Consumers are increasingly incorporating facial skin care treatments into their regular beauty routines and viewing these as a staple that is adjacent to other beauty upkeep services, such as mani-pedis and blowouts.
Multi-site skin care destinations, such as Modern Age and Restore Hyper Wellness, have exploded in popularity by providing consumers with new services centered around mental health and wellness in addition to core aesthetic treatments. This comes at a time when consumer demand for professional skin care products dispensed through these chains is stronger than ever before. According to Kline’s Professional Skin Care Global Series, the U.S. market has averaged sales growth witnessing an annual increase of 10% over the last five years.
Skin care products and treatments are also expanding into untraditional spaces such as fitness centers to keep up with the rising consumer demand. In June 2023, luxury gym Equinox launched the Australian professional skin care brand Ultraceuticals in about 58 Equinox spa locations. Equinox currently carries Ultraceuticals’ full product line. Equinox will also incorporate Ultraceuticals in its Hydrafacial treatments and the spa’s Renew and Refresh facials.
New consumers in the multi-site channel, courtesy of new services and brand partnerships, have attracted the attention of private equity firms. Between 2022 and early 2023, outlets such as Glowbar, Heyday, and Ever/Body gained multimillion-dollar investments from private equity firms to expand their operations nationwide and invest in training and staff. With increased consumer demand and investment dollars, these chains have been able to focus on rapid outlet expansions. Collectively, they have increased their footprint from 33 outlets at the end of 2022 to 51 as of July 2023.
As outlet expansions continue and investors bet on this market’s long-term growth prospects, facial skin care products and services will become more accessible to new consumers looking for a high level of expertise from their medical aesthetics providers or estheticians. It is also likely that luxury skin care brands concentrated outside of the med spa and esthetician model will see growth opportunities in this space. Zitsticka, an acne and supplement brand, was acquired by Heyday chain in 2022, and Dr. Barbara Sturm, a luxury brand distributed in high-end retailers, recently opened its first two branded spas in NYC.
Kline’s soon-to-be-published Multi-Site Skin Care and Wellness Destinations: U.S. Assessment report is an excellent resource for professional skin brands looking to expand their distribution into new outlet formats. It provides insights into service offerings and price points, as well as skin care brands used and sold, through profiles of 25 key outlets, including Ever/Body, Heyday, Hand & Stone, and more. It also highlights the evolution and role of these outlets in the professional skin care industry.
