Australian wellness franchise City Cave launches first USA location

Brisbane-founded float and wellness brand, City Cave, has launched its first United States location in Fort Lauderdale, Florida over the weekend. Opening on 24th June, the Fort Lauderdale centre boasts three float therapy rooms, three infrared saunas, and three massage rooms.

A further 3,000 centres are anticipated to open in the U.S over the next five years.

The U.S. launch comes after the company, founded in 2016 by Queensland entrepreneurs, Tim Butters and Jeremy Hassell, saw more than 300% growth since the start of 2021, taking its global footprint to 70 locations across Australia and New Zealand.

Hassell shared “we are beyond proud to welcome our first location in the States after a very successful seven years across Australia and New Zealand.

“The wellness space is continuously evolving and thriving around the world, with a huge gap in floatation therapy services in the U.S, and we are excited to bridge the gap and offer our unique therapies to the States.”

Positioned for growth, the brand has recently welcomed a slew of new hires as part of its U.S. expansion plans, attracting executive talent from big brands including VideoPro and Subway.

The ramp up of key hires is also reflected in their U.S. operation, with former Global Subway Chief Executive Suzanne Greco joining the global City Cave leadership team and investing in the brand’s global expansion.

Butters who owned a tiling company and Hassell a former builder, met on a construction site in 2014 on the Gold Coast and it wasn’t until a Christmas function later that year, they realised they wanted to enter business together.

The pair began working in the home textiles industry, setting up a retail business in Brisbane before selling due to limited growth opportunities. As a result, Butters and Hassell found themselves at a crossroads, brainstorming new business ideas.

A friend recommended the duo experience floatation therapy to relieve their stress, and, to their surprise, were blown away.

“We never knew about flotation therapy let alone the positive effects it had on us. We absolutely loved the way it made us feel, but the experience was sub-par and the confinement in the pod was unsettling.”

After the initial float session, Butters and Hassell saw potential to enhance mental and physical wellbeing through a unique open-air model opposed to an enclosed pod.

Within eight weeks the pair found a location and built Australia’s first open-air flotation therapy centre, on the bustling James Street in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.

City Cave is now the world’s fastest growing float therapy brand, and Australia’s first dedicated float therapy and wellness centre, offering guests an end-to-end experience designed to improve overall wellbeing through open pool float therapy, infrared saunas, and massages.

The City Cave Research and Development team work alongside world-renowned neuropsychologist Dr. Justin Feinstein to review existing treatments and develop innovative experiences for Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST).

Grounded in evidence-based insights and cutting-edge medical research, City Cave delivers the most advanced floatation experience in the world. Its flagship patented sensory deprivation treatment, floatation therapy, is unique compared to the traditional floatation pods. The large, private open-air pool is heated and matched to an individual’s body temperature and provides a sense of weightlessness to achieve deep relaxation.

Hassell shares “our mission is simple. To change people’s lives. It might sound cliché, but our evidence-based therapies are intended to increase the longevity of individuals around the globe.”

With an annual turnover of $60 million this financial year, the successful business franchise model also plans to operate between 200-300 locations across the Australia and New Zealand region over the next five years.

The purpose-driven brand is very selective of the right people to join their business, choosing both team members and Franchisees based on their core values of Collaboration, Abundance, Empathy and Balance.

For more information visit www.citycave.com.au

Images: City Cave floatation therapy (top), City Cave founders Tim Butters and Jeremy Hassell (middle) and City Cave exterior (below).