National Stress Awareness Month is a good reminder that stress is not a small issue in people’s lives. It affects sleep, recovery, focus, and how people feel from one day to the next. Stress Awareness Month has been recognized every April since 1992, and it still resonates because stress is something people are actively trying to manage in everyday life.
If you are exploring franchise ownership, that matters. When stress is top of mind for consumers, they actively seek out services that help them feel better. That sustained demand is a big part of what makes the wellness category such a compelling space right now.
Wellness Industry Growth
Wellness demand is growing because self-care has become part of life for a lot of consumers. In a 2025 McKinsey analysis, the U.S. wellness market was estimated at more than $500 billion in annual spend, growing at roughly 4% to 5% a year. The same research found that 84% of U.S. consumers consider wellness a top or important priority in their day-to-day. Additionally, nearly 30% of Gen Z and millennials prioritize wellness a lot more than the previous year, compared with up to 23% of older generations.
That demand is especially relevant in a business category tied to stress relief and recovery. According to AMTA’s latest consumer data, 79% of people said the main reason for their last massage in the 12 months ending June 2025 was health, wellness, or stress-related.
If you are comparing franchise industries, that is a real standout point and one reason wellness industry growth continues to stand out to prospective owners. A strong spa franchise opportunity is tied to services people return to because they want ongoing support for stress relief, recovery, and self-care.
Four Ways Hand & Stone’s Services Fit the Stress Conversation
The topic of National Stress Awareness Month also gives you a better way to look at what Hand & Stone offers.
1.Massage gives people a practical way to manage physical tension.
Stress often shows up in the body first. Tight shoulders, neck tension, headaches, and general fatigue are all things people feel in everyday life, which makes massage a natural fit for people looking for relief.
2.Massage supports the kind of care people come back for.
Stress is not usually a one-time issue, which is why services like massage often feel relevant beyond a single visit.
3.Facials give guests another way to invest in self-care.
Hand & Stone is not built around massage alone. Facial services give guests a second path into regular care and make the overall offerings feel more complete. Offering both massage and facial services helps Hand & Stone meet that broader demand.
4.The experience fits the larger shift toward everyday wellness.
Hand & Stone’s services fit the way many consumers already approach wellness: as something they return to, not something they save for once in a while.
The Business Model Matters Too
Category demand is one part of the story. The business model is the other. In wellness, many of the strongest concepts are built around repeat visits rather than one-off transactions. That is one reason a membership based franchise can be appealing. When customers come back regularly, owners may have a clearer sense of demand, stronger retention, and a steadier operating rhythm.
That is also why the recurring revenue franchise model keeps coming up in franchise ownership conversations. For many candidates, it feels more grounded than relying on constant one-off sales. If you are thinking beyond one location, that structure can also make a concept easier to evaluate as a potential multi-unit spa franchise over time.
Why Hand & Stone Fits This Category
If you are looking at wellness franchise opportunities right now, Hand & Stone is worth a deep dive.
Hand & Stone has more than 650 locations, 20 years of consecutive growth, and average annual gross sales of about $1.35 million. It also earned the No. 1 ranking in the Massage and Spa Services category in Entrepreneur’s 2026 Franchise 500.
Those are real indicators of scale and performance. In 2025 alone, more than 1.6 million facials were performed, and facials represented about one-third of systemwide sales. Hand & Stone also operates with five revenue streams: memberships, non-member services, service upgrades, skincare retail, and gift cards.
For a prospective owner, that adds up to a more substantial business to evaluate. Instead of a single-service concept, you are looking at a spa franchise opportunity with broader service appeal, repeat demand, and an established operating model.
If you are exploring a wellness franchise opportunity and spa franchise opportunity with room to grow, fill out our inquiry form to learn more about bringing Hand & Stone to your market.
A FEW FAQS ABOUT HAND & STONE FRANCHISE OWNERSHIP
Why are stress relief services in such high demand right now?
Stress is something consumers are actively managing, not occasionally treating. According to AMTA’s latest consumer data, 79% of people said the main reason for their last massage was health, wellness, or stress-related. A 2025 McKinsey analysis estimated the U.S. wellness market at more than $500 billion in annual spend, with 84% of consumers saying wellness is a top priority in their day-to-day lives. That sustained demand is what makes the wellness category compelling for franchise owners. When people return regularly for stress relief and recovery, the business is built around repeat visits rather than one-off transactions.
Why is wellness still a strong category for franchise ownership?
Wellness has become one of the more resilient franchise categories because demand is built into how consumers live day to day. Self-care, stress relief, and recovery are no longer occasional indulgences. They are part of regular routines for a growing segment of the population. That behavioral shift supports consistent, repeat demand rather than one-time purchases, which is a meaningful distinction when evaluating a franchise investment. Compared to retail or food-and-beverage concepts that can be more sensitive to discretionary spending swings, a wellness franchise built around memberships and recurring visits tends to offer a steadier operating rhythm. For prospective owners, that combination of category growth and repeat-visit demand makes wellness one of the more straightforward models to understand and plan around.
Is Hand & Stone worth considering for future multi-unit spa franchise growth?
Hand & Stone gives candidates more than a single-location model to evaluate. With more than 650 locations and over 70% of the system multi-unit owned, it has already shown strong appeal for operators thinking about multi-unit spa franchise growth over time.
Multi-unit growth at Hand & Stone is structured through an Area Development Agreement (ADA), which typically requires opening a minimum of three locations. Developers may qualify for reduced, tiered fees on subsequent units, distinct from the standard single-unit fee structure. For details on fees and development schedules, refer to Item 5 and Item 7 of the Hand & Stone FDD at handandstone.com/franchise/franchise-investment/.
