This article is part of “Where Are They Now?”—an ongoing series in which Franchise Times reporters Megan Glenn and Emilee Wentland catch up with emerging brands.
The founders of Little Kitchen Academy firmly believe every child should have a healthy relationship with food and understand the value of nutrition.
“It’s an epidemic. If you look at the childhood obesity rates, the illness, the health of our kids and teens—they’re not prepared for the world we’ve created,” said CEO Brian Curin, who co-founded the brand with his wife Felicity in 2019.
About 30 percent of Little Kitchen Academy’s students are differently abled in some way, whether it’s a child on the autism spectrum or a physical disability, he said.
“The beautiful part about the environment is that we say we can accommodate almost anything,” Curin said. “We’ve started seeing the impact, but the one thing we realized is that it wasn’t affordable for every child.”
The franchise partnered with NBA player Russell Westbrook, a point guard on the Denver Nuggets. Westbrook created his Why Not? foundation in 2012 to forge pathways for underserved communities for education, jobs and mental health care.
Little Kitchen Academy is a Montessori-inspired cooking class program for children aged 3-18. The first studio opened in Vancouver, Canada, and the Curins launched the brand in the United States in 2021 in Los Angeles.
Through this partnership, dubbed the Changing Lives from Scratch fund, Little Kitchen Academy and Westbrook aim to bring cooking classes to 10,000 kids whose families couldn’t otherwise afford it. The first $100,000 toward the fund will be matched by donors.
Westbrook is on the brand’s advisory board and is invested in the franchise.
Two years ago, when Franchise Times last reported on the franchise, Little Kitchen Academy had two corporate locations and some franchised units on the way. Now, the brand has 14 studios, 10 of which are franchised.
Launching a year before a worldwide pandemic has hindered Little Kitchen’s growth, but Curin said he’s learned a lot from the challenge.
The brand introduced a shorter class called “First Taste” for two-year-old kids and their caregivers. “It just gives them a taste of Little Kitchen Academy,” Curin said.
On the other end of the age spectrum, the brand works with senior centers and communities. “They get to come in, they get to cook healthier recipes, smaller portions—but they’re socially engaged,” Curin said.
More than 100,000 students have visited the Little Kitchen Academy since its inception, Curin said.
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Little Kitchen Academy boasts other famous advisers, Cat Cora, of “Iron Chef” fame, and Shep Gordon, whose life story is featured in “Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon.”
The initial investment ranges from $409,250 to $746,788, including a $65,000 franchise fee. This is up from 2022, Curin noted, due to higher costs across the board. Its Denver franchised location grossed $277,000 in 2023, according to the company’s Item 19.
The academy is building more corporate locations in the next three years, Curin said, plus some franchised units in Mumbai, India, and Mexico City.