Why the Amazing Lash Studio Brand Is Positioned To Become a "Category Killer" in the Lash Space

Since coming onto the scene in 2010, the Amazing Lash Studio® brand has been committed to providing a tailored guest experience built on offerings ranging from proprietary eyelash extensions and lash lifts to high-quality maintenance services. Following its acquisition by WellBiz Brands, Inc. in September 2018, the Amazing Lash Studio **brand quickly established itself as not merely the dominant player, but the owner of the lash space.

Now, the Amazing Lash Studio system achieves best-in-class status thanks to core parts of its business, including recurring revenue from a membership model, individual rooms for guest services, stylist longevity and a focus on innovative services and products.

“The biggest thing that resonates with franchisee candidates across all demographics is our top position in the lash space,” said Lauren Wanamaker, Senior Director of Development of WellBiz Brands. “Everyone wants to be with the next leading concept, and, as a brand, we try to capitalize on our leveraged position. We are the industry leader by over three times when it comes to our national footprint and we have all of the support systems, innovations and teams in place to maintain that position. As the category leader, our goal is to be the category killer.”

Market opportunity

The semi-permanent lash service is a new category in the beauty industry, and prospective franchisees have the opportunity to buy into the sector early as consumers continue to look for new and innovative services. The Amazing Lash Studio brand has continued to innovate and adapt to changing consumer demands, conducting research and development to seamlessly roll out new services and products system wide.

“Amazing Lash Studio is a beauty service brand, so it is important to constantly be on the cutting edge of the world of beauty,” said VP of Marketing, Ariel Clay. “The industry moves fast and we put a major emphasis on bringing new and exciting products and services to our franchisees in order to help them grow their business—we see ourselves as the pioneer and leader when it comes to innovation and resources for our franchisees.”

The brand provides guests with light-as-air lashes, fast-drying adhesives and a unique proprietary technique of adhering a single fiber to individual lashes to create a customized look. The brand has developed four proprietary styles that can be tweaked based on a customer’s preferences. Further, the Amazing Lash Studio brand prioritizes innovation, recently launching both Amazing Lash Lift and Featherweight Lashes® to respond to changing interests and trends.

“Lashes are an emerging beauty category—only 9% of the market has even tried eyelash extension services,” said Clay. “At Amazing Lash Studio locations, we are focused on driving awareness for both our brand and category and letting guests know that this is a beauty service that boosts confidence and helps you look younger. Franchisees aren’t only getting into the cutting edge of beauty, but also into the cutting edge of a brand new, emerging category of beauty as an Amazing Lash Studio franchisee.”

Membership model benefits

The Amazing Lash Studio membership-based service model is another way the brand stands out in the segment. After their initial service, guests revisit their local Amazing Lash Studio location every few weeks for eyelash extension refills, creating the potential for franchisee’s financial stability through recurring revenue and attracting new guests through incentivized referrals. The Amazing Lash Studio brand helps new franchisees start running their studio’s membership specials before their doors are open.

“In addition to an established business model, we know how to build a team from a support perspective,” said Wanamaker. “With the backing and leadership expertise of WellBiz Brands, the Amazing Lash Studio brand is better able to be hands-on at multiple levels of the development process, providing franchisees with comprehensive, analytic-driven support throughout the entire process, including help with marketing, recruiting best practices, operations, vendor partnerships and real estate selection.”

The Amazing Lash Studio brand has relationships with brokers and landlords in markets across the country on a national, regional and local level. The team identifies and maps out potential trade areas before even signing a franchise agreement **in order to get a clear idea of where to look from a demographic perspective. “We want to make sure that wherever a franchisee is interested in developing geographically it is viable for the brand, and we’ve proactively done our research as to where the optimal trade areas within a prospective owner’s preferred region should be,” said Wanamaker.

“Units are** strategically located in high-traffic areas **that integrate the brand into a consumer’s daily life.”

The brand also distinguishes itself through support in providing resources to franchisees as they recruit, train and retain their studio employees. In addition to helping grow and train stylist staff, the brand’s new “Advanced Manager Training” initiative ensures that franchisees are given support in finding and retaining the best possible leaders for their studios.

Growth and expansion

“Within the franchise industry, there are very few new categories and the eyelash extension segment is one with a lot of new adopters,” said Matt Stanton, WellBiz Brands Chief Development Officer. “We’re hitting that critical mass where we’re past the early adopter phase and are getting more into the meat of the adopter curve. That’s exciting because there are not a lot of segments within franchising that are entering that phase, and the Amazing Lash Studio brand is one of the biggest players in the emerging lash space.”

The Amazing Lash Studio franchise system awarded over 50 licenses in 2019, including openings in four states for the first time: Michigan, Louisiana, Iowa and Massachusetts. In 2020, the Amazing Lash Studio brand plans to continue expanding with both new and existing multi-unit franchisees.

**“Open territory is becoming more limited,” said Wanamaker. “While we are still looking for qualified franchisees to help us grow in prime territories across the U.S, the franchising opportunity won’t be around forever with Amazing Lash Studiosystem.

This scarcity of territory is the biggest reason why now is the best time from an industry perspective. Semi-permanent lash extensions are no longer a trend; they are here to stay. We are leaders in both the lash category and the lash membership space.

In addition to our footprint, the Amazing Lash Studio franchise system has the infrastructure needed behind the scenes, which is what will carry us through and make us the category killer.”

This information is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise. It is for information purposes only. Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

If you are a resident of one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your jurisdiction. MN File No. F-8741.

THESE FRANCHISES HAVE BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE FRANCHISE INVESTMENT LAW OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. SUCH REGISTRATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE APPROVAL, RECOMMENDATION OR ENDORSEMENT BY THE COMMISSIONER OF CORPORATIONS NOR A FINDING BY THE COMMISSIONER THAT THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN IS TRUE, COMPLETE AND NOT MISLEADING. Each Amazing Lash Studio® is independently owned and operated.