Poway’s Club Wellness Bills Itself as ‘Healthy Starbucks’

A new business in Poway is labeling itself as the “healthy Starbucks,” and it’s operating with a unique business model.

, which opened about a month ago, is intended to be a social health joint where "members" stop in for a healthy tea, smoothie or aloe shot (drink, not injection) for $5 and stay to chat, work on their laptops or watch the giant flat screen—or, at least, that is the owners' hope.

The club was started by four Herbalife representatives who created an LLC partnership and opened the storefront off of Poway Road. And although Herbalife is traditionally a company that sells its products through independent distributors, thousands of these “health clubs” have been opening in the U.S. in the past three years.

“It is an expense up-front,” Club Wellness partner Debbie Klopp-Ivey said. “But because we have four partners, the expense has decreased.”

At $2,500 to buy-in as a partner for Club Wellness, Klopp-Ivey said it was an easy decision. 

The Poway location was perfect and affordable, she said, because the facility used to be home to a yogurt shop. "We were blessed because we had a kitchen already," Klopp-Ivey said.

And since Klopp-Ivey is the only partner who lives in Poway, she spends the most time manning the front desk at Club Wellness. 

Herbalife health clubs like the one Klopp-Ivey and her partners opened have been in the U.S. for about three years now. However, it's not a franchise and is independently owned.

“They have a unique opportunity,” Poway Chamber of Commerce President Luanne Hulsizer said.

Despite the rocky economy of the last few years, Hulsizer said it’s not necessarily a bad time to open a small business such as Club Wellness. Poway is lucky in that the small business market has been fairly stable.

Small businesses in the past few years have been opening and closing in fairly equal numbers, she said. That might not be a coincidence either.

“For the past three years, we’ve [the chamber] worked hard to educate the public about supporting local business,” Hulsizer said.

The two most important things for a new small business to do in order to succeed, she said, is to have enough money to cover operational costs and living expenses for 18 to 24 months, as well as having a good market strategy. 

The main draw for Klopp-Ivey is that she is able to invest a lot of time in the business. Club Wellness needs at least one person there to handle transactions and make drinks for customers, and Klopp-Ivey is able to do that.

As a single mom, Klopp-Ivey is hoping to see the club flourish. Club Wellness is the third Herbalife health club to open in San Diego and the partners are hoping to open as many as 20 in the next few years.

“I have to do something,” Klopp-Ivey said. “I don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck.”

Right now, Club Wellness has about 10 members, but in order to support the business, the partners need 23 people visiting per day and spending $5 on their drink trio. Klopp-Ivey hopes to see it become a “healthy Starbucks” with members consistently coming in and hanging out for drinks.

“That would be kind of cool … it’s another alternative to having a social place,” said recent Poway High School graduate Isiah Samudio on his first visit to Club Wellness.

Club Wellness is also hoping to engage the community by hosting weigh-loss challenges, healthy happy hours and breakfasts. The club is open Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 6 a.m.