{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Smart Tan News","provider_url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com","title":"The Wellness Era: The industry has changed\u2014are you keeping up? - Smart Tan News","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"PxeNNSi3fU\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/the-wellness-era\/\">The Wellness Era: The industry has changed\u2014are you keeping up?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/the-wellness-era\/embed\/#?secret=PxeNNSi3fU\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;The Wellness Era: The industry has changed\u2014are you keeping up?&#8221; &#8212; Smart Tan News\" data-secret=\"PxeNNSi3fU\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/iStock-856952836.jpg","thumbnail_width":1184,"thumbnail_height":640,"description":"Revisit this Smart Tan Magazine cover feature from June 2025:  What\u2019s in a name?  Shakespeare\u2019s famous line from Romeo and Juliet suggests that a name is just a label \u2013 that it doesn\u2019t define the true nature or value of a person or thing. But in today\u2019s tanning industry, that idea doesn\u2019t quite hold up.  While services and equipment are the foundation of any salon, your business name and brand representation must accurately reflect the experience, offerings, and atmosphere you provide. For most salons today, the term \u201ctanning salon\u201d no longer presents the right image.  Sunbeds are still the core service in virtually every business in our industry, but clients use sunbeds for a wide range of reasons beyond cosmetic tanning, and the proliferation of hybrid tanning is making that all the more apparent. The truth is, even the most traditional tanning businesses are offering more than a way to get a tan.  More importantly, diversification is no longer an exception; it\u2019s the standard. Today, every major salon group and the vast majority of independent operators have integrated some level of wellness and spa services into their business models, with many of them having adapted their names and brand positioning accordingly.  So, in this article, we\u2019re exploring a range of businesses from across North America that have embraced The Wellness Era in their own distinctive ways. Their approaches, equipment choices, branding strategies, and service mixes may vary, but they all reflect the same reality: success in this industry today requires rethinking not just what you offer, but how you present it \u2013 and what you call it.  Beyond Tanning  The vast majority of salons \u2013 even those who now put \u2018wellness\u2019 first in their names \u2013 still rely on UV services to drive the majority of traffic and revenue. But they\u2019ve made a change for a reason. It\u2019s about expanding the perception of what the business is and who it\u2019s for.  \u201cWe still predominantly are a tanning salon; it\u2019s probably 70\/30 tanning vs. wellness. But that 30 does add up at the end of the day and has helped out tremendously,\u201d says Revive Wellness &amp; Tanning owner Angie Beaudry. \u201cFor me personally, it\u2019s about marketing. It just really allows my name to get out there and to potentially have somebody come in who wouldn\u2019t have if it was just a \u2018tanning salon.\u2019\u201d  The benefits of repositioning as a wellness-oriented business extend beyond the direct impact of adding new and diversified services. You don\u2019t have to like it, but it\u2019s time to accept the reality that people who don\u2019t tan typically don\u2019t want to go to a traditional \u201ctanning salon\u201d for spa and wellness services.  \u201cThe name change has made a positive impact. Now we get people coming in just for wellness services. The biggest challenge we still struggle with his shifting public perception because people think of tanning salon in traditional terms, so we\u2019ve worked hard to reintroduce ourselves,\u201d says Danielle Tapparo, Salon Director of Bottoms Up Tanning &amp; Wellness.  \u201cOf course, transitioning into a more wellness-focused space took time. We had to gently shift the public\u2019s perception of what a tanning salon can be. That meant a lot of education, consistency in our branding, and making sure our team shared that same passion. And now, we\u2019ve built this beautiful community where wellness and self-care are at the center of everything we do.\u201d  Perceptions of the tanning salon of old also persist when it comes to pricing. For decades, our industry has done such an amazing job at providing our customers great services for affordable prices that people have come to expect prices to be low. Providing unmatchable value is still the key to success today, but the goalposts have moved. Instead of offering the amazing deal of basic UV tanning for $19.99 a month, in most cases, we want to provide luxury tanning, wellness and spa services for $100 and up. Even while providing incredible value, that can be hard for a \u201ctanning salon\u201d to sell.  \u201cMy second location has only been open for and has been a tanning salon for 25 years. So, when I gutted that salon and brought in all my equipment and wellness, I had some apprehension toward my pricing structure. But once they experienced what they\u2019re getting for what they\u2019re paying, I\u2019m being thanked graciously. They\u2019re excited now and see the value in it when they see something of quality and getting the results they\u2019re paying for,\u201d Beaudry says.  When spa and wellness diversification first entered the tanning industry, it was mainly about offering more options to tanners who are already there to look and feel better about themselves. Now it\u2019s more about appealing to more people with little to no interest in tanning at all. Somewhere in the middle of that, there\u2019s a large segment of potential clients today who should not be overlooked. Back in the late \u201880s, 90s, and early 2000s, tanning was far more prevalent. All salon owners had to do was open their doors and make a killing selling $5 sessions to thousands of avid tanners. But, as times changed, those younger Baby Boomer, Gen-X and older Millennials tanning fanatics have also gotten older, and many lost their interest in tanning for cosmetic reasons. The reality is that Gen-Z and future generations to come will never tan at the rates that Gen-X and older Millennials did. So, what can we do? Offer them other options, while also recapturing the older demographics with other services and a more tactful approach.  \u201cWe started seeing tanners coming back who had been tanning clients back in the day and reached a stage in life where they didn\u2019t want to be a tanner, per se. But when we started offering these other services, they signed up for the package saying they plan to use the wellness, then next thing they know, they\u2019re back tanning because they remember how much they enjoyed it, and it took the stigma away a little bit,\u201d says Merv Byers, who owns Perfect Tan Wellness Centers with his wife, Lisa.  \u201cThe nature of the equipment for tanning has definitely changed. The psychology of people not wanting to be \u2018tanners\u2019 is surprising, but wellness is a whole positive thing, and you can reach the clientele you might have lost or people who might not have considered going to a tanning salon in the first place.\u201d  Then, of course, there\u2019s also the seasonality of the traditional tanning business to consider.  \u201cI was doing well with just tanning, but not the best. Slow season was brutal in the summer. Ever since adding more of the wellness services, I don\u2019t have slow season anymore, and revenue is about the same for the tanning side, if not higher. It\u2019s just made a huge difference,\u201d says Vanessa Uei, owner of AK Wellness &amp; Tanning. \u201cI\u2019ve noticed a much more diverse customer base, and it allows me to market with the more medical side of things, like I\u2019m partnered with the hospital, doctors, and surgeons, and they refer people to me.\u201d  You can imagine the impact of the shift toward wellness on a larger scale for larger tanning organizations who have achieved these results across dozens or hundreds of locations, but even for many of these smaller operations, the change has been enough to completely reshape the futures prospects of their businesses.  Perfect Tan recently opened a second locations, and Byers says he doubts that would be the case without embracing wellness.  \u201cWith the new location, from day one, they don\u2019t know us as a tanning salon. Tanning is a big part of our business, but they\u2019re going straight to the package that includes all of the different offerings, including tanning. We\u2019re still getting people coming in to tan for vacation, looking at it as a traditional salon, but most people are coming for the whole package. We\u2019re as optimistic as we\u2019ve been probably in 20 years,\u201d he says.  Having rapidly expanded their wellness offerings since Uei purchased and rebranded the business in 2019, AK Wellness ran out of room(s) and moved to a new location last year. From eight rooms and 1400 sq. ft. starting out in 2018, to 23 rooms and 3200 sq. ft. today, the growth of the business has been more than Uei ever could have hoped for.  \u201cIt\u2019s definitely exceeded expectations. I didn\u2019t know what to expect going into it. Prior to buying the tanning salon, I knew nothing about it. I dove right in, took every course I could, educated myself as much as I could, and tried diversifying and promoting. When I bought the salon, it had a bad reputation, so I had to rebuild the ground up and rebrand and change the name,\u201d she says.  