GrassRoots Turf

Should you invest your savings in a lawn care franchise? It is the central question every prospective franchisee faces, and the answer demands cold facts rather than glossy marketing promises. GrassRoots Turf, a family-owned lawn care franchise headquartered in Acworth, Georgia, offers a compelling case study in what a focused, service-differentiated brand can accomplish in one of America's most durable consumer service categories. The company was founded in 2002 by Josh Wise, who launched the business at the age of 22 with a clear and deliberate mission: to outperform every existing lawn care competitor on customer service quality and program consistency. That founding conviction — that the lawn care industry was underserving residential customers and that a systematized, technician-led model could win on reliability — became the strategic foundation the brand has built on for more than two decades. GrassRoots Turf is the consumer-facing brand of parent company GrassRoots Tree and Turf Care Inc., which reported annual corporate revenue of $5.2 million as of early 2022, providing a financially grounded base from which the franchise system has been expanding. The company began franchising in 2019 and has grown to 23 franchise locations as of February 2026, operating across Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Mississippi, with franchise territories listed across all 50 states. This is not a mature, saturated franchise system with thousands of locations diluting territory value — it is an emerging brand in an active growth phase, targeting 100 locations in operation by 2028, which means today's investors are entering at a stage where territory optionality and brand positioning carry meaningful strategic weight. The PeerSense FPI Score for the Grassroots Turf franchise is 54, rated Moderate, which reflects the brand's early-stage franchise development relative to its operational longevity and provides a calibrated starting point for deeper due diligence.

The U.S. landscaping services industry is one of the most structurally attractive categories in franchising, combining recession-resistant recurring demand with a highly fragmented competitive landscape that systematized franchise brands are well-positioned to consolidate. The broader U.S. landscaping services industry reached a market size of $188.8 billion in 2025, with estimated revenue of $184 billion for the same year, and the sector grew at an average annual rate of 6.5% between 2020 and 2025 — nearly double the pace of overall U.S. GDP growth in the same period. Projections indicate continued expansion, with the U.S. market forecast to grow at approximately 3.6% annually to approach $190 billion by 2029, and a compound annual growth rate of 2.5% expected to push the market to $213.3 billion by 2030. The U.S. lawn care market alone exceeds $100 billion annually when considered in isolation, underscoring how substantial the addressable market is even for niche operators. Globally, the landscaping services market was valued at $267.1 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $401.4 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 3.8%, while the global turfgrass and turf solutions market specifically was valued at $6.6 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $9.23 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 4.9%. The industry employs more than 1.4 million people in the U.S. alone, with approximately 692,777 landscaping service businesses currently operating nationally — the vast majority of which are small, independent operators with no systematic customer service infrastructure, no franchise-grade training, and no brand equity. This fragmentation is precisely the condition that creates durable franchise opportunity: consumers are primed to pay a premium for a service provider that shows up consistently, communicates professionally, and delivers measurable results. Demographic tailwinds reinforce this structural opportunity, as aging homeowner populations increasingly outsource lawn maintenance, suburban housing formation continues post-pandemic, and the rise of remote work has driven elevated investment in residential outdoor living spaces. For a franchise investor evaluating the Grassroots Turf franchise opportunity, these macro dynamics provide a powerful wind at the brand's back regardless of short-term economic fluctuations.

The Grassroots Turf franchise cost involves several distinct financial components that prospective investors should analyze carefully and in context of category benchmarks. The initial franchise fee is currently reported at $49,500, a figure that has evolved from $35,000 in November 2021 to $39,500 in intermediate reporting periods, reflecting the brand's increasing market confidence and system development as franchising maturity has grown since the program launched in 2019. Veterans receive a meaningful $10,000 discount off the franchise fee, bringing their entry cost down to $39,500 and making the Grassroots Turf franchise one of the more veteran-accessible opportunities in the landscaping services segment. Total startup investment ranges are reported across multiple data points: the most current figures indicate a range of $136,300 to $313,600, while a May 2024 source cited $100,800 to $151,600, and earlier 2021 data showed $95,800 to $146,100. The spread in these figures reflects variability in geography, vehicle and equipment configurations, initial working capital reserves, and local market build-out requirements — all standard variables in a mobile service franchise model. Prospective franchisees are required to demonstrate a minimum of $50,000 in liquid capital and a minimum net worth of $150,000, positioning this as an accessible to mid-tier investment relative to the broader franchise universe, where food service and retail concepts routinely demand $300,000 to $1 million or more in liquid capital requirements. Ongoing fees consist of a 6% royalty rate on gross revenues and a 1% brand fund contribution for advertising, putting total ongoing fees at 7% — a competitive rate within the landscaping franchise category, where royalty structures typically range from 5% to 10% depending on brand maturity and support intensity. The combination of a sub-$50,000 franchise fee, a 7% total ongoing fee structure, and liquid capital requirements accessible to a broad range of middle-market investors positions the Grassroots Turf franchise investment as competitively structured for an emerging brand with a two-decade operational track record behind its model.

