Top 6 Baby Franchises in the UK

Becky Martin, writer

Published at 18/03/2019, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 8 min

Top 6 Baby Franchises in the UK — Photo © baby-franchise.jpg

Parent and baby classes are becoming increasingly popular and the activities are more diverse than ever before. If you’ve decided that now’s the time to follow your dream of being your own boss, why not consider one of these baby franchises?

From ‘baby massage’ to ‘toddler yoga’, there are classes to suit every young child, and most boast a range of benefits for babies and infants. Many modern parents are willing to pay to educate and stimulate their children, and the wide variety of classes out there reflect this. This means that there is a good opportunity for profitability among investors who would like to cash in on this growing industry.

To understand how much of an attractive opportunity starting a baby business is, we can consider the following statistics…The UK market for formal childcare is thought to value around £5.5 billion and the baby care products market is worth approximately £21.2 million (considerably higher than the previous year’s figure of £17.8 million). If you’re thinking about launching a business in the industry, you’d be interested to know our top baby franchise opportunites in the UK at the moment.

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Reasons why starting a baby franchise is a great idea

Rewarding. Childcare businesses are beneficial for both parent and baby. There has been a significant amount of research into the benefits of baby development classes. Although there are different schools of thought when it comes to the effectiveness of these classes, most people agree that parents and babies can benefit from: the chance to socialise, improved parent-child interactions and an enhanced vocabulary.
In demand services. With more and more people understanding the benefits of baby development classes, the baby franchise sector is looking up. According to the Office for National Statistics, there are nearly four million children under the age of four in the UK. This represents a massive target market for franchises specialising in infant development classes.

Top 6 baby franchises in the UK

Let’s look at some of the top six baby franchise opportunities currently available in the UK.

1. Water Babies

Founded in 2002, Water Babies currently has over 50 franchisees in the UK, teaching over 50,000 children in around 560 pools each week. Water Babies has already established franchises across New Zealand, the Netherlands, China and Canada, but plans to open more in Germany and the Middle East. In the UK alone, the brand sells over 55,000 swimming accessories and captures over 100,000 underwater photos of its swimmers every year.

Becoming a Water Babies franchisee: The success of Water Babies is partly down to the rigorous franchisee recruitment programme that they have put in place. The six-step process ensures that only the best candidates are accepted to take on the lengthy and intensive training course. This is where the fun begins – a whole month is dedicated to learning the Water Babies teaching techniques. The course is made up of 300 hours of training, which gives successful candidates a nationally recognised diploma in baby swimming. To find out more about the kids franchise opportunity, click here.
How much you need to invest: If you want the perks of running your own business with unrivalled support from a world-famous brand, this could be the franchise for you. With a total payment of £25,000, franchisees who are able to maintain the high standards of Water Babies are bound to see a good return on investment.
What you get for your investment: The support that Water Babies provides to franchisees has been recognised as exemplary in the world of franchising. A team of 28 support staff are available to help a network of over 50 franchisees.

2. Popcat’s Music Time

This franchise runs a variety of music and movement classes for pre-school children and the elderly. If you joined this franchise, you would primarily be running musical development classes for babies, young children and their parents, but the business also uses musical therapy to offer sessions for older generations in care homes and sheltered accommodation.

Becoming a Popcat’s Music Time franchisee: You will need to have experience in the education sector as well as an outgoing and confident personality – and a great singing voice, of course! If you like what you’ve heard and would like to get involved, head to the franchise’s profile page to find out more.
How much you need to invest: For the relatively small investment of £6,800, you could open your very own Popcat’s Music Time franchise.
What you get for your investment: When you become a franchisee, the business will make sure that you have all the tools to make your franchise a success. This includes a franchisee handbook and training in social media marketing.

£5.5 billion is the value of the UK formal childcare market

3. Tatty Bumpkin

This franchise was created by a mum and yoga teacher in 2014. The aim was to offer yoga-inspired classes to babies and children to improve their flexibility and creativity. Tatty Bumpkin is a forward-thinking, ethical company that offers its franchisees the chance to work part-time around other commitments.

Becoming a Tatty Bumpkin franchisee: Prospective franchisees should be hard-working, ambitious, sociable, self-motivated and possess a strong desire to have fun. However, no industry experience is needed to become a Tatty Bumpkin franchisee, as training will be provided both in business strategies and in multi-sensory teaching for babies and children. Click here to find out more.
How much you need to invest: This low-cost baby franchise asks for £10,000 to get your business off the ground.
What you get for your investment: You’ll receive ongoing support and access to further educational courses. Working at this baby franchise also allows franchisees to give something back to the community, and it recently won a Social Enterprise award for helping mums get back to work. So, if you’re looking for a flexible business opportunity to fit in with family life, Tatty Bumpkin could be just what you’ve been looking for.

Buying a Tatty Bumpkin franchise has been the best career decision of my life. It’s hard work but I can see the financial benefits, and hopefully these will continue to grow. The people at head office are some of the nicest people I have met and I feel very lucky to be part of this exciting business. They really do offer lots of advice and support and without their input I would certainly have struggled to get my business my business off the ground. – Tatty Bumpkin franchisee

4. Baby Ultrasound Clinic

As one of the fastest growing private pregnancy ultrasound providers in the UK, this is an exciting franchise opportunity for entrepreneurs who want to start a baby franchise.

Becoming a Baby Ultrasound Clinic franchisee: Click here to find out more about the opportunity.
How much you need to invest: Baby Ultrasound Clinic asks for a minimum investment of £7,000 and a total investment of £15,000.
What you get for your investment: In return, you’ll take part in an initial training programme to get to grips with the business processes, have access to an operations manual, clinic, marketing and operational support and more.

5. Puddle Ducks

Puddle Ducks is a kids franchise that aims to teach children how to swim confidently and beautifully. The brand says that its franchisees understand the value of hard work and how it results in a lucrative business, not to mention how they have the flexibility to choose their own hours. Puddle Ducks refers to this as ‘The Puddle Ducks Difference’.

Becoming a Puddle Ducks franchisee: It’s important that potential franchisees are passionate about the brand and are dedicated to making their business a success. Click here to find out more.
How much you need to invest: The baby franchise asks for a minimum investment of £24,000.
What you get for your investment: You will be supported in business operations, marketing, IT support, retail, pool management and much more.

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6. Angela’s Swim School

This swim school provides lessons for people of all ages and walks of life. Angela Wilson, an international and Commonwealth swimmer, founded the business in 2002 with the objective of launching a swim school that offers a variety of classes to suit every swimmer. In 2012, the school even trained four students who went on to participate in the Olympic trials.

Becoming an Angela’s Swim School franchisee: Angela’s Swim School is a BFA-accredited brand and is enthusiastic to help entrepreneurs with limited experience succeed under its name. To find out more, click here.
How much you need to invest: A minimum investment of £22,000 and a total investment of £50,000 is required.
What you get for your investment: Franchisees will be granted an exclusive territory, a secured pool contract and a five-year renewable licence with the business. The school provides specialised training so franchisees can become professional swimming instructors with knowledge of the school’s teaching techniques. In addition to this, franchisees will gain support with key areas of the business such as administration and customer ordering systems, compliance and marketing.

Start a baby franchise

It’s safe to say that there are plenty of lucrative business opportunities in helping parents get equipped and supported through the early years of their child’s life. Lots of baby franchises are offering entrepreneurs the chance to use their tried and tested business model. Simply click on the client pages of any of the six mentioned above to find out more. By clicking here, you’ll be redirected to our full list of baby franchise opportunites, where any new ones who join our network will be added