Most people don’t think twice about forking out for a monthly gym membership but getting someone to work on the knots in your back is generally seen as a once-in-a-blue-moon indulgence for the majority of Brits. But perhaps not for long, if Elliot Walker, co-founder of The Massage Company, has something to say about it.
Having cut his teeth running skincare brand Murad, Walker is certainly no stranger to the beauty industry. But it was while travelling the world with Murad that he came across a massively popular US concept that had seemingly never been tried in Britain: a membership-based massage service where people pay a set fee for a certain number of treatments. “So many great international brands and ideas start their lives in America that by spending time there you get a sense of what’s successful,” says Walker. “But you can’t just plonk an idea into the UK and hope it will work: you need to consider the differences.”
This idea bubbled away for years in the back of Walker’s mind and when Murad was acquired by Unilever in 2015 he realised the time was right to bring the concept across the pond. “The number of spas in this country had mushroomed and we could see there was massive demand but nobody had quite cracked it yet,” says Walker. So he partnered with Charlie Thompson, chairman of the UK Spa Association and former head of health and beauty at Virgin Active, to form The Massage Company, a membership-based massage destination where people can pop in for a treatment in a purpose-built facility.
Maria Barr
Maria was our web editor, who wrote profiles, new stories and features relating to the franchising world.
Maria Barr
Maria was our web editor, who wrote profiles, new stories and features relating to the franchising world.
