One Year Post-Acquisition by Premium Service Brands, Kitchen Wise Looks to Add 20 to 25 New Franchisees to its System

In 2019, multi-brand franchisor Premium Service Brands added a new franchise to its thriving network of service brands. Kitchen Wise, a kitchen-remodeling franchise, distinguishes itself from competitors by focusing exclusively on low-cost but high-impact cosmetic upgrades rather than full rehabs. The brand has quickly proven to be another savvy acquisition for Premium Service Brands, whose portfolio already includes some of the most sought-after brands in their industries. This year, amid an ongoing pandemic that continues to keep Americans at home, Kitchen Wise’s value is more pronounced than ever.

“It doesn’t matter where you live, whether you live in a big house or a small apartment, if you’re spending time at home — and everyone is right now — you need an attractive, high-functioning kitchen,” said Luke Schulte, Premium Service Brands’ vice president of franchise development.

In recent years, kitchens have been the most popular room for home renovations (just edging out bathrooms, according to The National Association of Realtors); the problem for most homeowners is that kitchens are also among the most expensive renovation projects. Kitchen Wise solves that problem by providing strategic upgrades that transform kitchens without any construction or demolition.

The key to Kitchen Wise’s inexpensive upgrade model, according to Brit Roberts, brand lead for Premium Service Brands, is its lineup of products and vendors. By sourcing high-end products from a roster of reliable vendors, Roberts says Kitchen Wise is able to provide the kinds of dramatic upgrades that typically require full gut rehabs to achieve.

“The product is the deal-closer,” he said. “People are always intrigued by our low prices and quick time estimates, but once they can see and touch the products, it’s a done deal.”

Once the products are selected, all that’s left to do is install them, which is a much faster and less invasive process than traditional renovations.

“Typically when you renovate your kitchen, you can expect that room to be a construction zone, completely off-limits, for weeks,” said Schulte. Once Kitchen Wise has a client’s products delivered — a process that Schulte says can take as little as a week — “We can transform the kitchen in a single day.”

By dramatically reducing the cost and time associated with kitchen upgrades, Kitchen Wise has grown its pool of potential clients substantially, to the benefit of its franchisees. “In that sense, we’ve got an entire market to ourselves,” Schulte said. “No one competes with us in terms of our products, which means no one can offer the kinds of upgrades we provide at this price point.”

Now that Kitchen Wise is part of the PSB family of home service brands, the franchise benefits from a range of new support systems and resources designed to make franchisees as successful as possible. Those resources include marketing, technology, routing and scheduling software, a contact center and a range of other essential operational systems that most independent business owners — and even franchisees in other systems — spend much of their time and money building and maintaining.

That support — and the fact that all of Kitchen Wise’s installations are performed by subcontractors — allows the brand’s franchisees to focus their efforts on growing their business. “Our franchisees are business owners, not technicians,” Schulte explained. “Their primary concern is implementing the systems and resources we provide and effectively scaling their operations.”

To help ensure that all of Kitchen Wise’s franchisees are successful, PSB provides dedicated franchise business coaches, like Roberts, who work closely with franchisees on every aspect of the business.

“Franchisee coaches are essential to our model,” Roberts said. “When a franchisee faces a challenge, they aren’t alone — they’ve got a partner. That’s one thing that really separates PSB from other franchisors. If a franchisee needs help with their P&L sheet, we’ll go through every detail; if they are having trouble hiring, we’ll help out with recruiting — whatever it takes to help them grow.”

Michaleen and Wayne Jenson are Kitchen Wise franchisees in Salt Lake City, who joined the system prior to the acquisition by Premium Service Brands.

“Premium Service Brands made the transition very easy.” said Michaleen. “It didn't take us long to realize that being part of PSB was going to be really, really fantastic. We are now a part of this whole system who has a track record of success with their other brands. We got plugged into their systems and now we have ways to track orders, we have business coaches and they're always coming up with new ways to help us improve, give ideas or tools.”

The combination of Kitchen Wise’s uniquely lucrative model and Premium Service Brand’s unparalleled support has made the franchise one of the most sought-out opportunities in the industry. With ten territories spoken for and a goal to add 20–25 new franchisees each year, Schulte says his team is preparing to leverage the brand’s strengths for widespread — but strategic — growth.

“This is a model that is effective everywhere, and demand for kitchen upgrades doesn’t fluctuate dramatically from market to market,” Schulte said. “Of course, we target areas with high concentrations of single-family homes, but those aren’t hard to find. The key is making sure we are equipped to provide the best possible support in a market before opening a new franchise location. Every franchisee is fully equipped to succeed in whichever market they’re in. We’re proud of our wide-ranging expertise that supports franchisees all over the US and Canada.”.”

To support the brand’s growth, Kitchen Wise is actively seeking qualified franchisees in markets across the country. Schulte says he has no doubt his team will find strong candidates everywhere they look.

“Kitchen Wise has quickly become one of our most popular franchise opportunities, and we’re already getting inquiries from talented entrepreneurs in markets where we don’t even have a presence yet. And those are exactly the people we’re looking for — business men and women who understand the value of this model and are eager to run and grow their own business without the challenges and risks of starting one on their own.”

The initial investment to open a Kitchen Wise ranges from $101,875 to $144,000. This includes a $60,000  franchise fee. The brand is actively seeking franchise owners in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, San Antonio, Boston and Raleigh. For more information on franchising with Kitchen Wise, please visit https://www.premiumservicebrands.com/kitchen-wise/.