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City Cave Float & Wellness Center ventures into US market

08 Feb 2024 City Cave Float & Wellness Center – the Australia-based wellness franchise offering float therapy, infrared sauna and massage services – has announced its expansion into the US through franchising opportunities.

Focused on promoting mental and physical wellbeing, City Cave aims to foster healthier communities through natural remedies and support for mental health and physical recovery.

The brand has 74 locations across Australia, New Zealand and, now, the US. City Cave opened its first stateside franchise in Florida last June and has an additional 30 properties in the pipeline.

The team is focusing their initial US franchise development efforts in Texas, honing in on the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

"As one of the fastest growing wellness franchises in the world, we've always had our sights on expanding into the US," said Jeremy Hassell, co-founder of City Cave.

"Now that our first US location has proven successful in Flagler Village, Florida, we’re all in on franchising, beginning in Dallas-Fort Worth. We can't wait to further expand City Cave to new communities across the country."

The back-story
City Cave was founded by Queensland entrepreneurs Hassell, a former builder, and Tim Butters, a former tiler, after they met on a Gold Coast construction site in 2014.

Recognising the need for a health and wellness centre that prioritised longevity and total well-being of individuals, Hassell and Butters launched City Cave in Australia in 2016 to offer a variety of tailored holistic and clinical services, providing a space for relaxation and meditation.

In 2019, the two entrepreneurs were named winners of the prestigious NextGen in Franchising Competition at the International Franchise Association Convention, becoming the first non-American brand to win the award.

They say winning the competition propelled City Cave to new heights, increasing the brand's total footprint across Australia in New Zealand by more than 300 per cent since the start of 2021.

Partner up
The City Cave brand has strategically aligned with key partners in America to bolster and champion its global expansion efforts. The dynamic leadership team in the US includes Suzanne Greco, former CEO of Subway, and Dustin Hansen – the former CEO of InXpress.

Their collective focus is dedicated to collaborating with Hassell and Butters in establishing a sustainable franchise brand, with a meticulous emphasis on enhancing franchisee profitability.

In this strategic alignment, Hansen assumes the role of president, while Greco takes on a mentorship role. Additional local talent has been enlisted to fortify the operational front across the US.

"We've perfected our franchisee programming to ensure that we offer the highest quality training and a huge amount of support, and we're excited to offer the early US franchisees an all-expenses paid training trip to Australia for in-centre training and peer-to-peer learning," said Butters, Co-Founder and Director of City Cave.

"We look forward to finding franchise partners in the States with pioneering mindsets and who see the huge potential in building City Cave's foundations from the ground up in America."