The VIP soft play experience brand has partnered with Franchise My Business to expand into Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland
Children’s franchises offer an excellent business opportunity. Parents prioritise their kids over almost everything else, meaning this type of franchise is relatively recession-proof. Soft play is one of the most popular activities for parents with young children, who have boundless energy. On a cold, wet afternoon, soft play centres are often packed with demand exceeding supply.
A new type of soft play is launching as a franchise in January 2022. The Kids Corner is known as a VIP soft play experience. Founded by husband and wife team, Sunny and Remen Bains, the idea was born out of frustration in finding a high-quality soft play for their own children at parties and functions.
“For our kids’ birthdays, we would reluctantly book bouncy castles for parties but were always a bit disappointed at how worn out they would look,” says Remen. “We have also tried to book out soft play centres, even though our boys absolutely loved it there, the huge centres would give us anxiety; the kids getting lost, not being able to find them and the overall cleanliness.”
After months and months of research, planning and testing different products, The Kids Corner was launched with the first booking in January 2019. “We combined giving what the kids really want, the ability to have fun and play freely in an exclusive play area, with peace of mind for mum and dad,” says Sunny. “It was from that moment we knew we just had to create a dedicated soft play area that could be set up at venues and the homes of our mini VIPs.”
The main points of difference that The Kids Corner provides are the high quality and cleanliness of the products. “Our clients love the fact we bring the experience of going to a soft play centre to their home or venue of choice, allowing our clients and their guests to have exclusive use of the play area,” adds Sunny. “We also find that being a family-owned business with two young boys of our own really helps as we understand what parents need and are always one step ahead.”
Although still a new business, the success of the concept has created a huge following with many celebrity clients including Rochelle and Marvin Humes, Abbey Clancy, Gemma Atkinson, Aston Merrygold, Mylene Class, Kimberley Walsh and Ashley Banjo.
But the success of The Kids Corner has not been overnight as Remen explains: “For anyone that has started a new business idea, develop a product or concept you would know that it can take months if not years. We started working on our concept in 2018, researching the market, reading articles, and most importantly speaking to parents and listening to what they wanted. In fact, we are always developing our services in the background and pride ourselves that we do this to give our clients the highest standards in goods and service.”
Now, the couple is offering the chance for others to launch their very own The Kids Corner business, with the announcement that they have partnered with franchise and marketing specialist Franchise My Business.
“As our business grows, we had to think about growing our team,” adds Remen. “It was vital for us that the overall quality was maintained, each set up was finished to the same standard, the service that we give to our clients was maintained and we were able to accommodate our client request so introducing a franchise model seemed to the best fit for our growing business. We are delighted to be working with Franchise My Business to develop a franchise package that allows potential franchisees to build a business whether this is a full-time business or something that they wish to do part-time, just like how we started.”
At present, The Kids Corner covers most of England and Wales, with plans for expansion into Scotland, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. The demand for the products has been so high that there is already interest from potential franchisees abroad.
“This is an ideal franchise for a wide range of people, especially parents who are looking for flexibility and a good work-life balance,” explains James Cotton, franchise development director of Franchise My Business. “Other benefits include low operating costs and high margins, full training and support, equipment is provided, and PR and marketing support is also available. We are delighted to be offering The Kids Corner franchise and advise anyone who is interested to contact us early to secure their ideal territory.”
The Kids Corner is attracting interested franchisees from a wide range of backgrounds due to the high level of training that is offered and the detailed systems and operational setup. Neither Remen nor Sunny had a background in events, entertainment or the children’s industry so had to build new networks from scratch.
“The advantage of joining The Kids Corner as a franchisee is that there is already an established service that has proved exceptionally popular,” adds James Cotton. “Thanks to Remen and Sunny’s hard work and critical eye for detail, they have created a desirable brand and established a viable business system, ideal for franchising.”