Evolution in Action  If you\u2019ve been following this magazine, you\u2019ve seen countless examples of the industry\u2019s evolution toward wellness, from larger independent chains to one-location operations. Most have heard of and seen the progression of some of the larger, more notable independent chains in the U.S., like California Sun Wellness Spa, Glo Sun Spa, and Sundays Sun Spa. Organizations like these have helped pioneer the new direction of the industry and consistently proved that individual locations are highly capable of doing $500,000 to $1 million-plus in revenue per year with diversified services and a high-value membership-focused business model.  Then, there are some smaller independent operators often featured by Smart Tan who have followed a similar path and built brands with \u201cbig business\u201d images and quality despite only having one or a few locations. Some of these include Baja Beach Wellness, Carolina Tan &amp; Wellness, and Lectric Beach Wellness &amp; Sun Club. There are countless more examples of these types of businesses that have followed their own distinct paths to achieving new levels of success with a wellness-focused approach. Here are some of their stories:  Revive Wellness &amp; Tanning \u2013 Yakima, Washington: A 15-year veteran in the tanning industry and having seen countless salons inside and out as a traveling bed technician, Beaudry took little pieces of inspiration from all over to rebrand from Planet Sun Tanning to Revive Wellness &amp; Tanning  \u201cI learned the most being in other salons and large corporations. I just watched, listened, and learned. \u2018I like this service. I like what they\u2019ve done. This would work for me in my community. This is a bad idea. This wouldn\u2019t work for me,\u2019\u201d she says.  \u201cI started super young when I was 24. The company name used to be called Planet Sun Tanning. I rocked that until about 10 years ago. I went to a trade show, and it made me think that I wanted to diversify and reach a different market.\u201d  Having recently expanded to two locations, Revive now offers LED Full Body Red Light Therapy, LightStim LED Red Light Photofacial, Cocoon Sauna Pod, CryoLounge+, and Hydromassage in addition to spray tanning and UV, including a variety of hybrid tanning options.  When it was time for a change, Beaudry was careful to choose a name that would present the perfect image. As she noted earlier in this article, tanning remains her main profit driver, but the addition of wellness services while fully embracing the new brand identity has revolutionized the business.  \u201cI put a lot of effort and thought into the word Revive. I thought I could have a lot of taglines and marketing materials related to that, and it\u2019s all encompassing,\u201d she says. \u201cI rebranded the whole thing. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only did the name change, but so did my way of doing business. I redid the floor model and pricing structure and rethought everything to make it more modern and adaptable.\u201d  Perfect Tan Wellness Centers \u2013 Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada: In business since 1994 and operated by Lisa Byers and her husband, Merv, Perfect Tan is now in the midst of its third phase of evolution. In 2019, they went all in on wellness services and changed to Perfect Tan Luxury Tanning &amp; Wellness. Now, they\u2019re in the process of becoming Perfect Tan Wellness Centers.  \u201cWe\u2019ve gone away from saying \u2018tanning and wellness\u2019 because our belief is that tanning is part of wellness, so rather than separating it, it\u2019s all in one,\u201d Merv says. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t opened a new location since the beginning, but we just opened one last year, and with the whole new concept, it\u2019s amazing how quickly you can grow a business having more than just tanning.\u201d  Perfect Tan currently features a variety of traditional tanning and hybrid tanning options, in addition to spray tanning, red light therapy, Wellsystem Wave hands-free massage, Balancer Pro Lymphatic Massage, Salt Therapy Sauna, steam sauna pod, and Celluma light therapy.  AK Wellness &amp; Tanning \u2013 Kenai, Alaska: At AK Wellness and Tanning, Wellness comes first \u2013 literally.  \u201cThe reason I put wellness first instead of tanning is the area I\u2019m in. It\u2019s a huge medical hub; there are medical buildings everywhere. Putting wellness first piques a lot of people\u2019s interest. It gives me a chance to educate them on the tanning side also,\u201d Uei.  