Daily operations for a Grassroots Turf franchisee are built around a mobile service delivery model that leverages the brand's proprietary tanker truck platform and a systemized, all-inclusive lawn care program designed to drive recurring revenue through customer retention rather than one-time transactional jobs. Franchisees operate state-of-the-art GrassRoots tanker trucks, mixing and applying products across a defined service menu that includes weed control backed by the brand's trademarked Weed Free Guarantee, lawn fertilization, tree and shrub care, liquid aeration, and mosquito control — a multi-service bundled program that increases average revenue per customer and reduces churn relative to single-service competitors. One of the brand's most operationally distinctive features is its implementation of body cameras for all technician treatments, making GrassRoots Turf among the first companies in the lawn care industry to deploy this technology system-wide — a differentiator that reduces customer dispute friction, builds trust, and creates a verifiable service record for every treatment. The company also operates a unique monthly billing program that smooths cash flow for franchisees and creates the predictable recurring revenue structure that franchise investors value most when modeling unit economics. The corporate office manages inbound calls for all franchise locations, removing a significant administrative burden from franchisees and ensuring a consistent customer experience across every market the brand serves. Training includes 24 hours of on-the-job training and 20 hours of classroom instruction, covering business operations, marketing, sales, management, leadership, and industry-specific technical knowledge — a 44-hour combined program that is supplemented by ongoing field support from Franchise Field Coach Chris McCrory, who brings over 30 years of lawn care industry experience to the role and provides hands-on field assistance during the critical early months of a franchise's operation. Franchisees also benefit from exclusive territory protection, which safeguards their customer accounts within their designated market and prevents intra-brand competition — a structural protection that is especially important for recurring-service businesses where customer relationship continuity drives lifetime value. Additional corporate support includes access to purchasing co-ops, marketing templates, SEO programs, social media support, website development, newsletter communications, grand opening assistance, site selection guidance, and lease negotiation support, composing a comprehensive support infrastructure that reflects the brand's self-described commitment to unparalleled franchisee backing.

Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document for the Grassroots Turf franchise, meaning the FDD does not publicly disclose average revenue per unit, median revenue per unit, or profit margins within the legally designated financial performance representation section. This is a material data gap for investors performing rigorous due diligence and should be weighted accordingly when comparing the Grassroots Turf franchise opportunity against competing franchise systems that do provide Item 19 disclosure. According to Franzy.com, average gross sales data may be accessible upon direct inquiry or after submitting qualifying personal information to the franchisor, which suggests prospective investors should request unit-level revenue data directly during the discovery process and validate it through franchisee validation calls — a step that PeerSense strongly recommends for any franchise system regardless of Item 19 disclosure status. At the corporate level, GrassRoots Tree and Turf Care Inc. reported annual revenue of $5.2 million as of early 2022, which, while not directly translatable to franchisee unit economics, establishes a corporate-level revenue baseline that contextualizes the brand's overall operational scale. Using the U.S. landscaping services industry's documented revenue benchmarks as a proxy, the average landscaping service business in a well-populated suburban market generates between $150,000 and $500,000 annually depending on service mix, customer density, and technician utilization rates — ranges within which a franchise system with exclusive territory protection, recurring billing, and a multi-service bundled program would be expected to perform competitively. The brand's growth from zero franchise locations in October 2019 to 23 locations by February 2026 — a compounding rate that saw 10 locations operating by early 2022 and a target of 100 by 2028 — is a behavioral signal that existing franchisees are sufficiently satisfied with unit-level economics to sustain system expansion. Franchisee validation calls remain the most direct path to unit revenue intelligence in the absence of Item 19 disclosure, and investors should plan to contact as many of the brand's 23 current franchisees as possible before making a capital commitment in the $136,300 to $313,600 investment range that the Grassroots Turf franchise cost encompasses.

