This article is part of “Where Are They Now?”—an ongoing series in which Franchise Times managing editor Emilee Wentland and reporter Alyssa Huglen catch up with emerging brands.
Art studio concept Creatif is expanding its hybrid art-technology services by including more elements of STEAM—science, technology, engineering, art and math.
Art and technology have always been at the crux of Creatif’s model since CEO Jaya Aiyar founded the franchise in 2018.
“It wasn’t a ‘Eureka!’ moment for me … combining art and tech seemed to be a great progression from my educational background and my personal interest,” she said.
Jaya Aiyar
The California-based brand opened its first franchised studio in South Carolina in 2022, months before Franchise Times last spoke with Aiyar. Creatif doubled its unit count since then, with a total of four locations nationwide and another slated to open in California next year.
Aiyar said the company is talking with prospective franchisees on an international scale.
“Art studios and technology seem to be two disconnected worlds. It feels like you have to be creative or you can be techy, but you cannot combine both worlds,” she said. “But I come from a place where I am able to do both, and I felt like it was required for us.”
In the last two years, Creatif incorporated more STEAM elements into its classes, summer camps and parties. Along with existing painting and art offerings, the studios now provide Lego brick-building parties, jewelry-making and clay projects.
“I think it makes our business model more robust,” she said. “I felt like the whole language of STEM is transitioning into STEAM with the inclusion of art, and because we already do art, it allows us to expand into other areas of STEM.”
Kids attending a Creatif camp can make kaleidoscopes, tapping into their creative sides while learning about internal reflection, and create pulleys, in which kids learn the mechanics of how pulleys function while making them.
These hybrid offerings have been well-received and led to connections with local school districts, Aiyar said. Creatif offers after-school programs through its corporate location and franchisees are introducing this service to schools within their respective territories.
Sensory parties are also in development for next year, creating sensory learning experiences for younger visitors.
“We’re really excited about this whole movement into STEAM from art, and we’re launching a lot of new programs and projects next year,” Aiyar said. “I already see parents being very excited when we tell them that we have new offerings coming up, and I want to see all of them being incorporated at our franchise locations.”
Creatif expanded its franchising options to help accelerate growth.
Some prospects cited access to funds as a challenge hindering them from ownership, Aiyar said, so Creatif shifted its model to offer three franchising options at different price ranges.
According to the company’s franchise disclosure document, the investment range for a two-room studio is $205,446 to $342,538; all existing studios have this build out. A one-room studio’s investment range is $131,631 to $196,006, and the range for an “on-the-move” mobile business is between $39,055 and $54,475.
Aiyar and her team plan to reach out to these prospects about the new model in hopes of them reconsidering the brand.
“I think with our new offerings, it makes it a very attractive proposition for a lot people to be able to get into this,” Aiyar said. “I feel like this is a business that is needed no matter what community we go into. We’ve had such positive feedback that it just makes me very confident that we are going to be successful in every location that we open.”