Nicolas Ronco, the French entrepreneur behind spa and nap concept YeloSpa, is aiming to expand the US-based business into Europe, as part of large-scale plans that will also see the company franchise up to 150 US locations and launch a sleep and wellbeing product range.

In an exclusive interview for the latest edition of Leisure Management magazine, Ronco – who first started developing YeloSpa in 2004 – revealed his eagerness to scale up the business from its three current sites in New York, Brazil and Puerto Rico.

“We’re working on a licensing agreement for a YeloSpa in London. It’s not signed yet, but it could be exciting,” he said.

“We’re also going to open another YeloSpa in Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris some time in 2016.

“Our next big push is to expand our franchising in the US. We’re looking at Florida, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston, Texas. We’re currently going through the legal requirements to become a franchisor in the States. In the long term, we’d like to have around 100-150 locations in the US.”

Such a move into the franchise market would pit the business against rivals such as Massage Envy, Massage Green Spa, and Hand & Stone. The proliferation of franchises in the spa market was noted by Spa Business editor Liz Terry in her leader column for the Q2 edition, where she predicted the growing market would mirror the health club sector as it matures.

However, the strong competition may not be a concern for Ronco, who has been able to differentiate YeloSpa with a series of innovative concepts. Having started offering YeloSpa memberships to customers in April at a highly discounted rate, Ronco made further ripples later in the month when he unveiled an unusual DryBlo bar at his Puerto Rico site, involving suspended mirrors and hair drying facilities to allow guests to dry off after their use of sauna and steamroom facilities. The 10 mirrors and dryers then bounce back to their suspended positions after use.

Eager to diversify the business further, the expansion plans could also see Ronco move into the product market.

“We’re also looking at product development,” he added. “We’d like to develop a range of products under the Yelo brand – aromatherapy products, apps and homeware – different pillows and mattresses and sheets made with sustainable materials. There’s going to be a big focus on sleep and wellbeing.”

To read the full interview with Ronco from the Q3 edition of Leisure Management magazine (pp.40-45) click here.