How Emerging Skincare Franchise Heyday Is Attracting Millennial Franchise Owners

Heyday — a rapidly growing franchise with a focus on making facials more accessible — is shaking up the $7 billion skincare service industry with a fresh concept that’s proving to be appealing to new millennial owners.

Heyday provides expert, personalized and affordable skincare that empowers everyone to be their best self, and with a model that focuses exclusively on facials, the brand is able to offer a personalized experience that is tailored to meet the needs of every client. With no brand leader in skincare wellness, Heyday is charting a course to dominate this growing industry and, in the process, is catching the eye of millennials who see the brand’s potential for substantial growth.

But what, exactly, is a millennial? The most official figures come from the Pew Research Center, which says anyone born between 1981 and 1996 should be considered a millennial. In 2021, that represents people ages 25 to 40 — and 75% of Heyday’s customers are under the age of 35.

Millennial franchise owners

“With most franchise concepts, what they find is that typically their franchise owners were customers prior to becoming an owner themselves,” said Heyday president of franchising Sean Bock. “The franchisee has a passion for the concept and understands the service offering. With Heyday’s concept, we're finding that we have an increasingly younger subset of owners reaching out to learn more about the path to becoming a Heyday franchisee.”

That’s exactly how it happened for new Heyday franchise owners Ari Lifschutz and Adrian Amrine, who signed on to open a Heyday location in Chicago in early 2022.

“Heyday, as a concept, is a perfect fit for millennials,” said Amrine. “The ease of being able to book an appointment and come in is perfect for millennials’ on-the-go, efficient lifestyles. Everything Heyday offers from a customer perspective, I feel, is perfect, and as millennials get a bit older and are interested in owning their own business, a Heyday franchise makes perfect sense: it’s relatable, proven-successful and well-positioned within a booming industry.”

Franchisee experiences

And Amrine should know: she is a younger millennial who made the decision to step outside her previous career in consumer research and dip her toe in the health and wellness space with a Heyday franchise of her own. She said making the jump could have been intimidating, but Heyday’s franchising model offered the support and security that she needed to confidently move forward.

“It feels very much like a safety net,” said Amrine. “I can still move forward with my dream of owning my own business and investing in a concept that I believe in, but I also have the support of a larger corporation and other franchise owners. It doesn’t feel like such a daunting task. There’s a strong brand voice and image already in place, now I just get to put my own special touch on my store in Chicago and grow from there.”

“To me, franchising was an appealing business option because of that support that you receive as an owner,” Amrine said. “When you’re younger but have new priorities in your life, like wanting to start a family and maintain a professional career, franchising offers the perfect opportunity. You can still chase after your dreams of owning a business while being able to juggle everything else that happens in your 30s.”

Expansion plans

Currently, Heyday has 11 locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Bethesda and Philadelphia, with new locations on the way in Chicago, Austin, Detroit and Cleveland next year. The emerging brand is targeting expansion in 54 major metropolitan areas, including San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami and Boston, among other major metropolitans. Backed by a knowledgeable and experienced corporate team, the brand plans to grow to include more than 300 locations in the next five years.

“We’re looking to millennials to bring a lot of great ideas to the table and some great innovation, from a marketing and outreach perspective,” Bock said. “Millennial franchisees have a greater social reach, and we’re very interested in capturing the attention of their audiences and working with that generation to reach our core customers in new markets across the country. As much as we support our owners, they're going to be providing just as many great insights on how to reach a whole new generation of customers.”