Press Release

Private equity firm Freeman Spogli has invested in VIO Med Spa, securing a majority stake in the med spa franchise.

"They have around the 50-year track record in franchising and developing consumer businesses, and really had a core value alignment with the partnership team, as well as their industry advisors and quite a bit of expertise that we felt were a fantastic fit for the future vision we have for the company," said Ryan Rao, Chief Development Officer at VIO.

Freeman Spogli invests in United States-based consumer and distribution companies. The firm has invested $5.8 billion in 71 companies since its founding in 1983.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but VIO's existing management team will continue running the brand, and its founders, Harish Kakarala and Joe and Nick Stanoszek, remain minority investors. VIO is stylized as "V/O" and pronounced "vee-oh."

The 50-unit franchise offers a variety of medical aesthetic services, including Botox, facials, medical weight loss solutions and dermal fillers. VIO launched in 2017 in Strongsville, Ohio, and began franchising in 2018. The brand has more than 200 units in development throughout the country.

"We have the ability to execute a little faster on our development plans, as well as bringing additional resources to the franchise system at a faster pace than we could before," Rao said.

CEO Ryan Rose said that as VIO looked to bring its more than 200 planned spas to opening over the next several years, the executive team concluded it needed an investment partner.

"It became very evident that we needed a sophisticated partner, both from a financial influence and, probably even more importantly, from a strategic influence," Rose said. "Someone that had been there and done that can help us really achieve and pull the levers that we need in order to expedite growth."

In mid-2022, VIO attracted a minority investment from Tucker's Farm Corp., a goat farm and artisan cheesemaker based in Bermuda with an investment sector.

The investment required to open a VIO Med Spa franchise ranges from $929,952 to $1.25 million, according to its Franchise Disclosure Document.

Average unit volume for franchised locations has remained fairly consistent over the last three years:

• 2023: $1.47 million
• 2022: $1.50 million
• 2021: $1.46 million

Across the board for the 15 franchised locations included in the FDD, injectables and membership fees account for approximately 60% of annual sales.

Following Freeman Spogli's investment, VIO plans to further build out its C-suite and expand the company's technology stack, Rose said.

"Deepening our marketing department, creating the brand for national exposure," he said.

Rose added that the company's plans include:

"Adding additional human infrastructure, optimizing all of the technology platforms that we've invested in, extracting the value from each of those platforms in order to better enhance the franchise experience and then ultimately investing in some new technology platforms as well."