Alchemy 43 is on the move. 

The noninvasive spa that focuses on injectables, comparable to Botox and fillers, is expanding its retail fleet to 26 locations by the tip of 2023, thanks to a recent series B funding round. Nicci Levy, Alchemy 43’s founder and chief executive officer, credits the brand’s growth to plenty of aspects, including social media, a growing wellness industry, a reduced stigma around injectables, “Zoom face” and consumers’ desire to look good because the world reopens. 

“It’s a renewed sense of living your best life and caring for yourself, and type of, not taking things with no consideration, not taking life with no consideration,” Levy told WWD exclusively. “There’s type of, like, a revival feeling within the air. 

“And it’s not only us, but your entire [wellness] category is growing,” she continued. “That’s a function of newer people coming to market and other people coming out of their homes after being cooped up for a few years and saying, ‘I would like to live my best life.’ ‘I would like to take that trip I haven’t taken.’ Or, ‘Buy those shoes I’ve been wanting to purchase;’ or, ‘Get that Botox I’ve been wanting to try.’” 

There are other aspects, too, comparable to people looking at themselves over Zoom all day (and noticing imperfections) and social media, which results in much more comparisons amongst peers. But Levy said Botox and fillers can address these issues. And since society is more accepting of injectables than it was in say 2002 — when the FDA approved Botox as a cosmetic tool — the industry is ripe for growth. 

“Botox and fillers have undergone this evolution,” the Los Angeles-based entrepreneur contends. “The unique individuals who used it were older women who were concerned with aging. And now, because we see so many individuals doing it preventatively, there’s not the identical stigma that individuals associate it with [in the past.] People now understand it’s just a part of a maintenance ritual. It’s a wellness treatment, quite than a medical treatment or something that’s aligned with cosmetic surgery. These are light, very easy, in-and-out treatments that all of us do to maintain ourselves. So I believe that’s why they’re unafraid, or unashamed to place it on social media. And we’re seeing numerous male users coming to the category. We see numerous people starting younger to do preventative stuff, to essentially get in front of it.”

In response to a June report from market research firm The NPD Group, 44 percent of U.S.-based consumers are placing more of an emphasis on health and wellness. The evidence shows up in increased sales of things like activewear, sporting goods, performance footwear and wellness-related beauty and lifestyle items. 

“Consumers are broadening their definitions of wellness because the pandemic increased our give attention to our inner and mental health, Dirk Sorenson, sports industry analyst at NPD, wrote within the report. “As we remerge from the pandemic, there are durable habits that customers have learned to embrace, from getting outside, to investing in products that bring us joy.” 

Levy, who used to sell Botox and other injectables to other spas in Beverly Hills, opened Alchemy in L.A. in May 2016. The concept was to open a spa that specialized in injectables, quite than have facilities where injectables were just one in all many things on a cluttered menu of options. 

“We consider ourselves, type of, the anti-med spa,” said Levy, referring to a spot that is a component medical center and part day spa. “The entire concept [for Alchemy] was pioneered out of the concept that there could possibly be more of a specialty focus throughout the noninvasive category. Our client could feel really secure that it is a place where our providers do that all day; they concentrate on injectables. Essentially, where med spas are known for offering a ton of various services in additional of a spa setting, they often offer nonmedical services as well. We selected to approach it from a brilliant, hyper specialization perspective: our business and our brand relies on injectables.” 

Today, there are 4 Alchemy locations, three in L.A. and one in Recent York City. The firm also recently closed its series B funding round. Levy wouldn’t disclose the investment amounts, but did say Alchemy 43 (the name is a mix of the word alchemy and the 43 muscles in a single’s face) is in expansion mode. There are plans to open six spas by the tip of the yr, including locations on Recent York’s Upper East Side, Houston, Dallas and the Corona Del Mar neighborhood of Newport Beach, California. In 2023, 16 more locations are scheduled to open, adding as much as 26 locations by the tip of 2023.

“Texas is a big focus of ours. So are other areas of Southern California, Orange County. One other big focus of ours is Florida. You’ll see us in Florida in 2023,” Levy said. “As a brand, we skew somewhat bit younger than the everyday Botox customer that [competitors] see. We’re in major metro areas and we’re type of this young, hip concept that people who find themselves younger and just stepping into these treatments for the primary time are really drawn to and really drawn to. So we are inclined to balance the information that we get — when it comes to where the largest markets are and the largest market opportunities — with where is our customer? We balance those things to take into consideration where the largest opportunities are. 

“A matter numerous us are asking ourselves is, is that this [growth in injectables] finite? Is that this going to finish at a certain point?” she continued. “We have now not seen that. All signs point to [injectables] continuing to grow. It’s continuing to evolve and our business just keeps convalescing. I don’t think that is something that’s short-lived. I believe individuals are trying these items and realizing how great they work for them they usually’re sticking with it. Cosmetic Botox is the number-one aesthetic noninvasive treatment in the marketplace and stays our hottest service. I jokingly call it the gateway drug. It’s where numerous people start and that has not modified.”