KidStrong Franchising, LLC
SPONSORED
KidStrong’s SVP of franchise development Josh Patrick explains why Southern California’s active, family-focused culture and dense suburban markets make it a top growth region for new franchise owners.
Southern California has no shortage of family brands fighting for attention, which is exactly why KidStrong sees it as a compelling franchise growth engine. As a youth enrichment and development concept built around coach-led classes for children, the brand fits a region that combines scale, lifestyle alignment and market dynamics that can quietly limit competition, creating what Josh Patrick, KidStrong’s senior vice president of franchise development, describes as a rare opportunity for the concept to win.
Patrick points first to the customer foundation: families who prioritize activity and who already build their routines around movement, outdoor time and structured commitments. “You have an area that has a tremendous amount of families,” Patrick said. “And those families prioritize active lifestyles and raising confident kids, both things that KidStrong checks the box on.”
Just as important, Patrick said, is what California’s development environment does to the competitive field. Higher costs, longer permitting timelines and real estate friction can slow the pace of new concept launches. In Patrick’s view, that drag creates whitespace that KidStrong can capture with the right operators and the right real estate.
“Because of some of the complexities of real estate in California, you don’t have as much competition as maybe you see in Florida and Texas,” Patrick said. “It is harder to find real estate in California. There’s no doubt. The permitting times are longer. It’s more expensive. Naturally, that has limited how many other concepts have developed out there, and it’s created a bit of a void.”
Southern California won’t reward anyone looking for a fast, frictionless opening. The process can be slower and more expensive than other regions, but the customer demand is deep, especially for operators who understand how families live, commute and choose activities close to home.
Patrick said KidStrong’s growth plan spans the full Southern California corridor, with opportunity across major population centers. “Pretty much from Orange County — really I’d say L.A. down to San Diego — the whole strip,” he said. “We’ll be opening units in all of those markets.”
At maturity, he believes the opportunity is meaningful even within a single county footprint. “From Los Angeles to San Diego, we’re probably looking at about 60 locations,” Patrick said.
KidStrong’s approach hinges on a local-ownership posture, especially in markets where consumers can quickly tune out brands that feel distant or overly corporate. In Patrick’s view, the strongest Southern California operators are the ones who already know how families move through their communities and how to translate that knowledge into visibility and trust.
“They need to be somebody that knows where the families are, where people shop and how they behave in that community,” Patrick said. “They know what type of events are going on. Somebody that’s going to build community, because that’s what’s going to be successful in that market, versus it just feeling like some corporate name brand coming in to develop. We want it to feel locally owned.”
KidStrong’s confidence in the region is reinforced by franchise owner validation, including perspectives from owners actively working through today’s California environment. Patrick said the operators opening now provide the clearest read on what it takes to succeed, in part because conditions have shifted since earlier expansion waves.
“We’ve got a few existing owners in Southern California that are validating, but really the ones I’m excited about are the new ones that are opening up there,” Patrick said. “Things have changed so drastically since 2021 and 2022. The permitting is tough, the costs are different, a lot of things that franchise owners need to be aware of, and it’s good for them to hear that from the people that are currently going through it.”
Patrick’s guidance to prospective franchise owners is straightforward: expect variability, budget for complexity and stay flexible on timelines. “Be flexible — from a timeline standpoint, from a cost standpoint,” he said. “Sometimes you have to do earthquake studies and things that you just don’t have to do in other places.”
KidStrong is leaning into Southern California because families are active, the market is huge and demand tends to hold. The approvals can take longer and the build can cost more, but that also thins out the field. For the right operator, Patrick said, it’s worth the grind. “You are in a great part of the world that is going to do really well,” he said. “You’ve got to be patient with it, and we’ll get there eventually.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/kidstrong.
Sign up for the 1851 Franchise newsletter to get our biggest stories before everyone else
By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy.
No related articles found
