Heyday Skincare was founded in 2015 in New York City, aiming to make self-care through regular facial services more accessible to the everyday consumer. Founders Adam Ross and Michael Pollak, friends from business school, saw a gap in the wellness market for spa treatments. They noticed that treatments tended to be costly and time-consuming and that most people saw them more as occasional luxury services rather than regular maintenance. To fill this gap, the two friends built a business on the mantra, “Get a facial on your lunch break.” By Kelsi Trinidad
A Mission of Accessibility
Heyday Skincare was founded in 2015 in New York City, aiming to make self-care through regular facial services more accessible to the everyday consumer. Founders Adam Ross and Michael Pollak, friends from business school, saw a gap in the wellness market for spa treatments. They noticed that treatments tended to be costly and time-consuming and that most people saw them more as occasional luxury services rather than regular maintenance. To fill this gap, the two friends built a business on the mantra, “Get a facial on your lunch break.”
In addition to the model’s emphasis on convenience, Heyday Skincare takes a personalized approach to their services. On its website, the company states, “Not just a facial. A skin strategy,” and its membership model and tailored facials help clients achieve just that. Clients can create a real strategy through regular visits that meet their skin’s unique needs.
After building out its roster of corporate locations in major cities in California, Philadelphia and the Washington metropolitan area, Heyday Skincare began franchising its successful model in 2021. Franchising allowed the company to expand rapidly and bring its facials to more clients, advancing its mission of accessibility nationwide. Currently, Heyday Skincare has 17 franchise locations and 18 corporate locations.
Senior Director of Franchising Roger Weinstock said the company is looking to add more franchisees who share its mission of accessibility.
“I think it is important for you to believe in what we do in terms of skincare and ongoing self care, because it is a people business,” he said. “Yeah, we do facials, but ultimately, we’re in the people business. I think that’s really critical. We have people that come in with all sorts of things going on, both internally and externally, and they leave these appointments much different than they came in. So it’s a part of our brand.”
The Heyday Skincare corporate team values keeping its ear to the ground and always collects customer feedback on branding and services, as well as franchisee feedback.
“We’re at a stage where your voice really does matter,” said Weinstock. “Whether we get to 100 units or 500 units, that’s kind of where we want to live. If there’s something in terms of a goal or an initiative, we will take a step back and rethink and pivot because we want to listen.”
The company has even created a Franchisee Advisory Council, allowing franchisees to play a larger role in shaping the franchise model.
Additionally, when it comes to training, Heyday Skincare believes franchisees should receive hands-on experience with all the day-to-day logistics of operating a studio.
“One thing I loved about Heyday is they’re exhaustive in their training, and that’s from top down,” said Weinstock. “So if you’re a franchisee, you’re going to work in our flagship locations as part of your onboarding process, you’re going to log the hours in our POS systems and in all of our inventory systems. You’re going to work with a studio manager and our regional leadership to understand what it takes to run one of these.”
Kelsi Trinidad