prided themselves on carving a new space in the clean-eating space.
“There was nothing—really anything—like ProteinHouse,” Bick said. “There was nowhere to go after workouts to get a healthy protein shake not loaded with sugar and that actually had a good amount of protein in it. Then combine that with where to go to eat healthy in the same place, to get a nice bowl with complex carbs, fresh vegetables and lean, grilled protein sources. There was just nothing like that under the same sort of concept, so we developed our own.”
Pulling from personal experiences in bodybuilding, professional athletics and entrepreneurship, Reis and Bick launched ProteinHouse in Las Vegas in 2013.
The fast-casual, clean-eating concept offers health-forward breakfast options, acai bowls, wraps, protein burgers, bowls and salads. ProteinHouse expanded its drink options to include acai and protein shakes, coffee and juices.
Health is at the forefront of ProteinHouse, seen with the caloric and macro breakdowns for each food item on its website and in-store menus on top of advertising its seed-oil-free cooking process.
Bick, the CEO and president at ProteinHouse, is well aware of the buzzword in their name. Protein-dense food options are in demand more than ever as consumers tap into GLP-1 medications and make a concerted effort to prioritize health and wellness.
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“We’ve been there since the beginning, and we’re still there. Now it’s a trend that people are jumping on board, but we’ve always been in the forefront,” Bick said. “We continue to provide what we’ve known all along as a great benefit to health and wellness.”
ProteinHouse has thus entered a new chapter in its 14-year history, scaling the brand in a populated and ever-competitive segment.
“Our healthy food is actually delicious—that’s where we’re differentiating ourselves. … It’s served hot and fresh, it’s cooked to order, and I think that really differentiates us between the competitors that are coming out now,” Bick said. “They’re high protein, but how does it taste? Is it fresh? That’s what we have, and that’s what we continue to hang our hat on.”
ProteinHouse has expanded to 31 units, nine of which operate internationally (one in Thailand and the rest in the United Arab Emirates). The brand is growing faster than ever, doubling its unit count since 2024.
About half of the brand’s growth has come from multi-unit franchisees, said Bick, who lauded their ability to bring and apply extensive operational experience to the ProteinHouse system.
The company is leveraging multi-unit growth with reduced franchise fees for those opening additional units: $50,000 for the first location and $30,000 for each additional one. A company press release announced that through the end of 2026, multi-unit operators committing to four locations for $140,000 can open a fifth at no extra cost.
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The cost to open a ProteinHouse ranges from $504,375 to $846,300, according to the company’s franchise disclosure document.
Average unit volume for franchise units in 2024 came to $1.7 million.
Franchisees are exploring additional revenue drivers through catering and customized meal preparation services. Bick estimated catering and meal prep sales each account for 5 to 8 percent of company sales.
In addition to having strong operators, Bick attributes the brand’s recent sales and development growth to investing internally with enhanced franchisee support, a well-staffed opening team and key corporate hires.
“I’m looking forward to the brand being as successful as possible and having our franchisees happy and successful,” Bick said. “That’s our key driver is making sure our own ProteinHouse franchise community is successful and thriving, and that’s what brings us the most happiness here.”