NaturaLawn franchise review
Entity: NaturaLawn of America Inc.
Parent: Founder-operated (Philip Catron)
Ownership: private (founder)
Franchising since: 1989
88
System Size
franchised outlets, end 2024
$77K–$152K
Initial Investment
includes 12-mo reserves
$101,584
Annual Fees at $300K
#5 of 5 compared
+6 units
3-Year Net Growth
Stable niche
Where NaturaLawn Stands vs. Peers
Fee burden (at $300K)
$101,584/yr
#5 of 5
Royalty rate
9% / 7%
reduces to 7% at $500K+ on renewal
Marketing floor
$60,000–$80,000/yr
highest in cohort (annual spend requirement)
2024 attrition
2.0%
moderate
Disclosure quality
Good
3rd of 6
Peer comparisons from
fee burden,
system health,
cost to enter
analysis.
Want the full NaturaLawn analysis — Item 19 interpretation, buyer-side economics, risk flags, and discovery-day questions?
Biggest Watchouts Editorial
- △ Requires $150,000–$250,000 line of credit IN ADDITION to the $77,500–$152,650 cash investment — the only brand requiring a credit line.
- △ $60,000–$80,000 annual marketing spend is ongoing, not one-time — creates the highest ongoing fee burden in the cohort at low revenue levels (45.8% at $200K).
- △ System contracted in 2024 (−2 net units) after growing +4 each in 2022–2023.
- △ Active TCPA lawsuit (Ford v. NaturaLawn) — potential liability for telemarketing practices.
- △ Item 3 contains contradictory disclosure: heading says “no litigation required” but then discloses the TCPA case.
Strongest Positives Editorial
- ✓ Highest revenue per customer in the cohort ($810 avg franchised) — organic-based premium positioning commands higher prices.
- ✓ Founder-operated (Philip Catron) with 36-year track record — no PE layers.
- ✓ Zero transfers across all 3 reported years — unique in the lawn cohort.
- ✓ Royalty reduces to 7% upon renewal at $500K+ Gross Sales.
- ✓ Franchisee avg revenue ($2.19M) exceeds company-owned ($1.73M) — franchisees outperform corporate locations.
Fee Burden Position Modeled
| Revenue Level |
Annual Fees |
% of Revenue |
Rank |
| $200,000 |
$91,584 |
45.8% |
5 of 5 |
| $300,000 |
$101,584 |
33.9% |
5 of 5 |
| $400,000 |
$111,584 |
27.9% |
5 of 5 |
| $500,000 |
$121,584 |
24.3% |
4 of 5 |
Year 5 assumptions, single territory. See full methodology.
Marketing is not a fee — it is a spend requirement
The $60K–$80K annual marketing spend goes to third-party vendors, not the franchisor. But it is a mandatory expense that materially affects unit economics and is modeled as part of the fee burden.
System Health
| Year |
Opened |
Closed |
Net Change |
End Count |
| 2022 |
3 |
0 |
+3 |
84 |
| 2023 |
6 |
0 |
+6 |
90 |
| 2024 |
0 |
2 |
-2 |
88 |
Disclosure Quality Editorial
Item 19 provides both company-owned and franchise data. Company-owned gross margin 60.7%–65.2% (includes labor). Franchisee avg revenue $2.19M (median $1.1M). Revenue per customer $810 (highest in cohort) reflects organic-based premium positioning. Population count discrepancy: stated 44 but detail tables sum to 47.
Get the NaturaLawn Decision Report
A 15–25 page single-brand memo built from the 2025 regulator-filed FDD —
not a summary, not AI-generated, not franchisor marketing.
Fee modeling at 4 revenue levels, Item 19 interpretation, buyer-side economics,
risk signals, and 8–10 discovery-day questions specific to this brand.
✓ Built from regulator-filed FDD
✓ No franchisor affiliation
✓ Every claim FDD-traceable
✓ One-time $99 · instant PDF
Get the Decision Report — $99
Not legal, accounting, or investment advice. Structured analysis to support your own due diligence.
What’s in the report
1Fee Burden Deep Dive
Dollar-level modeling at 4 revenue levels with component breakdown, minimum triggers, and year-by-year escalation
2Item 19 Translation
What the financial performance data actually says — and what it conspicuously omits
3Investment Breakdown
Where the initial investment goes, what’s negotiable vs. fixed, what the FDD footnotes bury
4System Health Narrative
Churn context, closure patterns, transfer trends — what the Item 20 numbers actually mean
5Risk Flags & Litigation
Regulatory history, entity changes, franchise dispute outcomes, and what they signal
6Discovery Day Questions
Specific, data-informed questions to ask the franchisor — derived from this brand’s FDD
7Peer Positioning
How this brand compares across the full lawn care category with narrative context
Head-to-Head Comparisons
Side-by-side FDD comparisons featuring NaturaLawn.
Compare Other Brands
See how NaturaLawn compares to other lawn care franchise brands in the cohort.