December 7, 2023

Client Spotlight – Clean Franchise Brands

We had the outstanding opportunity to interview Kevin DuBois. Clean Franchise Brands is an environmentally friendly dry cleaning and laundry multi–brand franchising company. Their mission to define “The Future of Dry Cleaning^®” began in 2000 and has been growing ever since!

SMB Franchise Advisors: In a few sentences, can you describe what your brand does and what your company is all about?

Clean Franchise Brands logo which includes Lapels, Martinizing, Dry Cleaning Station, 1 800 Dry Clean and Pressed4Time

Kevin DuBois, Clean Franchise Brands: We are the largest Franchisor of Dry Cleaning & Laundry stores. We are all about creating a recession-resistant business that operates in a 100% environmentally non-toxic manner in an industry that has historically been known for its damage to the Earth.

SMB: Why did you choose to franchise your business?

Kevin: Our Hub & Spokes business model is a wonderful way to build a franchise system. With prior experience in franchising, I thought we could offer support through marketing and scale that had not been achieved in this industry.

SMB: Why did you choose to partner with SMB Franchise Advisors?

Kevin: I initially partnered with SMB when we were experiencing significant growth with a small team, and we wanted to have a strategic partner that had been through this growth before and could offer insight from outside the organization to best prepare for growth. In the years since, we have utilized SMB in a variety of projects ranging from private equity transactions, acquisitions, and support on new vendor relations.

SMB: How many units did you have before SMB, and how have you grown following the partnership? Can you provide some details about your brand’s growth and development?

Kevin: We had about 25 units when we first started working with SMB. Today we have over 500 Franchise locations in 7 countries and another 1800 licensees in 41 countries.

SMB: What advice do you have for people looking to franchise?

Kevin: Understand that the franchise industry is 100% a different business than whatever industry your business is currently in. I’d also highlight how important the first couple of franchise owners are. They will be critical to building a brand and typically are very different types of franchisees than what you will have later in the growth.

The Clean Franchise Brands team stands in front of one of their multi-brand franchising companies, Martinizing.

SMB: Is there anything else you’d like for us to share about you and/or your brand?

Kevin: Looking ahead, we are focused on growth that is three-pronged: Organic growth with existing franchisees opening more units, acquisitions of brands that are either in our space or complement our space nicely, and conversions with business owners looking for the advertising and operations support our brand offers.