Unable to tan because of an autoimmune disorder and also dealing with injuries following military service, red light therapy led Uei to the tanning industry. After benefiting from the service personally, she added red light to an existing salon she purchased in 2018 and just never stopped growing and diversifying from there.  She moved last year to grow from eight rooms to 23, and the location now features red light therapy, Cocoon Wellness Pod, Cocoon Aqua Pod, FIT Bodywrap, compression therapy, as well as hybrid and traditional tanning.  Serenity Tanning &amp; Wellness \u2013 Brockvile, Ontario, Canada: Michael Schofield, owner of Serenity Tanning &amp; Wellness, is an example of the potential for success even on a smaller scale. He and his wife purchased a small salon named Legends Tanning in 2023 with only five rooms. The simple addition of just a Cocoon Fitness Pod alongside a name change has been enough to amplify the trajectory of the business beyond his initial expectations.  \u201cIt\u2019s caused a big growth for us. We\u2019re a very small salon in a very small town. We\u2019ve had quite a bit of growth in the last few months to where we\u2019re going to get a bigger location. We changed our name, and wellness is a big part of the way we want to take it,\u201d he says.  \u201cThe wellness side of tanning, the mental impact, the vitamin D, we can\u2019t talk about any of that, so purchasing the Cocoon has helped people catch on and come in and try both. This will be our third summer. The first summer was scary, of course. It\u2019s not a summertime business, but it\u2019s looking like it\u2019s turning around. People are coming in just for the wellness side, getting that vitamin D, and feeling good about it.\u201d  Now the Schofields are looking to find a new location where they can expand their wellness offerings and continue to build upon the feel-good atmosphere and brand they\u2019ve created in their small town.  Bottoms Up Tanning &amp; Wellness \u2013 Vacaville, California: From \u201cTanning\u201d to \u201cTanning &amp; Spa\u201d to \u201cTanning &amp; Wellness, this Northern California salon finally found the right name that portrays not just what they offer, but who their clients are.  \u201cThe name change stems from our clientele. The people who come in here are definitely going to the gym, they play sports, and they live healthy lifestyles, so we went with \u2018Tanning &amp; Wellness\u2019 because it gives us the best of both worlds. They love to tan and spray tan and love their wellness, too,\u201d Tapparo says.  \u201cWe\u2019ve evolved from a traditional tanning salon into a full-on wellness sanctuary, and our mission is all about providing a refreshing pause in the middle of people\u2019s busy lives. Yes, we offer UV and spray tanning, but we also have amazing wellness services like cryotherapy, red light therapy, red light sauna, FIT Body Wraps, My Lipo, and the Wellness Pod, all aimed at promoting real results and real relaxation.\u201d  After purchasing an existing, more traditional tanning salon, owner Kristina Gardner went to work creating a business that would not just be financially successful but reflect her own values and what she sought to offer her community.  \u201cWe just celebrated our 10-year anniversary, and looking back, it\u2019s amazing to see how far we\u2019ve come. The business was actually purchased spontaneously by our owner, and it\u2019s turned out to be the best decision. She\u2019s always been deeply passionate about self-care, wellness, and helping people look and feel their absolute best. From the beginning, her dream was to create a space where people could not only glow on the outside but also feel cared for, supported, and uplifted from the inside out,\u201d Tapparo says.  At Bottom\u2019s Up, \u201cwellness\u201d extends beyond physical benefits to include a positive state of mind, something they aim to foster through a relaxing, compassionate environment.  \u201cIt\u2019s about the experience, the way a client feels when they walk in and, more importantly, how they feel when they walk out. We prioritize kindness, authenticity, and customer care above all else. We want every person who comes through our doors to feel seen, supported, and better than when they arrived,\u201d Tapparo says. \u201cWhat we have learned is that clients are looking for more than just aesthetic treatments; they want to feel balanced and cared for, and that\u2019s what we have created.\u201d  Where Versatility Meets Value  Curating a brand that properly reflects your offerings and attracts a broader audience is crucial to maximizing success in the tanning industry\u2019s Wellness Era. But, obviously, none of that comes into play unless you have the right service options to support the transformation.  From looking at just these few examples, you\u2019ll notice some trends in services and equipment. Hybrid tanning, incorporating UV and red light, is clearly the future for tanning itself and perfectly connects the dots between tanning and wellness.  