Qld-based float and wellness brand City Cave expands global footprint with new centre in US

Brisbane-founded float and wellness franchise City Cave is on track to establishing itself as a global brand following the launch of its first location in the United States over the weekend.

City Cave was founded in 2016 by Queensland entrepreneurs Tim Butters, who owned a tiling company, and Jeremy Hassell, a former builder after they met on a construction site in 2014 on the Gold Coast.

The US expansion saw the float therapy brand’s Fort Lauderdale centre in Florida open on June 24, with the centre boasting three float therapy rooms, three infrared saunas, and three massage rooms for guests, with a further 3,000 centres anticipated to open in the US over the next five years.

City Cave has seen more than 300% growth since the start of 2021, taking its global footprint to 70 locations across Australia and New Zealand.

With an annual turnover of $60 million this financial year, the franchise network also plans to scale to between 200-300 locations throughout Australia and New Zealand over the next five years.

Co-founder Jeremy Hassell said the team is beyond proud to open its first location in the States after a 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 US, and we are excited to bridge the gap and offer our unique therapies to the States,” he said.

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“We’ve had incredible interest in franchise sales so far in the US, with a number of large operators in talks to open multiple centres as part of multi-unit portfolios. However, we’re also taking interest from single-unit operators, particularly in Australia, with a focus on Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia in the medium term.”

Hassell said City Cave’s most popular treatments are its Float Therapy and Infrared Saunas, with customers appreciating services and treatments that help both their physical and mental health at the same time.

City Cave has more than 500 employees working in centres throughout its network, with a mix of cave divers (support staff), float attendants (service champions), and massage therapists in every centre. The brand has also recently welcomed a slew of new hires as part of its US expansion plans.

Hassell confirmed that City Cave plans to expand further.

“Our mission is simple: to change people’s lives,” he said. 

“It might sound cliché, but our evidence-based therapies are intended to increase the longevity of individuals around the globe.”