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Established first in New York City before expanding to Los Angeles, Heyday is more than a niche, big-city brand — it’s a lifestyle that’s about to catch on nationwide.
Heyday, the franchise brand that’s redefining skincare as we know it, got its start in New York City, opening five shops in 2015 before expanding to Los Angeles in 2018. But after signing more than 100 franchise agreements for new locations across the country with countless more on the way in 2022, it’s clear that the concept is hardly limited to the cities with the brightest lights.
“This isn't just a New York and LA, high-street kind of opportunity,” said Dennis Campbell, vice president of franchise development at Heyday. “Suburbia has a massive appetite for this kind of service.”
Heyday’s mission is to provide professional, personalized skincare to the masses across the nation. Its membership-based model makes elite skincare more accessible, enabling its users to make facials a part of their everyday wellness routine rather than just a once-in-a-while indulgence. It’s doing this by offering lucrative franchise opportunities in major markets across the U.S.
New York and Los Angeles Are Trendsetters
One cannot overstate the influence New York City and Los Angeles have on popular culture in America and across the globe. As destinations for designers, celebrities, athletes and entertainers, these two cultural meccas are perennial trendsetters in every way.
“Especially in terms of fashion and wellness,” said Arielle Mortimer, Heyday COO. “You find a lot of creative new ideas germinating in New York and LA that take root elsewhere.”
Heyday is poised to be one of those ideas. With its success in these trendsetting markets, as more and more Americans integrate skincare into their daily wellness routine, the question is not whether or not Heyday will succeed in other markets — it’s how many locations will it take to satisfy the growing demand.
The Migration from New York and Los Angeles
In the wake of the pandemic, more people are leaving big cities than ever before. While New York and Los Angeles are not immune to this, their trendsetting cultures remain as vibrant as ever. And those leaving are bringing that taste and culture to their new cities.
“They love Heyday, and they're moving into new cities,” Mortimer said. “You’re talking about Austin, Nashville, Tampa, Boise, Phoenix — and they’re like, ‘Why is there not a Heyday here?’ We're finding a lot of franchise candidates who are familiar with the brand because they were members in New York or LA, and they move to a new city and want to bring Heyday to that market.”
There is also an opportunity to cater to a high-net-worth clientele that routinely commutes to larger metro areas. One example is Charleston, South Carolina. When someone thinks of Charleston, they think of food, history and southern hospitality. But according to Mortimer, in an increasingly remote world, a number of New Yorkers routinely commute from Charleston. The same is true for a number of east coast markets, along with west coast markets where commuters are frequently traveling to and from Los Angeles.
And as they relocate, they bring their affinity for Heyday with them.
Skincare’s New Place in the American Lifestyle
When you search Google trends and enter “skincare routine,” you’ll see a spike of searches between March 8 and March 14 of 2020 — the first days after the pandemic took hold and most of the nation began working remotely.
“It catapulted the need for taking care of your skin,” Mortimer said. “I think a lot of it had to do with everybody suddenly being on Zoom, so people were regularly seeing your face up close.”
Working from home, people spent less money on fragrances and cosmetics — cover-ups — and they began allocating that money to taking care of their bodies, especially their skin. A skincare routine became as important to Americans as working out and eating healthy. It became a part of their overall wellness routine.
And those searches didn’t just come from New York and California. They registered high from Hawaii to Colorado to D.C. and Massachusetts, proving the demand for a skincare concept like Heyday in markets across the country.
In just 12 months of franchising, Heyday is already off to an impressive start, accomplishing goals in its first year that are on par with a five-year franchisor. Now, with a goal to award 232 total units before the end of 2022 and open at least 300 locations by 2026, the brand has big plans for growth. Because of that ambition — and because it has created a product model that, for a variety of reasons, is viable in just about any market — the future is bright for Heyday.
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.
