Privately-owned Glosslab, based in New York and founded in 2018 by former hedge fund manager Rachel Apfel Glass, will go from 21 locations in states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Texas to 65 locations in the next few years. About 45 of these new units will be built in South Florida in a new franchise agreement with European Wax Center co-founder, Joshua Coba.
Glass said the partnership with Coba was predicated on the fact that Glosslab already operates busy studios in the Florida market.
“It’s such a vibrant community in Miami and the surrounding areas, and we wanted to build on the existing presence we already have in South Miami, Coconut Grove, Sunset Harbour, and Midtown Miami,” said Glass.
The deal will see Coba open 10 new Glosslab locations in South Florida by early 2024, with the rest to come on stream thereafter. Plans are also in place for growth across other markets.
“Hopefully we are going to continue see a rapid growth at that pace in more markets throughout the country,” said Glass. “My goal is to see a Glosslab on every corner in the United States.”
Rachel added that Coba would provide input on the expansion of the brand’s vegan product line of fast-drying nail color, treatment kits, and hand and foot creams. There are currently 20 SKUs in Glosslab’s offering, with more products in the pipeline.
Under Glosslab’s waterless regular and gel manicures and pedicures, the company saves more than two million gallons of water every year. Glosslab raised more than $4 million in 2020 to launch its first round of locations. Individual manicures start at $25, with monthly memberships at $125 for unlimited services.
Glosslab is backed by Andy Stenzler, co-founder of Rumble Boxing; Sean Rad, cofounder of Tinder; Elliot Tebele, co-founder of F-ckJerry; Ben Kaplan, F-ckJerry partner and creator of What do you Meme?; and serial startup investor M.J. Bas (Revolut, Elysium Health, Mural).