Anti-Aging Franchise Enhances Clients’ Wellness, Fitness and Appearance

The anti-aging brand Serotonin Centers is named for the naturally occurring hormone that helps humans stabilize their feelings of well-being and contentment. So, the medspa franchise’s name intertwines with its function: providing a plan and strategic treatments for maximizing wellness and health span, which is defined as the years of a person’s life in which they’re healthy, feel good and function optimally. Operating in a concierge environment, Serotonin franchises combine the expertise of medical practitioners and health coaches to extend clients’ years of feeling and looking their best.

Serotonin founder and CEO Eric Casaburi was inspired to establish the brand in 2019 after traditional medicine failed to help his wife with a hormone-related medical challenge. “I had always paid attention to my health and performance,” Casaburi says, “and I was a biohacker [someone who makes incremental changes to his or her body, diet and lifestyle to improve health and wellness] before biohacking became cool. My wife and I explored alternative solutions and came across hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, which was a seemingly lifestyle-saving resource.

“Our personal experience where traditional medicine was falling short put me on the path to exploring deeper. That search gave birth to many of the core services offered at Serotonin Centers.”

Serotonin Centers Services and Clientele

All Serotonin Centers provide dozens of professionally administered services and products: male and female bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, weight control, CoolSculpting®, immunity and recovery therapies, Botox® and skin fillers, HydraFacials®, hair restoration, skin tightening, exercise and fitness guidance, muscle development, nutraceutical dietary supplements, and more. Center staff includes nurse practitioners, medical assistants, physician assistants and medical directors.

Because of the wide array of services available at Serotonin, Casaburi says clients are diverse in age although generally high in income. “We have members ranging from their 20s to their 70s, and our sweet spot is 34- to 65-year-olds. Women make up the majority of our members, although not by a sizable margin. As for the average income bracket of those utilizing our services, it tends to be in the higher ranges – six figures is typical.”

Growth of Serotonin Centers

As the emerging brand seeks more franchisees, two locations already are open, four are under construction, and 63 are in development around the United States, he says. “By the end of 2023, the aim is to have 10 centers up and running,” says Casaburi, who previously founded Fierce Brands and formerly was CEO of Retro Fitness.

During the past few months, he has busily welcomed multi-unit franchisees to the Serotonin fold:

• Six-unit Serotonin franchisees Steve and Casey Barker, who will open their first location in Boston this fall. They bring years of experience in franchising as the owners of two successful trampoline park franchises in the area. “We align with the mission of boosting people’s confidence and quality of life through improved health and wellness,” Steve Barker says. Over approximately the next three years, they will open five more Serotonin units.
• Jason Hughes and Ron Whited, who have a 10-unit development agreement in Orange County, Calif. The cities of San Clemente, Irvine, Costa Mesa and Anaheim are likely to be locations for some of their franchises. Casaburi says Hughes and Whited, who have had business successes across multiple brands and industries in the past, are well-suited to ownership in Serotonin Centers. They plan to open their first franchise by the end of this year.
• Successful serial entrepreneurs Travis and Rhonda Little of Missouri will launch in Springfield, the first of their five Serotonin Centers. “While we’ve been fortunate enough to avoid any serious health concerns during our life, we’re not blind to the ways in which traditional health care is lagging behind the times,” Travis Little says. “People want access to health solutions that do more than just keep them alive. They want solutions that can help them thrive… and that’s what Serotonin Centers is uniquely poised to do.”

Franchisees, Operations and Sites

As is the case with these Massachusetts, California and Missouri owners, “the ideal franchisee typically has previous experience and success in the business world,” Casaburi says. “That experience doesn’t necessarily have to be in the health and wellness industry, but we do look for those with an expressed passion for what Serotonin Centers is all about, what it’s trying to achieve, and its potential for positive impact on human health span. We also prefer franchisees who are multi-unit-oriented and interested in expansive growth.”

The centers operate on a management-driven system, Casasburi says. “The owners can be hands-on but are not required to be on-site daily, provided they have a Serotonin-trained manager onsite. In that case, they’d simply need to hire the proper staff to ensure the location runs properly and efficiently.”

Franchising since early 2021, Serotonin Centers typically are located in high-end retail sites within affluent communities, Casaburi says. For example, he mentions “strip malls having great co-tenancy including high-end grocers, fitness centers, and foot traffic drivers, with a preference for end cap space.” Franchises usually need about six to nine months from signing to open their doors, he says.

Serotonin Centers seeks business partners for its territories throughout the United States. The company provides extensive training and support to franchisees that covers sales, marketing and customer retention tools. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Serotonin Centers, please visit www.serotonincenters.com/franchising/.