The Freezer Beyond the Grocery & C-Store
Cryotherapy is one of the latest categories to scale in the health, wellness, and longevity space.
In this column, we’ve detailed how brick-and-mortar businesses have expanded far beyond the typical gym as the population ages and become more concerned about staying healthy longer.
Highly specialized brands and franchises are offering body-related services like IVs.
I recently attended the grand opening of a Picklr franchise. The company smartly showcased many other health and wellness companies around the courts, including the cryotherapy franchise Ice Box.
Although I don’t particularly like the cold, I managed to win the drawing, so I felt obligated to “freeze myself” and see what the therapy is all about. In short, dancing around in temps that are 166 degrees below zero was actually somewhat stimulating. A relaxing compression treatment followed it.
Cryotherapy has received a warm welcome from consumers and is estimated to grow to a $20B category by 2034.
Icebox was founded in 2012 and now has about 40 locations nationally. The founder was inspired to build the brand after being injured in a car accident. She designed the space to make the experience approachable, safe, and stress-free.
Several other brands operate within the cryotherapy category, and some other health-related businesses have incorporated cold rooms and cold plunges into their modalities. Google “Cryotherapy Near Me,” and you’re bound to find a local brand, a gym that has installed “freezers,” or ads for the equipment itself. (You likely would not have found as many alternatives ten years ago!)
Cryo locations like Icebox are appealing to new groups of consumers by:
- Choosing locations in areas that are health-centric or near other health-related services brands.
- Investing in community-level marketing (like the grand opening mentioned earlier).
- Creating a safe and warm (pun intended) space to explain what they do and hire credible and welcoming people. The Icebox even provides comfy robes, slippers, cotton boxers, and an extensive music playlist (which you can select from for your three minutes in the box).
- Diversifying their offering. Compression massage and facials are the other services Icebox offers, along with specials for taking advantage of multiple treatments.
- Ensure that consumers sign off on the right forms before they enter “the box.” Any service operator offering treatments related to the human body needs to protect themselves from legal liability.
Watch this spot for other new and scaling services within the MULO (multi-location) world. Think outside the box and learn from what’s inside it (the Icebox, that is).
