It was in the Polish Alps that world travelers Jessica French and Damien Zouaoui stumbled upon their first beer spa. The experience was relaxing, as you would expect – soaking in a tub infused with hops and malt, surrounded by the scent of aromatherapy, a keg within arm’s reach. It also became the seed of their now-budding beer spa business, Oakwell Beer Spa.
Oakwell Beer Spa is an award-winning Denver day spa that offers a unique wellness experience where guests can relax with a beer or kombucha in hand while enjoying beer-inspired spa treatments. The innovative spa challenges the traditional spa model, which often caters to a female audience in higher income brackets. Husband and wife, Damien and Jessica, instead created an environment that welcomes everyone, regardless of gender or socioeconomic status. And they achieved this by combining the communal aspects of international spas with the cultural acceptance of private tubs and tasty beers in the United States.
In addition to mastering their unique beer-inspired spa services, Oakwell Beer Spa successfully expanded into retail by launching beer-infused bath and body products (Oakwell Cosmetics) online and at pop-up events like the Great American Beer Fest and Christmas Markets.
According to Damien and Jessica, all of this played a big role in helping them increase their retail sales by 40% year-over-year. Here’s how they did it.
Creating a holistic experience and diversifying revenue streams
Oakwell Beer Spa offers a holistic experience for spa-goers while also diversifying their income through a multihyphenate approach. Through market research and by listening to their guests’ feedback, Jessica and Damien provide a thoughtfully curated spa experience alongside retail items that align with what their guests actually want.
We believe in different revenue streams, and we’re also very intentional about curating the add-ons and the services that we offer. We’ve really made sure that we get feedback from the guests, and we’re very intentional about each thing that we offer.”
Jessica French → co-owner of Oakwell Beer Spa
Oakwell Beer Spa is ahead of the curve. According to the 2024 Square Future of Customers report, 80% of customers are interested in trying a new offering at a business known for something else, and 86% of customers would participate in specific perks, activities, or events offered by a business. For beauty consumers in particular, 63% of consumers reported purchasing a retail item from a beauty business this year.
Most notably, Oakwell Beer Spa uses Square Terminal and Square for Retail to sell their own line of cosmetics. Expanding into Oakwell Cosmetics has helped the spa reach a larger audience nationally and allows guests to take a bit of the spa’s benefits home with them. They also use Square Online to host their beautifully branded website, where guests can book appointments online and order Oakwell Cosmetics nationwide.
By opening and launching Oakwell Cosmetics, it’s allowed us to tap into a much broader audience. People that aren’t able to come to the spa, whether it’s for financial reasons or because they’re not located nearby.”
Jessica French → co-owner of Oakwell Beer Spa
Streamlining operations and improving the guest experience with an integrated technology partner
So is there any secret to their success? The owners will tell you that the staff and the way employees make guests feel when they visit are at the heart of Oakwell Beer Spa’s booming business. Damien and Jessica actively invest in the top employees, whether that’s funding their education to become a beer sommelier or deepening their knowledge on the natural healing benefits of ingredients like hops, which are incorporated in many of the wellness experiences offered.
Square is very user-friendly for our employees. A lot of them had used Square previously, so they had less to learn during the training process. The fact that employees could just ramp up really quickly with Square was helpful when getting started, and it was very intuitive.”
Damien Zouaoui → co-owner of Oakwell Beer Spa
Using Square for Retail, Oakwell Beer Spa is able to seamlessly manage online and offline retail sales in one place and get access to real-time insights that move their business forward, whether that be identifying which products have high sell-through or strong profit margins. Square for Retail shares alerts when stock gets low, provides automated inventory sell-through reports, and sends automatic purchase orders to vendors.
Using Square to run reports and being able to understand trends — that was the most important thing for us. Square helps us manage inventory and it’s integrated with the POS and we can put unit pricing in.”
Damien Zouaoui → co-owner of Oakwell Beer Spa
Expansion and inclusivity are on the horizon
As Oakwell Beer Spa looks to the future, they see expansion on the horizon. With plans to open a second location in Colorado and eventually franchise nationwide, they aim to spread the joy of their beer spa across the nation.
In their original Denver, Colorado, location, they focus on a local-first approach by partnering with local breweries and other beloved businesses to offer a beer and kombucha selection that guests love and that supports other local businesses. They plan to take a localized approach for every new market they enter, ensuring the Oakwell Spa experience remains authentic to the community they serve.
A toast to innovation and growth
Oakwell Beer Spa is more than just a spa. It’s a testament to the power of a unique idea, thoughtfully executed. As they continue to expand both their revenue streams and geographically, they stand as an example of how businesses can thrive by offering something truly special and why it’s important to understand your target audience. For multihyphenate pioneers looking to diversify their offerings, Oakwell Beer Spa’s story is a reminder that with the right vision, research, and technology partner, the sky’s the limit.
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