Kitchen Wise’s Owner Experience Program Immerses New Franchisees in the Day-to-Day of Running a Business

Kitchen Wise, the 25+ unit home organization franchise under the Premium Service Brands umbrella, secured a private equity investment by Susquehanna Private Capital, signed five new franchise units already in 2021, and increased systemwide sales by a whopping 49% in Q2 over Q1. Plus, as Americans spend more time at home due to the pandemic, Kitchen Wise’s franchise opportunity is becoming more relevant than ever. Now, Kitchen Wise is riding that momentum by rolling out several advancements to its franchise system. 

Premium Service Brands’ Owner Experience Program, for example, will leverage new virtual reality and role playing platforms to teach incoming franchisees leadership and higher-order decision making skills. Premium Service Brands has partnered with two companies — Mursion and VIRTI — to give owners a platform to practice estimates, sales calls, hiring and recruiting in a virtual reality and role playing setting.

“We have been aggressively growing all of our PSB concepts over the past few years, and this investment will allow us to build out Kitchen Wise’s infrastructure and business model so we can continue to find new ways to support our incoming owners and position them for success,” said CEO Paul Flick. “The Owner Experience Program is one of the many new improvements we are making to our system to help us recruit, develop and support the very best franchisees for each of our brands.”

Premium Service Brands also plans to unveil a newly designed learning and development center, which will be formatted with instructor-led classrooms to encourage collaboration and optimize the experiential-based onboarding process.

Kitchen Wise franchisees already benefit from a wide range of support systems and resources. Those resources include marketing, technology, recruiting, vendor partnerships, product sourcing, routing and scheduling software, a contact center and a range of other essential operational systems that allow franchisees to focus on what matters most — servicing the customer. 

“With all of the support offered by the Premium Service Brands team, franchisees can really focus on providing the greatest experience possible to the customer,” said Atlanta-based Kitchen Wise franchisee Katie Block. “You can always learn the technical aspect of the business later, but clients like to buy from someone they know and feel comfortable with. That is why having social skills and the ability to be open and responsive with clients is a must.”

For example, when it comes to the process of installing, Block says she is no expert, but has all of the support she needs. “Kitchen Wise franchisees are given all the training and resources they need,” she said. “I am knowledgeable about how the products are installed, but I don’t need to have that experience or skill set.”

Regardless of their background, incoming Kitchen Wise franchisees will leave the Owner Experience Program with the knowledge and in-person experience to start off on the right foot. As they scale their business, they will also have the opportunity to take advantage of vertical growth opportunities with Premium Service Brands’ other home services concepts.

Looking ahead, Kitchen Wise hopes to bring this tech-powered learning experience and evolving business model to qualified franchise partners in available territories. With more than fifteen locations sold and a goal to add 20 to 25 new franchisees each year, Kitchen Wise is gearing up for continued growth across the country.

“Kitchen Wise is an opportunity that will do well in any market,” said Iric Wexler, Chief Development Officer for Premium Service Brands. “The desire and need for kitchen storage solutions isn’t going anywhere. And the beauty of franchising is going into business for yourself, not by yourself. With our Owner Experience Program, we are here to make sure every franchisee is fully equipped for success no matter where they operate their business.”

The initial investment to open a Kitchen Wise ranges from $108,100 to $147,000. This includes a $65,000 franchise fee. The brand is actively seeking franchise owners in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, San Antonio, Boston and Raleigh, to name a few locations. For more information on franchising with Kitchen Wise, please visit https://www.premiumservicebrands.com/kitchen-wise/.