A Brisbane self-care brand launched seven years ago by two tradies has found global success, after launching its first United States franchise last week.
Float and Wellness centre City Cave opened its doors to the Florida city of Fort Lauderdale on Sunday AEST following its success in the Southern Hemisphere.
The healthcare company – which offers a range of services from float therapy to infrared saunas – has recorded more than 300 per cent growth since the start of 2021, and has seen an annual turnover of $60 million this financial year.
The Fort Lauderdale centre is the first of 3000 United States-based stores hoped to come, with the country adding to the company’s global footprint which includes 70 other locations across Australia and New Zealand.
It’s also fitted with three float therapy rooms, three infrared saunas and three massage rooms.
Notwithstanding its success, City Cave debuted from humble beginnings with its founders Tim Butters and Jeremy Hassell previously working in the construction industry before launching the business.
Respectively a tiler and a builder, Mr Butters and Mr Hassell met on a building site in 2014 on the Gold Coast before a Christmas function later that year inspired the pair to do business together.
However their first venture didn’t go to plan, with the pair selling their home textiles retail business some time after due to limited growth opportunities.
Due to the stress of being unemployed, a friend of the dynamic duo advised them to try flotation therapy – a zero-gravity environment that’s designed to clear the mind and relax the body.
Those who use the service are invited to enter a flotation tank, which is filled with an Epsom Salt solution and water that is heated to match external body temperature.
“We were reluctant at first, but decided to give it a go. The actual float therapy was incredible – we felt instantly relaxed – and that’s coming from two former tradies who would never do something like this,” Mr Butters told news.com.au.
“But we were not sold on the overall experience – we were sitting on old plastic chairs and confinement from being in a pod.”
This observation stimulated an idea which would later lead to the pair’s global success story.