‘High-Energy’ Moncton Spa Rebrands and Expands
MONCTON – A popular Moncton spa has rebranded and will open a second location in the city this summer.
SoFlo and Co., formerly known as SoulFlower, is expanding to a space in one of the newly finished Tannery buildings. Kaitlyn Sutton is SoFlo’s owner and founder. She tells Huddle her plan was always to open multiple locations.
She first opened SoulFlower on Mountain Road five years ago and says she’s always thought the north end was the perfect spot for the business.
“The north end is always growing and there’s so many great things in the north end, so it was kind of like, where would that other spot be that really hits the mark for us? And when we came across the Tannery and we made some connections there, it just really felt right. It was like, this is the only other place we would want to expand in Moncton,” she says.
Sutton says Patrick Gagnon from Interior Concepts has designed the new space. It will feel very similar to the current SoFlo, with only a few small differences.
“Our vibe is going to be the same… our services are going to be the same, but we may have a little bit more to offer here,” she explained. “I’d like to offer registered massage therapy, for example, so we may expand our services a little bit in this location.”
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Sutton opened SoulFlower five years ago to try to fill “an area of the market I felt was missing.” She created what she describes as a “high-end” spa with high-end products that felt “more upbeat and not necessarily about serenity.”
Instead of a traditional spa that prizes solitude and serenity, Sutton says SoFlo is more “high-energy.”
“You can come in with your friends or partner or coworkers… it’s fun music, you can have a glass of wine but still get top-notch service,” she says. “I wanted people to feel like they were in Montreal or Toronto, in this really cool spot.”
Almost from the very beginning, SoulFlower carried the “SoFlo” nickname. Now, Sutton says she’s just refreshing the brand to be more in line with that.
Mot everything about the business will remain the same – same owner, same services, same staff – just the name will be different. Sutton does say, however, that she will likely double her staff, from 18 to about 40, by the time the new location is up and running,
She says doubling the size of her business is exciting but a little terrifying.
“I have moments where I’m really excited and moments where I think ‘what am I getting myself into?’” she says. “One thing I’ve always been nervous of and trying to be on top of is I never want my business to become stagnant.”
“I don’t know, I guess I just have that mindset where I just keep wanting more. So maybe there’s going to be a third and fourth location one day.”
Sutton says she plans to carry the SoFlo vibe and philosophy over to her new location. Although it will be designed to “offer a little more separation” between its treatment rooms and open-concept area, for people who want more “traditional relaxation.”
Sutton is aiming to have the new location open before the end of this summer but admits her timeline might be “a little optimistic.”
Either way, she says the expansion wouldn’t have been possible without her great staff and the support of the community.
“I want to genuinely thank all of our supporters from the bottom of my heart. I feel so blessed to have the team I do at SoFlo … and so thankful to all who have supported us,” she says.
Trevor Nichols is Huddle’s editor, based in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].