How KidStrong Solved the Seasonality Problem: Camps, Parties and Smarter Use of Time

For many prospective franchisees exploring youth enrichment concepts, summer raises an obvious question: What happens when families leave town? At KidStrong, a child development franchise that blends physical activity with confidence-building and social-emotional learning, that concern has become one of the brand’s stronger talking points. Families may travel, shift routines or put memberships on hold for several weeks, but KidStrong has built programming around those realities instead of treating them as unavoidable slowdowns.

Turning Summer Into a Revenue Opportunity

“A lot of people getting into anything involving kids fear the summer,” said Josh Patrick, senior vice president of franchise development for KidStrong. “Traditional youth brands, or especially youth fitness brands, may see the summer as a time when they’re going to bleed profit. We’ve built our programs to ease that concern. In the early days, we were heavily focused on membership. As we saw, during the summer, people go on vacation and tend to put their membership on hold. So we said, ‘How can we have something that allows us to not only offset that revenue loss but also generate new members?’ That’s when we started offering camps.” 

KidStrong’s weeklong, full-day camps draw on the same core competencies used in its regular classes, giving families another way to experience the brand over the summer. For franchisees, they also help protect revenue when memberships are put on hold. The camps have become a strong first touchpoint for new families, too. Patrick said they see camps at about 50% members and 50% non-members, which gives the centers another opportunity for conversion. “The beauty of camp is that you do not have to be a KidStrong member,” Patrick said. “We do see a lot of our members enrolling in camp, but we also see a lot of nonmembers who maybe want to try out KidStrong. They get that week at camp, and then, for our franchise partners, they now have a list of new leads that, after camp, they can go after and get them to sign up for membership.”

Making Better Use of Time

KidStrong does not run classes all hours of every day, and Patrick said franchisees have to understand how to make the most of the hours when children and parents are actually available. Weekday mornings, after-school hours and weekends all serve different customer groups. The brand has also expanded its weekday morning opportunity with BabyStrong, a program for kids who are crawling. 

That same thinking applies to birthday parties, which can fill space during weekend hours when classes typically slow down. Patrick said birthday parties can account for about 5% to 6% of revenue, depending on how heavily a franchisee leans into them. For some operators, that can mean several parties on a weekend.

“People want to do class on the weekends from the morning until about midday,” Patrick said. “After that, they’re usually busy with other stuff. A lot of centers may not have had class during that time, so we turn that into birthday party time just to fill that capacity. It’s a really unique experience. Again, it’s an insight into the class, but our birthday parties have very specific programming and we see non-members host their parties at KidStrong, too.” 

For parents, the party is a high-energy birthday experience. For franchisees, it is also an introduction to families who may not have been looking for an ongoing class. Patrick said the birthday child is positioned as “the superhero of the class,” while the rest of the kids stay active throughout the event.

Planning Around the School Calendar

Beyond summer, KidStrong has built programming around the calendar gaps that create stress for working parents. Teacher workdays, spring break and holiday breaks can become camp opportunities for our operators. The typical model is built around roughly 80 days of camp (including ~12 weeks of summer), but strong operators can add more days throughout the year.

“We have a saying: ‘When School is Out, KidStrong Camp is in!’’” Patrick said. “It doesn’t have to be only in the windows we’ve identified. That’s been a big plus because, when you look at the total over a year, the more weeks of camp you can get, the more revenue you’re going to make. Then you start to be seen in the community as a place for parents whenever there is a holiday.”

That community role becomes more valuable when franchisees get ahead of family planning habits. Patrick said summer camps often begin filling in the first quarter, with parents booking in January, February and March. For KidStrong operators, that means seasonal programming cannot be treated as a last-minute add-on.

Investing in the Schedule

While camps, parties and Parents Night Out can create meaningful non-recurring revenue, Patrick said the core business is still membership. About 82% of revenue comes from recurring memberships, while camps, birthday parties, and Parents Night Out can account for 10% to 15%. The goal is to make those offerings work together rather than compete for attention.

That requires franchisees to think differently about efficiency. A class with only a few kids may look underused, but Patrick said those open slots are what give the sales team something to sell. Cutting too aggressively can make it harder to grow.

“What I’ve learned with KidStrong is that it is about investing,” Patrick said. “When you first open your location, you are focused on investment. You’re investing to grow that membership. If you fail to invest during that time, you’re not going to grow at the pace you need to start getting into the really high-margin returns. You may open up a class and only have two or three kids in there, but that’s your inventory. That’s how your salespeople are able to sell and put kids in those classes.”

The same principle applies to staffing. Patrick said strong coaches can drive a better experience and stronger returns, even if franchisees have to spend more to hire them. Camps may require a slightly different employee profile than regular classes because coaches are with children for much longer periods.

Building a Model That Can Scale

KidStrong’s approach to limited hours also plays into multi-unit growth. Because centers are not open around the clock, owners and general managers are not necessarily tied to the business seven days a week once the location is staffed and operating well. That gives strong operators room to grow into additional locations over time.

“No doubt, when you first open and during the newer opening process, you’re going to be pouring a lot of time into the business,” Patrick said. “That’s why we don’t let franchisees do multiple units at a time. We want them focused on that one. Get that one open and profitable, and then move on to the next.”

For KidStrong franchisees, the calendar is more than a schedule. It is part of how the business stays useful to families when routines change, whether that means a summer trip, a school closure or a weekend celebration.

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/kidstrong.