The Grassroots Turf franchise growth trajectory is one of the clearest signals of brand momentum available to prospective investors analyzing this opportunity. The company launched its franchise program in 2019, opened its first franchise location in October 2019, and reported 12 franchise units in November 2021 — a pace of roughly 4 to 5 new units per year in the program's earliest phase. By early 2022, 10 locations were actively operating in Georgia, North Carolina, and Mississippi, with 6 additional openings anticipated that year, which the company itself described as a period of "crazy growth." By February 2024, total franchise locations had reached 20, expanding the brand's geographic footprint to include Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina alongside its original markets. As of February 2026, the system reports 23 locations, with the corporate goal of reaching 100 locations by 2028 representing approximately 77 additional units in roughly two years — an aggressive but not implausible target for an established emerging brand with a proven model, an experienced leadership team, and a franchisee support infrastructure already built to scale. The competitive moat for the Grassroots Turf franchise rests on several durable structural advantages: the proprietary Weed Free Guarantee differentiates the brand's service promise in a commodity-prone market; the body camera documentation system creates a defensible service verification capability that most independent operators cannot replicate; the corporate call center creates a customer experience consistency layer that eliminates one of the most common failure points for small service businesses; and the monthly billing program builds recurring revenue predictability that is structurally superior to project-based or seasonal billing models. Leadership continuity provides additional stability — Josh Wise has been at the helm since founding the company in 2002, CFO Sharon Wise brings family-business financial discipline to the organization, and Franchise Field Coach Chris McCrory's 30-plus years of industry experience provides the franchise system with operational credibility that many younger franchise brands lack entirely. The brand's expansion from a Southeast-focused regional operation to a nationally available franchise opportunity — with territories listed across all 50 states — signals corporate confidence in the model's geographic portability.

The ideal candidate for a Grassroots Turf franchise opportunity is a driven owner-operator or semi-absentee manager with a background in sales, operations, or service-industry management who values a structured system with a strong corporate support backbone. Prior lawn care or horticulture experience is not required — the 44-hour combined training program and ongoing field coaching from Chris McCrory are specifically designed to bring franchisees to operational competency regardless of their technical background — but candidates with sales aptitude, community relationship-building skills, and a commitment to customer service excellence are likely to leverage the brand's differentiation most effectively. The financial qualification threshold of $50,000 in liquid capital and $150,000 in net worth positions the opportunity as accessible to a wide range of investors, including career changers, military veterans (who receive the $10,000 franchise fee discount), and existing service business operators looking to add a proven system to their portfolio. Current franchise locations are concentrated in the Southeast, with active markets in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Mississippi, and the brand is actively pursuing expansion across a broad range of additional states. Franchisees who sign agreements today in emerging markets outside the Southeast are entering territories where brand awareness is still being built, which carries both first-mover opportunity and the reality that local marketing investment will be essential to driving early customer acquisition. The brand's corporate marketing support — encompassing co-op advertising, SEO, social media, and website development — is designed to accelerate that early ramp, and the corporate call center's management of inbound inquiries removes a significant early-stage operational burden from new franchise owners building their customer base from zero.

For franchise investors conducting structured due diligence in the landscaping services category, the Grassroots Turf franchise represents a data-supported opportunity worth serious evaluation — a brand with a 23-year operational history behind its model, a franchise system that has grown from zero to 23 units since 2019, a competitive fee structure with a $49,500 franchise fee and 7% combined ongoing fees, and a service platform built around recurring revenue, proprietary technology deployment, and customer experience differentiation in a market exceeding $188.8 billion annually in the U.S. alone. The absence of Item 19 financial performance disclosure requires that investors invest additional effort in franchisee validation calls and direct financial inquiry with the franchisor, but the brand's consistent unit growth and 2028 expansion target of 100 locations are constructive signals from a system-health perspective. The PeerSense FPI Score of 54 (Moderate) reflects the brand's emerging-franchise status and the inherent uncertainty of a system at 23 units, which is precisely the kind of calibrated, independent signal that distinguishes serious franchise analysis from promotional brand content. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark the Grassroots Turf franchise cost, fee structure, and growth trajectory against every competing landscaping services franchise in the market. Whether you are evaluating your first franchise investment or adding a recurring-revenue service brand to an existing portfolio, independent data is the only basis for a decision of this magnitude. Explore the complete Grassroots Turf franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.