Heyday is leaning into its innovative spirit to build a community of franchisees early on, while providing franchise owners the tools and support they need to thrive.
Heyday was built to disrupt the $7 billion skincare industry by taking the facial out of the spa and making it more affordable and accessible to the masses. It has achieved that goal by building a membership-based community founded upon the idea that skincare is not a luxury — it’s a necessity that has a critical place in everyone’s wellness routine.
But Heyday’s innovative spirit is not limited to what it offers its members. The brand is also breaking convention within the franchise industry. It started by achieving goals on par with a five-year franchisor in its first year of franchising. Now, Heyday is launching a Franchise Advisory Council (FAC), something typically reserved for longer-tenured franchise brands.
“We thought, ‘Why wait?’” said Arielle Mortimer, Heyday’s chief operating officer. “Our FAC is an amazing tool and resource for both the franchisor and the franchisee. It’s a place to communicate, circulate ideas, give feedback and suggestions, and for us to make sure that we are hearing everything from all sides. For us to grow and scale, we need that feedback, and we need to have these relationships.”
Think of an FAC as a franchise owners’ association. It’s made up of franchisees — either elected or appointed — from different regions across the country, whose responsibilities are to serve as a bridge for focused communication between the corporate team and franchisees. This gives the franchisor insight into both the day-to-day and high-level challenges franchisees face, creating transparency and enabling the franchisor to provide targeted support where franchisees need it most.
Patrick Ryan-Southern, president of L5 Skincare — both a subsidiary of Heyday investment partner Level 5 Capital Partners and the brand’s largest franchisee — has overseen the growth of Heyday’s first franchise location in Bethesda, Maryland. It’s the first of 60 planned Heyday locations for L5, 11 of which are slated to open in 2022. As both an investor and a franchisee, L5 understands the potential impact an FAC can have on the brand’s growth.
“It offers us the ability to connect with fellow franchisees and hear about what is going on in their particular businesses, regardless of what stage of the business they are in,” Ryan-Southern said. “With so many new franchisees, a lot of the conversations right now are around real estate — finding the right locations and what to look for. As we grow, those conversations will continue to evolve. It’s really just about equipping and empowering franchisees to think three steps ahead as we build our businesses.”
Ryan-Southern joins Adrian Amrine, a Heyday franchisee in Chicago, Illinois, and a multi-unit franchisee opening locations across Tampa and Atlanta on Heyday’s FAC leadership team. According to Mortimer, it’s the trio’s unique backgrounds and perspectives — and that of Heyday franchisees in general — that will help maximize the benefits they can reap from the council.
“All of our franchise partners have their own unique strengths,” Mortimer said. “And as we build the FAC it’s really important for us to have equal representation from a variety of different franchisees. Patrick, as our largest franchisee, is going to bring a completely different perspective than someone like Adrian, who is new to franchising, or our third FAC member who comes with franchise experience and has committed to multiple units. And we believe that leveraging each franchisee’s unique strengths and perspectives is what will allow everyone to learn and improve and keep getting better.”
Since launching franchise opportunities in March 2021, Heyday has had the mindset of operating as an established company, bringing on executives and corporate team members with extensive franchising experience as well as those with experience in the wellness sector. The brand is in the process of launching an app to enhance every aspect of the member experience, and with 120 units awarded, the emerging brand is rapidly growing and shows no signs of slowing down.
“We aren't hoping for growth,” said Rachel Lubin, vice president of finance and strategy at Heyday. “We’re trying to be that more adult company right now so we can be ready for franchise partners in a real and sophisticated way.”
Establishing a Franchise Advisory Council is just the next step in that direction.
Heyday’s startup costs range between $574,000 to $755,500, depending on which market the store is located. Other factors like design, configuration and labor costs will also impact the total investment. Click here to see the full cost breakdown.
