For our Top CEOs in Franchising feature in the November/December issue, we identified notable leaders who are guiding their brands through periods of growth, change and, of course, challenges. Check out the complete lineup.
Head to Toe CEO Meg Roberts leads a portfolio of beauty brands owned by The Riverside Company.
Meg Roberts has great expectations for herself, her teams and for the three franchises under her purview as CEO of Head to Toe Brands.
Roberts moved into the chief executive role of Head to Toe in 2024 after private equity firm The Riverside Company acquired The Lash Lounge, where she was CEO, and added it to a beauty- and wellness-focused portfolio alongside salon brand Bishops and Frenchies Modern Nail Care.
Head to Toe is close to acquiring a fourth concept that will add a new beauty category to its lineup.
There’s been a whirlwind of activity as Roberts guides numerous changes at each brand. While challenging, Roberts said she aims to create an environment of autonomy for her leaders as the entire team works through growth initiatives.
“I take a lot of pride in considering myself a good leader, a leader who listens and is empathetic, a leader who makes real, sincere connections with my team and, very importantly, with the franchisees that depend on me,” Roberts said. “I’m very clear about my expectations of people that I work with. And my expectations are pretty high—really high actually.”
Clear expectations are beginning to yield results.
Total sales for The Lash Lounge, the largest brand in the Head to Toe portfolio at 134 locations, grew 4.4 percent last year, to $70 million. Top-performing locations reported an average unit volume of $910,764, while the middle quartiles reported AUVs of $614,539 and $437,316.
Roberts, who led the eyelash extension concept from 2018 until multi-unit franchisee John Babcock was named brand leader in August 2024, said it’s recapturing the momentum it had before the major interruption that was the coronavirus pandemic. Product innovation and the marketing of ancillary services such as lash lifts and tints and eyebrow threading are attracting new customers, as are alternatives to a membership that can vary in price from about $120 to $170 per month.
“We’ve also evolved into packages and passes. We wanted to have an entry point for people who wanted to explore our services but didn’t want to make that monthly commitment,” she said. “And we’re creating great value for our guests in providing them four lash lifts for the price of three, for example, which is a really highly sought-after service … but doesn’t traditionally have its own membership.”
As part of an initiative available only to existing Lash Lounge franchisees, the brand is testing a smaller suite spinoff in areas where the demographics don’t justify a full territory. It’s another way to move the needle on development, Roberts said, without the cost of a full buildout. Also being explored is what she called a “one door, two store” concept that would pair The Lash Lounge with Frenchies in the same space.
At Bishops, which with 40 salons concentrated in the Northwest has about the same footprint it did when Riverside bought it in 2023, Roberts said a “very funky, un-franchised vibe” was both part of the appeal and a barrier to growth. The company underwent a brand refresh that she said retained the “vibrancy and differentiation” while broadening the positioning to support nationwide expansion. It streamlined its cut and color services, she added, to simplify the model and provide a more straightforward value proposition.
“We think it’s really going to bring people to the forefront of recognizing how fun it is to go in and get a really high-quality haircut but not have to pay the highest prices,” Roberts said. “We’re about a great haircut for a great price, not a cheap haircut for a good price.”
Head to Toe reintroduced Bishops to the franchise broker market this summer and signed a new franchisee who will expand the brand in Phoenix.
Frenchies has 27 locations, up three from when Riverside acquired it in late 2023, and the brand sold 16 units so far this year. Roberts said it already had a solid point of differentiation with its emphasis on cleanliness and a shunning of acrylics and other products with harsh chemicals, but underwent a brand revision aimed at broadening its consumer base. The shift “extended the appeal among audiences,” she explained, to “not only the middle-aged who might be predisposed to think they can afford it, but really among the young and up into the more senior community.”
Visual cues are “more inspired and more modern,” she noted, and the overall branding celebrates “the artistry that is nails.” In addition to attracting a wider cross-section of customers, Roberts said leaning into a membership program is “the biggest adjustment to assist our franchisees in their profitability.” While not a natural component of the average nail salon, she said the opportunity is there to demonstrate the value of regular nail care.
“They’re saving money every time they come in,” Roberts said. “There’s no trickery in our memberships.”
Each brand is constantly critiquing profitability, she continued, and looking for ways to improve the economics for franchisees. To her, that’s a core function of a franchisor.
“I think that all brands every year need to be reviewing not just their branding and their sales processes,” she said, “but also the profitability and the outlook for their franchisees because it’s what we’re here for.”