Spa Snapshot: Hand & Stone

Hand & Stone, a household name in the industry has a rock-solid brand identity that brings to mind the same physical, tactile imagery their name evokes: a variety of beloved massage techniques long-mastered and the essential, time-honored element of human touch.

An Enduring Impression

In an industry that seems to be increasingly defined by the growing medspa movement and tech-integrated approaches to wellness, the time-tested element of massage can start to feel a little antiquated. However, longevity is its own testament to importance. “For some of our clients, their massage is the only time in the whole month where someone’s touched them,” says Lisa Rossmann, chief concept officer at Hand & Stone and esthetician. The importance of physical touch is long-established to be important for physical health, having a positive impact on stress levels, pain and anxiety, while being essential for development in infants.

In having refined its approach to touch in its 20+ year run, Hand & Stone has had to master the careful balance between keeping traditional treatments refreshed and knowing what new products, treatments and technology to curate. “You really need to know your brand,” Rossmann asserts. She recognizes that a large part of her target clientele tends to be the upper-middle class, stay-at-home moms in the suburbs—and that’s not a small number of people. Being the best you for the people who already love you is the best compass when trying to develop your business without losing your mind in the age of innovation fatigue.

Clients will appreciate this authentic and streamlined approach as well. Rossmann herself says that “Wellness is…clearing my mind,"—a sentiment that rings true for many in this day and age, where we’re exposed to an unprecedented amount of information at every moment.

Just Because It Feels Good, Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Important

To those who don’t make wellness and skin care a priority in their lives, spas are seen as a luxury, which puts franchises that work to make massages and facials more accessible and easier to integrate into one’s lifestyle in a weird position. How can spas establish their services as being a worthwhile investment in one’s wellness journey?

There’s no simple answer, and much of this depends on where an individual is on their wellness journey. The avid and experienced well-seeker won’t need much convincing, but someone who has never graduated into seeing wellness as something you need to do for yourself, just something that those who can afford it do—whether their currency is money, time or both—might need to experience the positive impact themselves in order to trust it.

For the owner of Hand & Stone’s Sunrise Sawgrass location, Sunitee Singh, whose spa is nestled in a family-heavy area, the needs of her clientele share solid throughlines with larger cultural concerns surrounding the youth, like the resulting mental health crisis following how the pandemic disrupted their routine, and the prevalence of social media, which can be at best, overwhelming still.

The importance of wellness was ingrained in Singh at a young age; she received her first facial when she was 12. Originally from India, Singh mentions that being raised in a culture where massage and facials, that is, wellness and skin care, are priorities, helped shape much of her approach.

The goal is an experience that’s exactly what clients dream of—everything from the temperature, to the lighting, to the music, to the table is by design, and feeling this good being affordable is crucial for fostering a healthier culture around wellness. “It’s for everyone,” says Singh, who mentioned that she was surprised at the excitement the Sunrise Sawgrass location saw upon opening. “People would regularly tell me, ‘Thank you so much for opening a spa in this area.' The numbers didn’t necessarily show that this would be an ideal location…but there was nothing out here for the existing demand. It’s just people, you know? They want to take care of themselves.”

For Hand & Stone, being a franchise is a benefit to its locations; owners are working off an established, well-loved name with an existing infrastructure to build upon. Singh mentions that this is particularly helpful when it comes to marketing and piloting new services. Mobile memberships, or the ability for members to make the most of whatever Hand & Stone is nearby, wherever they are, is also a huge benefit.

In this way, Hand & Stone embodies the most essential element to fostering a more voracious, proactive wellness culture. “We’re always on the run,” muses Singh. “This [an appointment] is a time where you can let others take care of you, for once.”