On the wellness side, red light therapy is most commonly the top non-UV service in salons today. That\u2019s convenient and probably not coincidental because it perfectly complements traditional tanning services. Tanning is sun. Red light is sun. As Smart Tan has said for years, \u201cWe are Sunshine.\u201d  In the last year or so, halotherapy saunas, some of which also incorporate red light, have emerged as one of the most popular up-and-comers in the industry, offering a multi-purpose wellness solution in one compact, affordable unit.  It seems like nearly every salon started their wellness journey with one of the variations of the Wellness Cocoon, and that remains a practical and affordable option as an added benefit to all-access memberships. The same can certainly be said of the FIT Bodywrap. One of the industry\u2019s earliest wellness modalities continues to be a staple in salons around the U.S., providing high ROI for a low up-front investment.  Along with service selection, the other key factors in building the foundation of an optimal tanning and wellness business are pricing and membership structure. The goal is to provide services that justify higher prices and create a brand and environment that brings in customers who are willing to pay more. But you still need to find the sweet spot. When competing in the broader wellness sector, our industry\u2019s greatest advantages are our sizable customer bases, along with being mostly sustained by tanning revenue alone, and thus able to offer a variety of services at a lower price than any other spa or wellness business. Your ultimate goal with membership is to balance demand and profit margins. Make sure you\u2019re providing unbeatable value, but don\u2019t sell yourself short, either. It\u2019s certainly a good thing to be busy, but if you\u2019re almost too busy, it\u2019s a good sign that it\u2019s time for a price increase.  At Perfect Tan, members still get access to all their equipment for $89 per month, but some services are limited to one or two sessions for week, and they can now upgrade to unlimited access for $129.  \u201c$89 and $129 memberships are basically all we sell now. You can get tanning for $50 a month for not all of our tanning beds, but probably 75 percent of people are on the wellness memberships that include everything. That\u2019s what has driven revenue since 2019. The business has really taken off since then, and that\u2019s after being in business for 25 years, just kind of sailing along hoping for some growth,\u201d Byers say.  \u201cThe $129 membership is fairly new. We have so many people on the $89 one, and that\u2019s why we came up with the $129. Most are still on the $89 level, but we\u2019re slowly moving people up, and they can see the value in the $129.\u201d  In some cases, higher-end services like SmartSun Therapy or cryotherapy are valuable enough to warrant separate pricing or limited access, even for \u201call-access\u201d memberships. For example, while the cost of adding SmartSun Therapy to your salon is often less than purchasing a new premium tanning unit, its value far exceeds that of a standard service. Medical-grade red light therapy is commonly sold by chiropractors, dermatologists, and other providers in limited-session packages that range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Including a service of that caliber in an unlimited membership could significantly undervalue it, so many salons choose to price it separately or create tiered access within their membership models.  At Bottom\u2019s Up, higher-end options like cryotherapy and My-Lipo, along with their high cost-of-living location, justify significantly higher all-access pricing. There, a one-service membership for tanning or any one wellness service is $115.\u00a0\u201cWellness Pass\u201d membership that excludes tanning and limits cryotherapy sessions is $185. \u201cSalon Pass\u201d membership is $225 for unlimited tanning and wellness access, with the exception of a limit on cryotherapy sessions, and it\u2019s an additional $200 to unlock unlimited cryotherapy as an add-on to \u201cSalon Pass\u201d membership.  Define Your Future  The Wellness Era isn\u2019t a trend but a reflection of how far the tanning industry has come and where it's headed. Today\u2019s most successful salons are those that recognize this shift and embrace the opportunity to evolve, not just in services and pricing, but in brand, mindset, and message.  Because in today\u2019s industry, it\u2019s not just about what you offer. It\u2019s about how you present it, who you reach, and how you make people feel when they walk through your door. Tanning is still the foundation, but wellness is the future, and the door is wide open for those ready to step into it.  &nbsp;"}