There’s been a white space in fitness SaaS for software built specifically for multi-brand fitness and wellness operators, said Playlist — one it’s more than happy to fill.
The parent company of Mindbody, Booker, ClassPass and now EGYM has launched Kite, a management platform aimed squarely at portfolio-scale franchise businesses. It arrives three months after Playlist announced a $7.5 billion merger with fitness tech giant EGYM.
Kite is registered as a payment facilitator, allowing it to automate royalty and brand-fund collections, the company said, ideal for multi-brand franchisors. There are also ways for multi-brand operators to add new revenue levers without adjusting base membership pricing, such as VIP credits and priority waitlisting.
In addition to the payments layer, Kite bundles the expected management tools (booking, scheduling, retail, staffing and automated marketing) with analytics built for cross-brand reporting. There is also a performance data component that combines equipment and heart-rate data with in-studio experiences.
Kite will run as a standalone unit inside Playlist, led by Bryan Arp as president. Arp had previously served as chief digital officer of boutique fitness franchisor Xponential Fitness.
“Most management systems weren’t designed for the realities these organizations face — shared members, multiple brands, complex reporting and royalties across locations,” Arp said. “Kite was engineered specifically for these businesses, and as part of the Playlist organization, we’re able to move faster, invest deeper and build with the scale, reliability and long-term vision that multi-brand operators need.”
